Hydras, their features, and their similarities to Dragons

Hydra, Dark Souls. [Video Game], From Software. 

The hydra is a similar mythical creature to the dragon in terms of the general head structure. It originates from the myth in which a nine-headed serpent haunted the swamps of Lerna during ancient Greece, and was capable of spawning two more heads from those decapitated. Heracles was said to have destroyed the creature with help from Iolaus.

When it comes to video games, most of the hydra's aspects are the same when it comes to textures, builds and body features. The differences are the number of heads that it has, the fact that it is never airborne, and that the head type can be slightly different.


Typically, the features between hydras and dragons bear obvious similarities. The immediate difference is the structure of the creature - hydras have more heads than one, and also lack the wings. In many games, they are bound to the spot and found in water, so it is sometimes unclear as to what is beneath the creature.

Heracles, Iolaus and the Hydra | Paestan black figure hydra C6th B.C. | The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu
Heracles, Iolaus and the Hydra. The J.Paul Getty Museum.

The ancient illustrations of the myth depict the creature as purely serpentine, which is essentially a multi-headed snake. This is rather simplistic, but given that the hydra was also originally fought while it was in the water, the lower segments of the creature tend to get lost due to obstruction of visual assets. It is safe to say that modern interpretations of the creature vary from company to company, where it may borrow the lower half from dragons, or stay completely snake-like.

Baron Nashor Update Concept Art, League of Legends. RIOT Games.

Ultimately, the most important information we are given about the hydra is the multiple heads, which is enough of a definition to identify the creature even when heavily modified with other features. RIOT's Baron Nashor is a prime example, sporting multiple heads also. It is still serpent like, but also resembles other creatures like the dragon, and even real-world creature such as spiders given its number of eyes and mandibles.

Drawings
I have some difficulty drawing heads of hydra at certain angles, but I do have some grasp on their structural appearance. They are wyrm-like, and often one single member so it is easy to establish the general shape.

Between designs, there aren't any hard rules on what this creature looks like. In practice I drew anything that came to mind, but also attempted to RIOT's creature so as to gain some understanding on the creature and where it can be customised.


Sources:

TheOi, Hydra Lernaia. Available at: https://www.theoi.com/Ther/DrakonHydra.html

 boobyashank (2018), Hydrask (Hydra + Drask) - "The Ultimate 360° No-Scoper". Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/dauntless/comments/95cfi4/hydrask_hydra_drask_the_ultimate_360_noscoper/

 Baron Nashor, League of Legends Wiki (No Date). Available at: https://leagueoflegends.fandom.com/wiki/Baron_Nashor#Gallery

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