Blog - Chris Freyer Art

Year of the Dragon (2024)

Updated: December 31, 2025

About

Following up my last piece Chinese Zodiac, here’s Year of the Dragon.

Fun facts:

The dragon is the fifth animal/year in the Chinese zodiac system and comes around every twelve years.

Ancient emperors viewed themselves as dragons, as the animal symbolized nobility, honor, and strength. Dragons also represent good luck, success, high energy, talent, and outgoing nature. The dragon is unique because it’s the only mythical creature of all the animals in the Chinese zodiac.

2024 is the year of the 𝘞𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 and begins on February 10, 2024 and ends on January 28, 2025.

Characteristics: Lucky, flexible, eccentric, imaginative, artistic, spiritual, charismatic, confident, intelligent, enthusiastic
Partners well with: Rat and Monkey
Lucky numbers: 1,6,7
Unlucky numbers: 3,8
Lucky colors: gold, silver, grayish white
Lucky flowers: (hyacinth), bleeding-heart glory bower, dragon flowers
Element: Earth
Polarity: Yang

Shop Year of the Dragon

Year-of-the-Dragon-Chinese-Zodiac-Retro-Game-Board-Wall-Art-by-Chris-Freyer (2)

Shop Prints

Year-of-the-Dragon-original-artwork-by-Chris-Freyer

Shop Original

Development of Year of the Dragon artwork

Development-Outline-of-Year-of-the-Dragon-original-artwork-by-Chris-Freyer — Outline / pre-color

Development-Color-placing-Year-of-the-Dragon-original-artwork-by-Chris-Freyer — Figuring out color / placing process

Colors used in the artwork (41):

Golden – Titan Green Pale
Golden – Titan Buff
Golden – Titan Mars Pale
Golden – Pyrrole Red
Golden – Fluorescent Orange
Golden – Diarylide Yellow
Golden – Primary Yellow
Golden – Fluorescent Yellow
Golden – Yellow Oxide
Golden – Iridescent Bright Gold (Fine)
Golden – Burnt Sienna
Golden – Burnt Umber
Golden – Chromium Oxide Green
Golden – Light Phthalo Green
Golden – Light Green (Yellow Shade)
Golden – Teal
Golden – Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)
Golden – Ultramarine Blue
Golden – Light Phthalo Blue
Golden – Light Ultramarine Blue
Golden – Fluorescent Magnet
Golden – Fluorescent Pink
Golden – Naphthol Pink
Golden – Fluorescent Violet
Hollbein – Chromashine Violet
Liquitex – Light Violet
Liquitex – Neutral Grey 7
Liquitex – Neutral Grey 8
Liquitex – Raw Sienna
Molotow – Signal Black
Montana – Acid Green
Posca – Bright Yellow
Posca – Prussian Blue
Posca – Blue
Posca – Light Blue
Posca – Sky Blue
Posca – Aqua
Posca – Coral
Posca – Fluorescent Pink
Posca – Light Pink
Posca – Pink

Supplies

Hollbein Chromashine (Violet) acrylic iridescence paint

Golden high flow acrylic paint

Posca acrylic paint pens

Molotow acrylic paint pens

Montana acrylic paint pens

Westcott ruler and shape templates

More Chinese Zodiac Art

Year-of-the-Ox-by-Chris-Freyer-Art — **Year of the Ox** | Purchase Print

Year-of-the-Tiger-by-Chris-Freyer-Art — **Year of the Tiger** | Purchase Print

Year-of-the-Rabbit-by-Chris-Freyer-Art — **Year of the Rabbit** | Purchase Print

Year-of-the-Rat-by-Chris-Freyer-Art — **Year of the Rat** | Purchase Print

Year-of-the-Snake-by-Chris-Freyer-Art — **Year of the Snake** | Purchase Print

Year-of-the-Horse-by-Chris-Freyer-Art — **Year of the Horse** | Purchase Print

Year-of-the-Goat-by-Chris-Freyer-Art — **Year of the Goat** | Purchase Print

Year-of-the-Monkey-by-Chris-Freyer-Art — **Year of the Monkey** | Purchase Print

Year-of-the-Rooster-by-Chris-Freyer-Art — **Year of the Rooster** | Purchase Print

Year-of-the-Dog-by-Chris-Freyer-Art — **Year of the Dog** | Purchase Print

Year-of-the-Pig-by-Chris-Freyer-Art — **Year of the Pig** | Purchase Print

Chinese Zodiac (2024)

by Chris Freyer

Updated: December 31, 2025

Inspiration for the work

There are five elements within the Chinese Zodiac: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. It is believed that these elements not only affect a person’s destiny but also make the universe and its creatures constantly cycle. The five elements are set in a specific order, as one creates or controls the next.

2024 is the year of the dragon
2025 will be year of the snake, and so on

Besides having an element, each animal has distinct characteristics, polarity, lucky colors, lucky flowers, and lucky numbers.

I was also inspired by the board game designs of four traditional Chinese boardgames: Go, Mahjong, Pai Sho, and Xiangqi (Chinese Chess).

Next up in my production flow is an artwork for each of the 12 animals, showcasing the characteristics mentioned above. Those will be launched on my Instagram and here on the site as usual.