The Dragon Kings are revered as ultimate symbols of power, fortune, and nature's untamed majesty. Bring these ancient legends to life with our collection of intricately detailed, 3-inch enamel pins.
The Five Dragon Kings campaign is a celebration of Chinese mythology, bringing ancient legends to life through beautifully crafted enamel pins. This collection honors the divine rulers of the rain, alongside a host of other beloved mythical creatures from Chinese lore.
The Royal Roster: The core of our collection features five massive, highly detailed dragon pins. Each Dragon King is uniquely designed to embody their specific ruling element and cardinal direction.
48-Hour Early Wyrm Bonus: Backers who back us in the first 48 hours of the campaign will receive an beautifully designed lantern pin added to their rewards absolutely free.
Latest from the Creator
Dream Vale Studios
10 days ago
Thank You Next Steps for Dragon Kings and What to Expect!
Hello everyone!
The Dragon Kings are funded! Thank you so much for your support. We were able to unlock all the stretch goals in the end. We’re incredibly grateful. We couldn’t bring these pins to life without your support!
Now that the campaign has come to an end, we want to make sure you know exactly what to expect next. Let’s take a look at our timeline and some housekeeping items to make sure things go as smoothly as possible.
House Keeping & Surveys
Failed Cards: We have a few pledges that failed to charge. There are a few ways that can happen. Backerkit will email you should your card fail. Be sure to follow the prompts to update your email. If payment cannot be processed, we will not be able to get your Dragon Kings to you!
Pay Over Time: A friendly reminder: if you choose the Pay Over Time option, you will not receive your survey at the same time as everyone else. Your survey will be sent automatically once your final payment is completed.
Surveys & Smoke Tests: We are aiming to send the surveys out by July 28th. This gives us and Backerkit time to finalize the backend setup. The Backerkit survey is how you will be choosing your specific rewards and add any additional addons you’ve been eyeing. Smoke tests will go out beforehand to a handful of backers to catch any errors. Shortly after, surveys will then roll out to everyone else.
Survey Deadline & Shipping: Once sent, surveys will remain open for two weeks and then lock so we can get final counts and start production. For this campaign, shipping will be calculated and collected as part of your survey.
Missed the Campaign? Pre-Orders will be open soon!
Note: Current backers should not use the Pre-Order store. You will select your pins and add-ons through your backer survey. Using the Pre-Order store will end cause you to pay shipping twice.
Future Campaign Ideas!
While we are working hard on getting these pins to production, we are already brainstorming our next projects! We’d love to know what you’d be most excited to see next.
Mermay - We are thinking about doing a campaign on mermaids, we we aren't sure if we should lean into mermaids from coral reefs, or the deep.
National Parks as Dragons - Dragons based on the National Parks of the USA. Think Half Dome from Yosemite, but as a dragon.
Hatchlings - Baby dragons, griffins and other magical creatures!
Almost Human - A collection of human and creature hybrids. Think centaurs, sphinxes, satyrs, and harpies.
Wizard Animals - Animals as wizards!
Magical Borbs - Very round birds that wield magic.
Make Your Own Sky Kingdom - Cute Isometric floating islands that you can collect to make your own sky kingdom! Like a city builder, but with pins and in the sky.
Thank you all again for making this campaign such a massive success. Keep an eye on your inboxes around July 28th, and we’ll see you when the surveys are ready!
Until next time,
Arielle + Ryan
PS - If you want to keep in touch and see what we are up to every week, sign up to our newsletter here!
The Last 48 hours and a Shoutout to Campaigns We Love!
Hey everyone!
We are in the last 48 hours of the Dragon Kings campaign! Just a calm reminder that the campaign closes on July 2nd. You still have a little time to back and finalize choices.
Thank you all for your incredible support! With you, we were able to unlock every single stretch goal! We are so excited to see these pins become a reality and get these royal dragons and their subjects to your boards.
PinQuest Highlights
Looking for other fun campaigns to back? Why not check out some of the other amazing creators participating in PinQuest?
Here are a few of our personal favorites that we hope you’ll love!
Of Beasts and Stars by Nymbells features wonderfully fun creatures of the sky. The Cloudchaserand The Nightskyare our favorites! I just love their use of sharp shapes to create such unique silhouettes.
Forgotten Fables by UltraInfinite is absolutely gorgeous! It features lesser-known fairytales in beautiful golden frames. The Lindworm is my favorite fable that I learned about. We always enjoy the amazing creativity and well run nature of their campaigns.
A Fancier’s Guide to Cockatrices by Lairbrew is so good! I LOVE chickens, and chicken dragons are clearly the best! Their Silkie cockatrice design completely reminds me of the fluffy Silkie chickens we kept a while ago. They are so incredibly FLUFFY!
That is it for today! We will see you all on the other side of the finish line!
🐉 The Dragon Kings are funded, Early Bird reminder, and Unlocks!
Hi Everyone!
We are funded! Thank you so much everyone who jumped in on day one! This is our first time working with the PinQuest group and we are blown away by all the excitement and support. We're grateful that we can bring the collection to life!
Super quick, friendly update to let you know that the 48 hour Early Wyrm Freebie has just 24 hours left! Back now to secure the Fortune Lantern Pin to your pledge absolutely free.
Now let's take a look at the unlocked stretch goals. They are going quickly! Each will be available for selection in the Addons Section!
Sun Crow Jinwu: The Sun crow, or the Golden Crow, represent the sun. There used to be 10 of them, but one day, they grew mischievous and all flew together at once, burning the Earth. Hou, Yi the celestial archer shot down nine of them to save the world. He spared the last one so it may serve as our sun that we see today.
Flying Dragon Feilong: This dragon rides atop the clouds and mist. It's presence generates gentle seasonal rains and floating vapors.
Biyiniao: Two inseparable birds working together in complete devotion and harmony. Each bird possessing only one eye and and one wing. Together they are complete.
Two locked mythological creature goals still remain!
Thank you so much everyone for your support. We're blown away by how the first day had went. Honestly we're so grateful to be a part of a community that helps bring the art to life.
The Dragons are Awakening! Three Hours Before Launch!
Hello Everyone!
Here we are together again. We're at that exciting, butterfly inducing time where campaign launch is imminent. Just a gentle reminder that Dragon Kings officially launches in just three hours! The campaign begins 12PM PDT.
Your early support helps the campaign get off to a strong start. As a thank you we have a number of available free gifts. Today we're flying out to Origin's Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio during launch! If you are in the area, please stop by! We'd love to meet you. If you have any thoughts or questions, please reach out and we'll get back to you as soon as we are on the ground and situated.
Thank you everyone again for all your support. We've poured as much love and time into building this campaign as possible. We really appreciate your enthusiasm.
The seasons are ever evolving and changing, shifting into one and another. Between the transitions lies the last Dragon King: Huánglóng, the Yellow Dragon of the Center.
Huánglóng is the stability of the Dragon Kings. He serves as the spiritual hub that connects all four cardinal directions. He also represents the center of the universe! In some Chinese lore, some believe he is the incarnation of the Yellow Emperor who brought civilization to China. Because he embodies the warm golden days of late summer, I made sure to weave in motifs of sunflowers, ,butterflies, and dragonflies into his background pattern.
A Crown of Horns Wehn designing him, I wanted to evoke a deep sense of ancient royalty. I leaned heavily into the traditional long dragon look to give him an elegant and sweeping flow. To bring out his majesty, I combined the busy, regal mane of a lion with the a crown of horns pieced together from inspiration from various mountain goats found across China, such as Markhors and Ibex
Because Huánglóng is the anchor of the group, we wanted to put him exactly where he belongs. In the middle!
Collect all 5 Dragon Kings during the campaign and their designs physically puzzle together around Huánglóng to create one massive, unified centerpiece!
See You Tomorrow! Tomorrow at 12 PM PDT , Dragon Kings officially begins with PinQuest!
When you back 3+ Campaigns with PinQuest, recieve the freebie, Bixi: The Strongest Son with your pledge!
Thank you for sticking with us, sharing your excitement, and supporting Dream Vale Studios. With your help we can bring these royal Dragon Kings to reality. We've put our whole hearts into this collection, and we couldn't do it without you.
Today, I’d like to introduce the white dragon, Ao Run.
As you may know, each dragon rules over a massive, boundless ocean. But the western region does not have a sea of it’s own. Legend has it that the Jade Emperor took pity on him and had carved out by the lightning, thunder, and storms to give him a rightful place. It is now known as Qinghai Lake or “The Blue Sea”.
Tigers, Elk, and Seal Teeth
It seemed very fitting to incorporate the tiger’s features into the design of Ao Run after Baihu, Mythical beast of the West. Ao Run's powerful head and stripes match the fading colors of autumn.
When building Ao Run's design, I really wanted to lean into his metal element. Some of the early sketches have him as a dragon with bladelike features. Ultimately, I decided to try a more organic form with animal inspiration. Have you seen a seal’s teeth before?
I thought their hard organic shapes as Ao Run’s spines and represent his element of metal.
Dragon Campaign Collaborators! For this campaign, we are thrilled to be working with Royarch! They are launching Dragonology: Garden Dragons right alongside ours. We've been longtime fans of the work and absolutely jumped at the chance to be able to work alongside them.
In pledging for both campaigns, you will receive each of our Collaboration Pins. Our half features a yellow dragon holding a peach for longevity. Their half holds a pomegranate, representing abundance.
