THE REAL DRAGON ADVENTURE

Real Musgrave displays a European cereal box featuring Pocket Dragon figurines.

Plump goldfish swarm to the sound of footsteps crossing the picturesque wooden walkway overhanging a sparkling natural pool. The fish dart about the bridge in expectation of a treat they know is forthcoming. "We can't cross the bridge without feeding them," states Muff Musgrave as her husband, Real, tosses a handful of food to the school of flitting goldfish.

The fishpond offers a precursory glimpse into the magical atmosphere of the Musgraves' towering home that rambles up four stories on a wooded hillock surrounded by flowering vegetation and greenery in a secluded countryside neighborhood in North Texas. The couples' warm attachment to their goldfish pales in comparison to the loving attention bestowed upon the other current members of their family - a pair of cats that offer constant inspiration to Real in creating the expressive Pocket Dragon figurines that have become the art medium for which he is most beloved and renowned. While Real is quick to point out that Muff is his creative muse and inspires many of his ideas, both emphasize the integral role that their pets have played in the development of The Whimsical World of Pocket Dragon figurines.

The couple's first dog, Flower, with her loving, mischievous nature inspired Real during his life-size dragon period. Her expressions and antics later formed a basis for the persona of the Pocket Dragon. "Flower had an intense love of cookies and chocolate in general," Real states reflectively. "Whenever you see a Pocket Dragon hiding or sneaking a cookie, that's Flower. Every time she did something it sparked an idea for me. When Flower passed on, I thought my career was over because I couldn't imagine doing it without her. Little did I know then that she was secretly training a couple of cats to take over."

Since Flower, the Musgraves have adopted a series of pets that have contributed not only to the warmth so apparent in their home and lives, but have made significant contributions to Real's art and to the development of the Pocket Dragon collection. Their latest inspiration takes the form of a ginger cat named Tucker who suffers from a heart condition. But the couple will never forget the pet that started it all, though, as evidenced by the copyright stamp found on each piece. A backwards R for Real, an M for Muff and a flower for the original Pocket Dragon can be found on all of Real's artwork.

In The Beginning

While Real and Muff Musgrave live what most would call a real life fantasy in their contemporary castle of a home, which they duly named Brae Edenhall, their home is just the setting for the real dream-come-true. Following their hearts' desire, Real and Muff have managed to turn their love of fantasy and animals into a lucrative enterprise.

Introduced to fantasy in early childhood by The Blue Fairy Tale Book, Real was fascinated by the concept of dragons. He decided early on that dragons did not necessarily have to be nasty creatures - a theme that stuck with him and he has portrayed throughout his artwork over the years. Real wanted to be an artist from his earliest recollections. "He was born with a pencil in his hand." The memory of his mother's frequent expression brings warmth and laughter to Real's eyes.

In high school, Real established his own art business. He became president of the Art Service Club at Hillcrest High School in Dallas, a club that was previously limited to creating banners, programs and posters for school events. When he joined the club, there were a total of six or seven students involved in the program. By the time he left the position, the club had grown to a membership of more than 350 members. Why? Because Real's artistic talent and business savvy drew press attention that spurred the interest of both students and the community at large. In his last years at Hillcrest, Real ran a mini-graphics studio for the school. He was given a charge account and a small office where he devoted hours upon hours to his beloved pastime.

Real's talent and penchant for art was a complete separation from the career his father had chosen. Unlike some parents, however, as he approached college age, his father (one of the world's leading geophysicists, Dr. Albert Musgrave) encouraged Real to follow his passion for drawing. "But he did persuade me to get an engineering degree to fall back on," Real laughs.

Real attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock in the 1960s where he met and married Muff. At that time, an art degree was unheard of at Texas Tech, so Real began with the next best thing - Engineering in Art, a degree that combined engineering through architecture and the aesthetics of art and design. Eventually the university did open a school of fine arts and offered a degree in drawing, which rapidly drew Real's attention. "Back then no one had defined art as having to be two-dimensional," says Real. "The definition of art was in the mind of the artist. I wanted to do figurative things with literal figurines. Fantasy and dragons had always interested me." They continued to do so throughout his education and career, so much so that today the Pocket Dragon figurines and television show dominate his current life's work.

The Pocket Dragon Adventure

During his college years and in the early 1970s, Real created a series of art that depicted life-size dragons. What size is life-size when discussing a creature of fantasy, though? According to Real's perception, a life-size dragon would extend from 35 to 60 feet in length.

After they finished college, Real and Muff decided to venture to Europe for a backpacking expedition. They set off with only $800, a few clothes and a small notepad that Real carried around in the pocket of his old tweed jacket. Unable to create the impressive lengths of a life-size dragon while exploring Europe, Real contented himself with creating pared-down versions of the scaly creatures. These tiny drawings reflected the experiences he and Muff had during the trip.

Setting Up Shop

When they returned home from Europe, Real set up shop in University Park. The Real Shop was an art gallery that housed a back-room graphic art studio where Real could sell his fantasy art in the form of prints, paintings and cards while making a living producing commercial artwork for local oil companies and other corporations. At that time, Muff was working for Polaroid. She took a leave of absence for personal reasons and decided to work with Real at the shop as the business manager.

The couple found that they liked working together and started a line of greeting cards featuring Real's art. Later they convinced friends, Howard and Gladys Leap, to create a greeting card publishing company called Dragon Tales to help them market the cards. They sailed smoothly through the years working side by side. "The graphic studio was tremendously successful, but time consuming for five years," says Real. "After that, it was time to stop doing things that did not involve my own art."

In 1989, Real was approached by an English company, Collectible World Studios, to license the Pocket Dragon drawings as figurines to be included in a full collection of fantasy art figurines. It was assumed that the company would provide a sculptor, but Real would have none of that. He began the sculpting himself. It was then that sculpting became the main focus to which Real devoted his talents.

With the advent of the sculpted figurines, the popularity of the tiny Pocket Dragons increased enormously. In 1992, a separate collectors club was started by the company to market the Pocket Dragons. There are now Pocket Dragon and Friends Club branches in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Germany as well, totaling more than 15,000 members.

A True Renaissance Man

About the same time that they opened The Real Shop, the couple also began what was to become a 15-year tradition of selling Real's art through a very different venue - The Renaissance Festival. Together they invested $2,000 in a two-story building at the Texas Renaissance Festival (TRF) near Houston.

Real had been marketing his wares at the festival for nearly ten years when the owner approached him with the idea of doing the artwork for the faire's collateral materials. The owner of the faire, who had become a good friend by that time, put on the pressure and suddenly Real found himself the official artist for the faire, a title he held for the next five years.

With the advent of the syndicated television series, Pocket Dragon Adventures, and the surging demand for his figurines, Real and Muff realized that they were spreading themselves too thin. They sold their building at TRF and focused their energy more closely on the dragon aspects of the business. It was not until the year 2000 that Real and Muff re-entered the world of the Renaissance festival when they were approached by the owners of Scarborough Faire near Waxahachie, Texas, to develop artwork for the festival's 20th anniversary.

Using strictly his own interpretation of the theme, Real created a masterful painting that depicts a whimsical countryside setting with a horde of tiny Pocket Dragons cavorting about a picnic site sporting delighted expressions and brandishing tiny swords and shields. Tiny dragons are shown clambering upon a life-size knight's helm, picnicking on tea and treats, struggling with an unwieldy magician's wand and strumming a miniature mandolin. In the background, a mounted knight and his lady fair trot through an enchanting fantasy landscape toward an idyllic castle over which a life-size dragon soars through the summer sky. Musgrave took three of the dragons used in the poster to create artwork for a 20th anniversary T-shirt.

Musgraves' fans flocked to Scarborough for a special Easter treat - a live appearance by Real and Muff during which they signed autographs and visited with fans from all over the world. Reportedly, fans called from across the ocean attempting to secure the sought-after poster. Real and Muff are a bit mystified but very gratified by the devoted attention lavished upon them by their fans. Real was surprised when he received a call from a fan in England asking to permission to start an official Pocket Dragon fan club. "I was touched," reminisces Real. "It was kind of neat that people in England had come to love my work so much."

Dragons On Air

The final coup for Real and Muff began when Bohbot Kids Network (BKN) purchased the rights to turn the figurines into an animated television series that premiered in September of 1998 in Europe. The show has aired in more than 60 countries to date and is picking up an additional 2 billion viewers this year when the series premieres in India and China. While the idea for an animated Pocket Dragons series was not initially well received by American television producers, its lack of violence was exactly what appealed to Paris-based BKN. "Pocket Dragon Adventures was the first American television series the company found they could sell everywhere," says Musgrave.

Real provided a style guide for the animators to use for the series that included drawings, personality traits and descriptions, as well as sample stories for each of the dragons in the series. Real retains full artistic direction over the show and works closely with the story editors.

The success of the series has spurred a complex schedule of tours, signings and appearances throughout the world for the Musgraves, as well as a whole new line of products, including plush toys, picture frames, mugs, magnets, rubber stamps and even celebrity appearances for the Pocket Dragons as the "spokesdragons" for Suzuki motorcars in France and on cereal boxes in England and Greece. And, as Muff can attest, "You know you have made the big time when you have a children's doll modeled after your image."

With the extraordinary combination of dedication and talent that Real and Muff have put into making their dream a reality, success was inevitable. And, from the perspective of their many fans throughout the world, well deserved.