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JessicaMDouglas — K'i-Lin
Published: 2004-10-15 00:45:17 +0000 UTC; Views: 7664; Favourites: 244; Downloads: 2140
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Original: SoldPrints: Limited Edition still available.
The K'i-Lin, in china. Also known as the Kirin in Japan....
I'd like to say something here... This image was sparked after several people told me things like... "A dragon can't have hair or feathers. A unicorn can't have horse hooves or a curved horn. A naga-type creature can't have six arms." etc.
This is fantasy. The wonderful thing about fantasy is that you can make whatever you feel like making. So... with that in mind... I sat down and researched the K'i-lin. I didn't look at any other artist's rendition of this creature... I simply read page after page after page of descriptions on K'i-lin. Then I drew what my mind's eye told me. This is what *I* see when I think of the K'i-Lin. This is *my* interpretation of the words I read about a mythical (to some) creature.
I'll be doing an entire series... focused mostly on different culture's take on unicorns right now, since my researches lead me in some... interesting directions. Expect the unexpected...
But what I am trying to say is this: Please, take a little time to think before you say that something "can't be". Keep in mind that each time you say that, you are working to surpress an artist's creativity a little more... until they no longer want to express themselves through art. Unfortunately for all the people who have told me I "can't" do something.... I'm afraid that I don't listen very well. Sorry.
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Comments: 236
*cough* I used to do that... Can't stand it any more though. I go... oh! But I could do THIS and it would do THAT and and and and and....
.......... 80 hours later Jess is mindlessly coloring at something that she *could* have done the easy way, but noooooooooooo she had to do something freakish like individual scales. *flails*
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you know what? you're awesome, not only the fact that you actually pointed out the fact that you don't have to do what 'they' say about fantasy, because, well, yes, it is FANTASY. hehe, and i like the rendition you made, they're pretty ^ ^
Rp
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Hey, thanks a lot! Tis appreciated!
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I don't know how you did it, but I have no words to discrabe how it's perfect!
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thats a very unique take on Kirin/Qi Lin! (there are so many different translations of the Chinese one.. Ive seen a lot that vary from text to text). I have a book with a unicorn looking figure, though at an art museum once, they had this really cool dog-horse-ish Qilin [link]
It was very beautiful.
/OT
Youre take is so whimsical. I think its awesome you did it from descriptions only! And what crack were those people smoking? They need to come out of their "western mythology only" box. 
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Gah. You have no idea (or you probably do) how hard it was to actually get an image based off of some of those descriptions!!! One just said "It was smokey, and I knew the K'i-lin was there." I was like... eh? Well... now what? And there was a time period where all of the descriptions were to simply say that it was a kilin, because *everyone* knew what they looked like, so there was no need to describe them!! *flails*
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Yeah, some of them are just so generalized.. if I hadnt seem images in my study of dragons and eastern mythological creatures, I'd be pretty confused. Even then, not all of the pictures match. XD
If you ever want a really cool read on Chinese creatures (largely focused on dragons, but has a bit in Qi Lin and The Phoenix) read a book called "Year of the Dragon, Legends and Lore" (ISMN 0-7607-1987-X) I found it on the bargain table at Barnes and Nobles ages ago.. talk about a great find. XD its a really great read and has lots off neat Chinese art.
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muah!!!!!!!! *clings to your leg* Thank you lovey! I will definitely go out and snag that book. I like to do research before I work on things... I'm working on a flying fish mermaid right now, that I spent far more time studying the flying fish than I should have to draw it. (I really didn't need to know all this about... a fish. Gah.) So I'm a nut for books on mythology and cultures and such.
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I meant to say that it looks like having a unique take on things isnt bad! *referencing that museum piece* I hope I didnt shatter your image be showing you an actual image though(really, that one is the only one ive seen like it)! I'm sorry, I didnt think of it.
I think that using our own interpretations of descriptions is best.. I mean, in the old days, thats how all art of mythical creatures was done, ne? People "never" saw these creatures, only heard stories about them, so they had to draw from their minds. ;}
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there's not much for me to say about your art anymore....each piece looks just so beautiful and flawless to me...so i'm glad you put critique discouraged ^^
before i say anything else, just know that i do believe in what you're saying....i do believe that any weird and twisted contortion to anything should be welcomed as art just as much as anything traditional and there should be no limit to the imagination or the expression of it...in fact, me expressing my opinions has gotten me in trouble many times and i'm still not changin ^^
now, that being said, telling an artist they "can't" do something isn't always bad y'know....telling someone that they "can't" go and take someone else's work and add a spark of light and call it their own without giving credit....that type of stuff is good to tell artists y'know?
now i'm not saying that you condone that type of behavior, or if you were saying that you were ok with that type of stuff...but, if someone reads your statement there, they could believe that you believe that type of stuff...
my opinion, always right for the deepest and dankest of doofus-minded people ^^
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*cough* you must not know me very well hun? It's all good, this is the net, so I'm not expecting you to know me *grin* I spend waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time working on educating people about copyright laws. Since I was not discussing the issue of copyright, nor of copying other people's artwork, saying "remember, don't copy other's art" would have been nothing more than a person admonishing people on a subject that has nothing to do with what I was talking about... and would have taken from the point I was making.
Perhaps you thought I meant that because I didn't look at other's art, it was okay to copy others work? In that case I should clarify. It is common knowledge that our perception of a mythical creature is often influenced, and shaped, by the images drawn by others. Be it old cave paintings, or modern day masters, the arts has had a profound effect on the world and how we see things. That does not mean that everyone has copied another artist... it means that we have seen one person's rendition of a mythical image... and that has set it in our mind how that mythical creature should look. A horse with one horn, white coat, etc... the famous Unicorn Tapestries are a fine example for setting a 'reference' where no other image of the creature is available. So what I have done, is refused to look at other's interpretations as 'reference' to what a mythological creature should look like... I've used nothing but descriptions of the creatures.
(by the way. I did this is *normal* animals as well. Suspended my knowledge of what it looked like, and drew what someone's description of the creature told me. It was rather interesting. Didn't look like what it was supposed to.. at all.)
Oh my... I just babbled on, didn't I? Sorry about that.
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*rises* that's not what i meant at all....i just meant that y'can't just say that it's wrong to tell artists that they can't do anything....that's all....cuz there ARE some things that artists shouldn't do...i was IN NO WAY referencing your art when i used the example of taking other's art....that's just something that people NEED TO FEEL OPEN to telling artists...cuz if it's their opinion that it's wrong...than it's ok to say that...that's all, i know about this piece...cuz you said it in the description
and yes it is true that i don't know you...but i do know what you said, and i believe i comprehend it, and i was just saying that i disagree with such a concrete statement...that it could be more to it than that and that those instances should be taken into consideration.
and even though i don't know you, i do respect you, just like plenty of other members of this site
i respect your art, your talent, your devotion to your work, your patience, and your thoughtfulness (like how you advertise other artists in your journal and whatnot)
and it's because of that respect that i care enough to share my opinion of your statement....
*backs up with hands raised*
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*gigglefits* okay, I think we're saying the same thing. I just woke up, so I'm halfway incoherant anyway *laughs*
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ok, nice to know we're on the same page :woot:
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Absolutely gorgeous! Mistressofspam, you've done a beautiful job on this. Anyone who said "a unicorn can't have horse hooves" needs to be smacked upside the head with a Moose. Sheesh, fantasy is in the mind's eye, whatever we want it to be! Backing off from ranting, let me just say that you've done a gorgeous job on this, I love the way you've colroed it...just...wow...
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Kirin! Great depiction of them. I love the colors.
And bah to the people who cannot understand that the sheer beauty of fantasy is the versatility of it, nor understand the meaning of 'artistic license'.
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Hehe, I thought it pronounced Chi-Lin. I love that creature, and it's rather stupid to judge how a fantasy creature should look like when nobody see it before. I always thought Chi-Lin is a cross breed of unicorn and dragon. 
Just in case you are curious about it, Chi is the female, Lin is the male (or is it the other way around?) Same thing goes for Pheonix in Chinese, it's pronounced Feng-Huang, and Feng is the female pheonix, and huang is the male one.
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I found... I think five different spellings for them. Oi. The K'i is female and the Lin in male, and so.... I drew two, hopefully one looks more feminine than the other *laughs* I noticed that a lot with the chinese, a looooot of yin and yang. Found some other references to creature, different dragons and such, always shown with their counterpart. It's really neat. I might do an entire series just on the chinese mythologies.
*giggles* Awwww I like your granny. The only real stories I ever got were when my dad had me convinced he was a werewolf when I was growing up. (I kid you not. RIght now he's got my daughter convinced he's one... and that her dad is a robot.)
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hahahahahaahhahaha, so how's it feel to be 1/4 werewolf? XD That's really funny.
My granny used to tell me loads loads of stories, too bad I barely remember any. :/
I'm trying to think of other chinese myth creatures that might be of interest, too bad I cannot think of any right now.
And you are right about the yin-yang thing. Even the grim ripper in China is a pair. It's called soemthing like Forever Yin-Yang (I don't know how to translate it). Basically one of them is in white the other in black and both has long tongues. >.< Scary~~~
Did you know that in china they always try to build the tower next to lake? Tower sybolize yang (man) and lake symbolize yin (woman).
And what's even funnier is they usually put the monk temple next to the nun temple.
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I am trying soooooo hard not to die laughing at that last bit. Grand, well you can tell me what the hell han yu pin yin is, because someone mentioned it in one of the comments on here (twiting me on my spelling), and I'm totally lost.
hmmm, does that mean that the washington monument is influenced by china? (since it's next to a lake, and if cleopatra's needle isn't phallic, I don't know what is)
And being part were wolf is grand. I've got an excuse for ripping people to shreds when I get pissy *beams*
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Hahaha, I'd better stay away from you during full moon. (or maybe quater moon since you are not a full were wolf? hmmm)
han yu pin yin is the pronounciation system they use in China, to help people to learn how a character sound, it's basically derived from the english alphabets.
Hahah, washington monument... XD I wonder if it symbolize what's going on inside the white house. XD
by the way, where did you get those two characters for the ki-lin?
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*laughs* I think that it's just triggered by emotion, so just run away if I'm pissy *grin*
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah, well no wonder I was staring blankly at the person. I was like... dude... I'm not a linguist, I"m just a chick that likes to draw.
The monument... *cough* I probably shouldn't have gone there *grin* We did a few studies on it in art history, as for the characters, I asked one of my buddies to help me out, and she sent me a few references to use. Can't remember which this one was, came from one of those chinese to english type translation book dealies, and I'm sure I mangled them horribly.
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I really like your idea of the Ki-lin, very different then what I've seen of other people's. The curly mane is especially good.
And I agree with what you said about fantasy creatures, all to often I see people arguing over the nature of a creature that exists only in their minds, and there for can be anything.
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This is awesome. It's not exactly what I see when I think of a ki lin, but the only time I've ever read a description of one was in a book (or collection of books) called The Unexpected Dragon.
It's really neat to see someone else's take on it, and it gives more shape to the vague idea in my head.
Uberly awesome job, and thanks!
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Oddly enough, my favorite part of this is the scroll in the background. You seemed to have created a nice, semi-permeable rice paper look to it, which is pretty cool if you ask me.
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i think it's very lovely. conformity is for the conformist. i will love seeing more artists breaking molds.
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*kicks the idiots* I adore them. They have a most fitting grace and elegance to them, and ohhhhh such manes and tails. Ohhhhh. *.*
The scroll in the back is really nicely done - the bamboo leaves look almost like brushstrokes instead of colored pencil.
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I just love the Kirin, and this is no exception. Fantastic work on this piece. I am amazed at the amount of detail you have poured into this. Lovely colors and the whole piece gives off a fantasy feel. Excellent stuff indeed.
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Hm. I've never heard of a K'i Lin, or Kirin, but these are beautiful!
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I truly adore this piece! 
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You know, I find it amazing that people still continue to be led by a pretset notion, especially in the realm of fantasy. A world where anything you can imagine can be, yet you still have people going 'oh no, it's supposed to be this, or that, or the other'. Those things that people consider to be the "proper" versions probably only came about because certain people stopped thinking along the preset lines and followed their own imagination. And I applaud you for doing exactly that.
The pic is gorgeous, as always (meh, like I really need to tell you this). The manes are wonderfully flowy and smooth almost have a touch of art nouveau about them, and you've been going crazy with the scale details again, haven't you! But my favourite bit (which will probably irk you) is the scroll in the background, and the calligraphy. Another masterpiece, oh goddess-like one. *grin*
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yeah. You should have seen the look on my face when I put a few pics up for critique encouraged... expecting honest to god anatomy issues to be resolved (which some did)... and then read things like that. I actually broke a pencil and threw a nice tempertantrum worthy of my 3 year old. Then I set to doing this. Just wait till you see the one for africa *evil grin*
Naw, that doesn't irk me. I did the scroll first cause it's my favorite part too! And Angela helped me find the chinese symbols for K'i-lin. Though I think I had to go with the Qi-lin spelling for this O.o
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my my my, how wonderfully strange and beautiful. Good job, Jess, for telling people fantasy is what you make it. Most like to forget that.
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Thanks lovey. You know me, never one to hold back speaking my mind when something annoys me *laughs*
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gah! I am speachless...This is just wow amazing beuatiful piece!
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A good place for your unicorn research would be the "Unicorn Encyclopedia"...I forget who it's by, but I have it at home...they have descriptions of various types of unicorns from all over the world. I just love it. The only down-side to it, as far as your art would be concerned, is that it has pictures of most of them littered throughout...wouldn't want those to influence you or anything 
These are lovely by the way. The scales bend to fit in all the right places, and I just love the wavy main and tail...like colorful sunset-clouds! As far as anything constructive goes...the left leg on the blue-hair seems to have gone a bit wonky, like it's...I don't know, like it's missing some shading. Don't take offense to that now! I still love it (I bought a print to prove it -- I know someone who just LOVES K'i-Lins, so Christmas is solved for her now). Always a pleasureto see your art
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I think the horn is black red and white. I ran across that one. *laughs* yeah, you should have seen the look on the librarian's face when I asked if she had any books *without* pictures. Actually I spent a lot of time looking in the religions section, since unicorns began as part of various cultures and religions. It's really facinating to read how this single creature (of so many appearances) has managed to pervade just about every culture. Moooore to come...... after I finish this flying fish mermaid O.o
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Beautiful as always. Love all the detail. And I think you are right. An artist interprets (sp?) what they see. Everyone draws the same exact thing difrently. Imagination is a must. Can't wait to see the rest of your series.
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I know them as the Japanese term, Kirin. Either way they are beautiful! They are not as I myself pictured them but as you said it is YOUR rendition and they are magnificent! Excellent job!
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-grins- They're gorgeous! Right when I saw the name I had an idea of what the drawing was of. -nods- But your drawing of them is very unique, and very lovely. -nods- The Chinese (and Japanese) have beautiful creatures, whose Western stereotypes seem to be far more common, sadly. -nods- But, I'm glad that you're doing this fun series! -happy me- I'm sure it'll be most informative, as well as probably surprising.
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This is so beautiful. I'm glad you stayed true to your vision, or else we wouldn't have this wonderful peice.
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