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luciole — Pontianak
Published: 2008-05-14 23:28:08 +0000 UTC; Views: 58975; Favourites: 3027; Downloads: 6216
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Description
A pontianak is a type of Malay ghost of a woman who died during childbirth and becomes the undead.According to the story, the Pontianak resides in banana trees that grow near houses. She appears as a beautiful and seductive woman, usually accompanied with the strong perfume of frangipani, and upon capture of her prey (usually unwary men or pregnant women), she turns into a hideous hag and kills them.
However, if one wishes to capture this beautiful spirit to make her a wife (don't underestimate how desperate some people can be), a red string can be tied or inserted (using needles) into the banana trees's heart/fruit/blossom and the other end tied to the person's window. However, if the string is ever severed, the pontianak will be released and kill her captor.
I wanted to capture the moment when she realized that someone is attempting to capture her. However.. the strings are not tied tightly enough..
This is for pixelbrush.com's Myth contest.
edit: Winner of Pixelbrush's Event #15 Myth contest ^^!!
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Comments: 508
The light shining out of the fruit is just great!!!
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Oooh...pretty...
I never thought a Kuntilanak could be portrayed this pretty^^
We Indonesian used to called her 'Kuntilanak' than Pontianak anyway^^
and her looks is very scary><
*I remember one old movies about that and I was scared that time...back when I'm still 10 yrs^^*
Her other 'companion',the other female demon called 'Sundel Bolong' is scarier though^^
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Well I was going to make her look scary, but she is said to be beautiful, so why not XDD.
I have never heard of the sundel bolong o_O!
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Well...Sundel Bolong is one of the most popular demon/urban legend here along with Kuntilanak,Pocong and Tuyul^^
It was said that Sundel Bolong is a beautiful female demon,with long hair and dressed in all-white...but if you see her back...it's very euwwww...><
she have a huge hole on her back that already rot,still bleeding,along with some maggots on it><
One of the scariest demon/ghost.though...(why Asian ghosts are scarier than Western,anyway...hmmm...)
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Ooo O_O That sounds cool.. but will be hard to paint actually? But I will write it down in my sketchbook.. hehehe.
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It's interesting actually,seeing Asian demons/ghosts are revamped^^
and yous is one of the coolest that I ever saw^^
ah..there's actually one more popular demon in Indonesia...it called 'Genderuwo'...but the appearance is kinda unpleasant to see,considering it have hair all over its body,long and somehow exaggerated tongue and a pair of big,sharp fangs...
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D: That's sorta monsterish.. and I don't know how to paint monsters.
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This is absolutely gorgeous. I loved the explanation, too.
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Oh wow! She is beautiful! Back when I lived in Indonesia, they used to tell us about the Pontianak. Asian ghosts seem to scare me more than the Western ones.
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It is the opposite to me! XD Maybe cos the western ghosts are foreign and unfamiliar, but the local ones we have clues on how to handle XDD
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I thought Pontianaks are supposed to dressed in white... I find this composition wasted with such a large portion of negative spaces on the left. Do you have to portray everything in a landscape manner? You can just feature her in a more centralised composition to cut down on negative spaces and set the attention to her. What more, the details on this pontianak doesn't even look 'malay', for Pete's sake, you're a Malaysian and you should know better. Try watch some pontianak movies for better references.
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??
My version of the pontianak.
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omg I used to be so afraid of these things when I was a kid due to the stories people would tell. x.x; This is such a beautiful painting though. I just love the dark soft mood of everything, it really draws your attention to the glowing red of the heart and the string. <3
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Wow, is this Filipino folklore?
I thought it originated from the word "anak" whick means "child"
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This is Malaysian and Indoneian culture
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No, it's Malay. Read it carefully
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Oh, haha... cool...
well, most FIlipinos are part Malay anyway haha
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wow, great colors. i really love her dress
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This is beautiful, I love your use of light and color. She seems soft and sweet, in complete contrast with the stormy surroundings, until you read the description (or already know what mythical creature she is). Nicely done!
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wow... amazing... very spirit-like... she looks so beautiful and sinister at the same time.. amazing job!! the colors and details are fantastic!!!
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Wow I love how everything sort of blands in yet you still manage to make her stick out.
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It's wonderful. I love the look on here eyes. As if she's enjoying the finding :3
She looks quite mean.
Are there any myths like this about men? I can only think of female spirits being captured.
Anyhow, wonderful job, good luck in the competition :]
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Thanks 
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I LOVE how you painted that! Its amazing!
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wow, amazing art and the amazing story, I never heard of it before!!!! Gorgeous!!!
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This pontianak is beautiful...
But hell it brings back painful memories when people called behind my back by that name...
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D: People call you that?? So bad..!
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Yeah they did... and they started calling me that just after seeing me and not even bothering to speak to me in person... ;_;
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DDDDX 
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Interestiiing...
The only version of Pontianak that i have heard before is a Pontianak is a woman who died during her childbirth... (the very same like yours) but to capture her, you have to catch her unaware and struck a 6 inch nail at the back of her neck... That will change her into a woman once more. Only you can't remove the nail... or she'll turn back into a Pontianak...
I like your pic's version more though 
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ah...that's the (urban) legend that I usually heard in Indonesia...even there's a movie about that^^
But instead of neck,the nail was stabbed into her head(or...hmm...what's the English of 'ubun-ubun'...I have no idea
If the nails removed,she'll turned into Kuntilanak once again(we Indonesian often called her 'Kuntilanak' than '
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XDD ubun-ubun means the bottom of the head... near the back of the neck part yes?
yes.
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