Kirin Contemplation

Second in a series of seven planned illustrations featuring Japanese folk-creatures. This is the kirin (Chinese quilin), the "dragon-horse" and to

some extent the Japanese version of a unicorn. While very enjoyable to draw, they are certainly more complex than normal unicorns and a bit

tricky.

 

Fun fact: "kirin" is also the standard Japanese word for "giraffe." It's believed that the description of mythical kirin may have stemmed from giraffes

brought to China/Japan.

 

(7/23/2009)