DEV WORK AND STUFF | My old Kirin OC (Patreon)

Introduction

Searching through some older art files I stumbled across an old Kirin creation of mine. The design on the character is, well, bad. At the time Kiri, which is what I named her was a concept for a potential fursuit. The Colours were based off my other OC; Graphite Sketch purely because I had so much fur left over from her fursuit construction.

Due to lack of direction in the design the drive to complete that fizzled out.

After finding her and combined with a few conversations with other artists and their really cool looking Kirin OC's I rekindled that passion I had for the cute oddity. 

Kiiri needed work.

Kiri's original concept art.

WHAT IS A KIRIN?

So before I start I should probably define what a Kirin is.

The Kirin in Japanese, qilin is a mythical hooved chimerical creature known in Chinese and other East Asian cultures, said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. It is a good omen thought to occasion prosperity or serenity. It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body. It is sometimes called the “Chinese unicorn” when compared with the Western unicorn. 

Source: JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY & FOLKLORE 

Image Source: KIRIN ICHIBAN LOGO 

Google Image searching 'kirin mythology' will show some amazing Kirin arts.

Or if you'd like a neat quick video: The Qilin/Kirin 

NOTE: It is really important to educate yourself in the area that you are planning to draw from. *PUNS*

THE BRIEF

My goal is to recreate Kiiri to be more structured in her design. She currently is a cluster of random design elements taken from the traditional looking Kirin (as shown above) with a colour scheme that feels weak and unfitting of this particular creature.

Stepping away from the original anthropomorphic design I wish to make her more animalistic but keep the cartoon style. 

CONCEPT ART

 Key things that I want to have in her new design;

• Whiskers
• Fluff
• Warthog like tusk
• cloven hooves
• Some dragon elements, scaled or plated areas

 The first few drawings I made were just putting some ideas down. Having something visual to work from helps you refine and develop your concept.

It is also not a matter of mindlessly throwing ideas together, it is important to have some direction and thought even with your beginning sketches.

Drawing a base for the leg I was able to replicate three more times and added varying alterations seeing what leg style would fit the direction I was going. 

One thing for sure I did not want Kiiri to have too many 'horse' qualities. The modern looking kirins have too many European unicorn qualities about them and I love the traditional kirin look. I do, however want to maintain some 'cute' elements.

I did not like the leg scales or plates, they were too different and made the flow awkward and busy.

Using the previous technique for the legs, I drew a base a new base to test body features out. The horns/antlers are too boring, I like the pincer like ones that are featured on the original design.

COLOURS. So as I have mentioned before the original colours are ghastly.

I wanted a colour pallet that reflected a more Chinese theme, introducing; reds, greens and golds.

Using the base from before I made some colour variations as well as body modifications. 

After this experimentation I feel that some of the colour combinations are 'safe' and lacking personality. I am also forcing myself to step away from familiar or the same colours.

A | This one is definitely different. I like the strong contrast though the saturation of the green and lack of saturation of the red are clashing. That, and the design makes the Kirin look like a watermelon.

B | I love golds and browns. The warm gold and tan coat with a cool grey accents are nice. Though I love these colours. I feel like that these are too similar to what I would normally pick. I like the touch of grey and red eyes. 

C | This one is by far my favourite, which is why I dislike it. It is a safe pallet and a common colour choice that I would normally pick. I want to stay away from 'safe' combinations.

D | This one falls under the same problems as the previous variant. This one is by far my favourite, which is why I dislike it. It is a safe pallet and a common colour choice that I would normally pick. I want to stay away from 'safe' combinations.

FINALIZING THE DESIGN

Kiiri's final body design is primarily taken from the fluffy tail body type featured above. The short tail compliments the neck mane and fluffy belly. 

I really liked the contrasting red and green. Bringing the green to a more blue and pastel compliments the red which I was very keen on using.

For my final version I I switched the red and the green around. As Kirins are said to have fire about them, I felt that the red under belly fur, elbows and mane would be fire like, with the cool greens and grey on top.

I introduced white to break up the solid masses of green around the face and legs, adding some interest without being overwhelming.

The grey eye masks was to add contrast against the pale green and help pop the red eyes.

REVIEW

Over all I am very happy with the final look of Kiiri. A huge change in her look but definitely a very much needed one. At a later date I may consider tweaking the pinkish colour and how it wraps and interacts with the red but for now, I am very content with her.