Do you know what a Kitsune is?
As a lover of both Myths and the Japanese culture, I enjoy diving into their folklore of old and how it stays present today.
Kitsune literally means fox but is also what they call the yokai (spirit, if you will) fox of myth. This creature is a fox, often with multiple tails, and can shapeshift (among other varying abilities). Depending on the story or type, they can be evil and sly or loyal gaurdians of a shrine, often with a mistress.
These interesting beings are heavily present in modern Japanese culture and extending to a wider audience with games, anime, manga, and art. They are usually girls or boys with ears and a tail and more cute or sexy than old depictions. They fall into the the subculture of "Furries" which is a modern grouping of any furry animal mix with human in anime or other media(cat, squirrel, etc).
They are seen a lot in the art community for people into anime style as many young people are nowadays. You can have a lot of fun with how much of the fox aspect you want to be represented in your character.
I used kitsunes as a base for some personal painting. Not a project or commission. Just chose something that would make me happy and to practice on. No pressure and just having fun. I find them fun, along with "neko-chan" or a cat girl (as they are pretty similar in look) as they mix my favorite animals with a character.
If you're interested in learning more about kitsunes...I recommend reading Japanese Mythology stories or watch videos breaking down creatures within the mythology. Japan has very unique myths compared to the classic Greek, Norse, or Egyptian.
For some lighter exposure, these are my anime recommendations that have kitsune characters that give a bit of a sense of who they really are to the Japanese culture.
• Spice & Wolf
• Kamisama Kiss
• Inari Kon Kon
Do you like myths? Do you ever make art based on characters from myths or fairytales?
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