Saturday, December 13, 2008

Kappa



The Kappa is a Japanese water spirit, part frog and part turtle. It is given great strength by the liquid it carries in its bowl-like skull. If you should meet a Kappa you must bow to it. Being very polite, the Kappa will return your bow, thus spilling the the liquid from its head and enabling you to make your escape whilst it is still weak.


Thanks for looking!

16 comments:

Unknown said...

Great! Love the bowl head -the narrative elements -everything :)

Mike Corriero said...

Good god dude,
You make me feel like I can reach out and grab him. Great detail and lighting..very realistic. I just went and looked up Kappa on google, interesting critter.

The story narrative hahaha, bow your head, the kappa will bow spilling the water so you can make a break for it lol. ;)

Moai said...

Incredible painting! Excellent sense of light and texture. Great creature design as well, especially the frog-like feet. Fascinating mythology around Kappa, as well.

devin platts said...

oooh :D

i would be *totally* sold on this if the humans in the bg were a bit more solid :P

Unknown said...

wow this is so well rendered, what a funny creature too
lookin' up weird myths and stories is a great way to get inspiration for a new creature pic! (did it with the montauk monster)
great job my friend!

Shreya said...

Fantastic lighting and textures! I really like the angle too. I agree about the comment on giving the humans a bit more love (I do love the painterliness of the water ). Maybe the liquid in his bowl-head could be a little more..liquidy? Right now it just looks like skin. Or did he just bow? :)

Björn Hurri said...

Looking very good! Very eye catching painting.

The look and feel of the creature is solid!

simon dominic said...

Thanks for all the comments and the feedback, really useful to see what people like and what I could've done better - cheers! :)

Greg Broadmore said...

Excellent man, what a great pic. Great way to present a creature design too, tells a little story.
Technically, I really love the shadows, they do a great job of locating him in the tree and foliage.

Remko Troost said...

Great concept!!Love the pic!Very eyecatching and well rendered indeed

simon dominic said...

Thanks, people! :)

Vinod Rams said...

Very cool. The creatures from Japanese mythology are awesome. I'd love to see you do a Tengu next!

simon dominic said...

Thanks Vinod, tengu - good idea, I'll note it down for later!

anima-base said...

Wow, it's great dude~~.
I love your color and textures, renderings.

simon dominic said...

aB - thanks v much!

siker said...

Awesome. I really like the realism. I'm getting a 2nd kappa tattooed on my leg at the moment. He's got a knife with a cucumber handle and is fighting a snake.