I highly recommend that you place the kirin arising from the foams of a sunrise sea or lake.

The myth of the kirin is Chinese in origin, as of many Japanese things. In Chinese mythology, the kirin only appears to herald the birth of a righteous and virtuous man or the beginning of a golden age. When Confucius was born, a kirin rose out of a lake, and many saw it. When Confucius was undecided about his future, contemplating about it beside a lake, under a tree, a kirin emerged from the water with a scroll in his mouth.

Kirin lore has it that the single horn is ivory in color and texture. It is not hard like ivory, instead it is made of flesh. The holy horn is not for defense or killing. It is to point out the wrong from right. Justice Bao of Kaifeng of the Song Dynasty was said to have a kirin in his courthouse. The kirin never failed to point out the guilty party.

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Tommy | [Cerulea: Discovery & Conquest in the Skies]

Chinese scholars propagate that the kirin is an allegory of the righteous, virtuous and wise. It is not a wild beast but a creature with human consciousness. It is the absolute symbol of the cultured mind, victorious against the barbaric societies.

By the way, your work is great still!

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Tommy | [Cerulea: Discovery & Conquest in the Skies]

Oh gosh, I never knew all that about kirin. To be honest, my only exposure to them has been through anime (hence my focus on the Japanese version). I like the idea of it rising from a sea or lake, though. I think I will let this particular picture stay as it is, only because changing the background would be a lot of work. But I intend to do another kirin in the future. When I do it will come from a lake. That sounds like it would make a very beautiful image.

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On a black throne made of gouged out eyes
Sits the Regent of Darkness, the Lord of the Flies

I like that description. It sounds far better than the one I cobbled together from wikipedia The kirin is definitely an awesome creature.

Perhaps you can tell me a bit about dragons before I do the Chinese dragon pic. That way I can give a proper description with the image.

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On a black throne made of gouged out eyes
Sits the Regent of Darkness, the Lord of the Flies

This is amazing. You certainly did a great job of picking the elements that made up a very believable creature. (The very informative comments you have received were nice to read as well). Again, very nice work from you.

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Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they will never cease to be amused.
-unknown-

Woah thats awesome Everything works amazing together. Really well done !!

Faved !

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When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Member of #designerscouch

Thank you so much, darling! Always glad to hear from you!

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On a black throne made of gouged out eyes
Sits the Regent of Darkness, the Lord of the Flies

Thank you!

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On a black throne made of gouged out eyes
Sits the Regent of Darkness, the Lord of the Flies

Damn. That looks cool.
I think the background works much better with it, and helps the Kirin to look less cut out.
The lighting, espcially on the hair/fur looks great. Yay for dramatic lighting that has sun rays!

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"...but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world."
-V for Vendetta

O.o that's messed up.
In a very very good way.

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~Paint The Future Black, If It Needs A Color~