30 - KFP OC - Lady Kuan-Yin

EDIT 9/30/08: I realized I didn't give her eyes any sparkle.

100 theme challenge #30 - "Mother"

Well, you ppl waited and waited and finally she's here!! This is my character of Shifu's mother (or ma-mi) and Koto's wife, Lady Kuan-Yin. Genetics are so fun. It's always interesting to look at a character's parents and single out the individual traits that were passed on. So now that you know what both of Shifu's parents look like, try and gauge that.

In consideration that woman warriors were a rarity in ancient China, it was even more so during the time of Shifu's cubhood. Yin knows full well how to be a lady and carry herself with grace and quiet dignity. But she also thinks that men shouldn't get to have ALL the fun. She practices the Shaolin fan form, a fighting technique that performs like a dance. It allows her to turn the tables on an opponent within the blink of an eye lest they threaten her (or her cub... they'd probably get a more painful experience out of that one...) To see a video of this form that Yin practices, go here: [link]

Tried some more techniques on coloring and texturing and lighting... The fan and the orchid flower behind her ear were surprisingly easy to do (the symbols on her fan are terms of what was expected of a woman in the ancient days, BTW. ) And yes! I have a true background!

PLEASE NOTE THAT I USED A PHOTO I FOUND OVER GOOGLE AND ESSENTIALLY TRIED TO 'TRACE' OVER IT IN PHOTOSHOP. I DIDN'T ALTER IT, I SIMPLY STARTED A NEW LAYER AND LOOSELY TRACED OVER IT. I HAVE SENT A NOTE TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER, AND IF HE DOES NOT LIKE WHAT I'VE DONE WITH IT, THE BACKGROUND WILL CHANGE.

Glad I got that off my chest... anyhoo, hope you ppl like this one. Comment please!