Yakshi

'Lo chums! So I finished a new drawing (besides a Mario Monster one) at last, and the funny thing is, I just started this one Friday night! Don't worry, backlogged drawings, you gonna get yo chance!

Okay, so as some of you may know, I've been taking class called "Art History of Asia" at college, and (as I suspected when I signed up for it) this has got to be the most usefull class I have ever taken! It covers all the far eastern (no middle east) nations's artistic developement, and focuses mainly on Inda, China, and Japan.

This picture's particular inspiration comes from the "Yakshi", a kind of Buddhist statue from ancient India. The Yakshi (and their male counterparts, the Yaksha) were some of the first statues in history to display the "tribhanga" or S-curve, and this picture would be no exception. One special type of Yakshi that is present here is the kind that leans against a tree, with hands and arms around branches, and feet against the tree's base. "Shalabhanjika" is the name my book gives for this subtype, but I think I remember hearing a different name in class.

Oh and by the way this isn't just anybody I drew as a Yakshi here, this would be Tiberes, the buddhist monk stylin' were-simese cat princess thingy lady.... from the Intrepids, of course. She's Siamese (or Thai, if you wanna go by modern names), but Siam was heavily influenced by India (the Buddhist parts, in particular), so I didn't she would be out of place as a Yakshi. In fact, I beleive there are some Thai Yaksha statues (not sure about Yakshi, though).

I decided to use a mix of Indian and Thai dancing apparel for her costume, as well as a bit o' my own spice. Real Yakshi wear MUCH less clothing. The tree is modeled after a bodhi tree (go find out why, it'll be FUN), but is rather ornimental, since the leaves are made of gold and the trunk is stone. I didn't plan it to come out this way, but I certainly don't object to the way the tree turned out!