Kitsune Mid-Transform by Chrissyissypoo19 on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

A little darker looking than what I'm used to drawing, but I'm still pretty proud how it turned out!

Anywho, this is Shin, and for those of you who do not know, he is a new character I have made recently that will be one of the main characters in an upcoming novel about Japanese yokai and folklore. Basically, he's a kitsune which is a Japanese fox yokai. To learn more about him and his profile go here. -->

In my opinion, it kind of baffles me when I see so much art on here of kitsunes, and they're basically just these "kawaii-desu" fluffy, or overly sexualized creatures, even when you are able to see some of their fox features (i.e. tails and ears). It got me thinking. Kitsunes are actually pretty freaking scary, if you do your research. They have the abilities to make the creepiest illusions, are able to posses people, and enjoy frightening humans and other yokai. Typically the kitsune uses their shape shifting to lure a victim, into a false sense of security, and then when the (typically human) victim is most vulnerable, they will either pull some sort of trick or even attack them (some have been known to steal souls, rumoring to absorb the chi). The same goes for their kistunebi (or foxfire), they are like will'o the wisps, and will lead people astray into dark forests to be lost forever. Therefore I felt the need to portray Shin in such a manner to match up better with the mythology. Yes, there are some benevolent kitsune, but there are also ones that will occasionally stray off the path of good. This happens to be one of Shin's character flaws which I plan to emphasize in my new novel.

~Chrissy