Byakko

Also known as the White Tiger of the West 西方白虎

Byakko (or Bai Hu in Chinese) is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese Constellation, along with Genbu (Black Tortoise) Seiryuu (Blue Dragon) and Suzaku (Red Sparrow). Byakko represents the West, the autumn season and the element of Metal (Wind in the Japanese system).

I love the Four Symbols and I've always wanted to paint them, but for some reason it never turned out quite like I wanted to (I have a failed Suzaku gathering dust somewhere in the dark crevices of my harddisc) And it just so happened that I recently mentioned my account to friends of mine and my Mom suggested me to draw a tiger (since I love those so much) Then, my brother forced me to draw a decent Background for once (as you can see I cheated ) and this is what came out. It has my Mom's approval, so this one is good enough to submit

Took me a damn while to get the head to look good, but I'm pleased with the result. I used the same colour scheme and used the same dodge technique (though not as much) as I've used in 'Ophis Astra'. Since that piece turned out to be the most popular thing in my gallery I figured I gave the sky thing another try.

Oh and just a tidbit more about Byakko which I shamelessly copied from Wikipedia

During the Han Dynasty, people believed the tiger to be the king of all beasts. Legend had it that when a tiger reached 500 years old, its tail would turn white. In this way, the white tiger became a mythological creature. It was said that the white tiger would only appear when the emperor ruled with absolute virtue, or if there was peace throughout the world. Because the color white of the Chinese five elements also represents the west, the white tiger thus became a mythological guardian of the west.

Enough rambling now. I hope you like it!

~Vyrilien

Medium: Painter 2, PS (for the dodge tool), Wacom Tablet

Time taken: I'd say an hour or six

Other parts in the Series (Four Symbols):

Seiryuu: [link]
Genbu: [link]
Suzaku: [link]

And a hidden Fifth...

Huang Long: [link]

PS: those characters in the corner aren't the tiger's name. It's my Chinese name