GUAN XIAN, THE BLACK TORTOISE
My Illustration thesis was character and creature concept art, and the theme behind it was chinese mythology. Specifically, each direction of the compass has an animal associated with it, as well as an element, a color, and a ranking, among other attributes. My goal was to create a female warrior (each one of a different nation) to use one of the animals as their mount into battle.
Gui Xian, the Black Tortoise, represents north and its element is water/ice. It’s known as the Black Warrior.