キツネ (Kitsune)

Visual Design, Art Direction, Illustration, Type / Layout

Student/Personal Project | 20 weeks

Project Overview

Created for a multi-quarter self-led project, キツネ (Kitsune) is an illustrated book about mythical fox creatures in Japanese folklore, known as kitsune, inspired by my interests in fine art, animals, and mythology.

Kitsune are a type of yōkai — mythical creatures in Japanese folklore. They are known for possessing powerful supernatural abilities such as shapeshifting and possession. While they are often portrayed as tricksters, some are also venerated as the messengers of Inari, the Shinto deity of rice and fertility.

This book provides a general overview of kitsune, highlighting some of the different types, common powers and abilities, and kitsune characters from folklore.

This project gave me the opportunity to step away from the computer and use more traditional methods of creation. All of the illustrations in the book are hand-painted on watercolor paper or Japanese rice paper with Japanese watercolors and sumi ink.

my painting workspace