In this tutorial, I use Photoshop Elements, but the techniques I use can be used in almost any art program. It can be time-consuming, but it is rewarding 
I hope Kirin are close enough to horses to work here The same techniques can be applied.
STEP 1: Research.
For those of you who don't know, Kirin are a type of japanese mythological creature, usually called "Japanese Unicorns."
I looked at some websites for Kirin, and I discovered that they were very varied in appearance. Some were very deer-like, most were very dragon-like; some had one horn, some had several; some were furred, others very serpentine. I decided that I would have to decide exactly what I wanted mine to look like on my own.
Some good reference sites for Kirin, if you are interested:
http://www.ladykirin.com/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/25548070/?qo=21&q=kirin&qh=boost%3Apopular+age_sigma%3A24h+age_scale%3A5
http://www.youkaimura.org/kirin.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirin
I decided that I wanted my Kirin to be somewhat realistic, so I based my design off of real animals' anatomy, mostly horses and deer. I started with quick sketches to see what looked good and what didn't. I decided to go with the deer-style head instead of the dragon-style head. Here's the early finalized design.
(Note: this is just a design sketch, the anatomy is horrible here, I know)
STEP 2: Sketch
I started the actual picture with a pencil sketch which I scanned into my computer, but it is also possible to just to the original sketch in the computer and skip the pencil stage. I personally think my art is more fluid if I do it by hand first.
Here's the sketch:
STEP 3: Ink
Inking is often mind-numbing, but important. I prefer to do my inking on a layer above the original sketch, so that I can color the picture without worrying about the lines. Once you are done with the inking, you can replace the pencil sketch layer with a solid background color. Something dark usually works good.
(In Photoshop Elements, the layers are on the far right side of the screen, but different programs have different ways of using layers, so you might want to ask the help files if you can't find them on your program.)
Here's the final inked picture with the background layer:
STEP 4: LOTS of coloring
After inking, you can start coloring; I make sure that the lowest layer I put down is the darkest shade that I want to use.
When filling highlights, I pick the direction I want the light to be coming from in the picture, and begin to put down layer after layer of slightly lighter shades of the same color.
Repeat laying down the colors on the other portions of the picture.
When this is finished, touch up the edges so that there are no stray pixels of color out of place. Look over the whole picture to make sure you aren't missing an important detail! Now, you are ready to add a background!
STEP 5: Background
Backgrounds can be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be. For this picture, I'm just doing a simple background so that the colors of the Kirin stand out.
Add a signature, and you're done!
(EDIT) I made this a while ago; I'm almost perfectly happy with the male (the red one), but I'm still not completely happy with the way that the female's legs turned out. I had tried to adjust the female's legs a few times, but they didn't look right no matter what I did with them.
Please don't use/trace/upload these anywhere without my permission
Thanks for reading! I hope it helped! Post any questions/ comments you have!
-AP
I hope Kirin are close enough to horses to work here The same techniques can be applied.STEP 1: Research.
For those of you who don't know, Kirin are a type of japanese mythological creature, usually called "Japanese Unicorns."
I looked at some websites for Kirin, and I discovered that they were very varied in appearance. Some were very deer-like, most were very dragon-like; some had one horn, some had several; some were furred, others very serpentine. I decided that I would have to decide exactly what I wanted mine to look like on my own.
Some good reference sites for Kirin, if you are interested:
http://www.ladykirin.com/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/25548070/?qo=21&q=kirin&qh=boost%3Apopular+age_sigma%3A24h+age_scale%3A5
http://www.youkaimura.org/kirin.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirin
I decided that I wanted my Kirin to be somewhat realistic, so I based my design off of real animals' anatomy, mostly horses and deer. I started with quick sketches to see what looked good and what didn't. I decided to go with the deer-style head instead of the dragon-style head. Here's the early finalized design.
(Note: this is just a design sketch, the anatomy is horrible here, I know)
STEP 2: Sketch
I started the actual picture with a pencil sketch which I scanned into my computer, but it is also possible to just to the original sketch in the computer and skip the pencil stage. I personally think my art is more fluid if I do it by hand first.
Here's the sketch:
STEP 3: Ink
Inking is often mind-numbing, but important. I prefer to do my inking on a layer above the original sketch, so that I can color the picture without worrying about the lines. Once you are done with the inking, you can replace the pencil sketch layer with a solid background color. Something dark usually works good.
(In Photoshop Elements, the layers are on the far right side of the screen, but different programs have different ways of using layers, so you might want to ask the help files if you can't find them on your program.)
Here's the final inked picture with the background layer:
STEP 4: LOTS of coloring
After inking, you can start coloring; I make sure that the lowest layer I put down is the darkest shade that I want to use.
When filling highlights, I pick the direction I want the light to be coming from in the picture, and begin to put down layer after layer of slightly lighter shades of the same color.
Repeat laying down the colors on the other portions of the picture.
When this is finished, touch up the edges so that there are no stray pixels of color out of place. Look over the whole picture to make sure you aren't missing an important detail! Now, you are ready to add a background!
STEP 5: Background
Backgrounds can be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be. For this picture, I'm just doing a simple background so that the colors of the Kirin stand out.
Add a signature, and you're done!
(EDIT) I made this a while ago; I'm almost perfectly happy with the male (the red one), but I'm still not completely happy with the way that the female's legs turned out. I had tried to adjust the female's legs a few times, but they didn't look right no matter what I did with them.
Please don't use/trace/upload these anywhere without my permission
Thanks for reading! I hope it helped! Post any questions/ comments you have!
-AP
