DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION: THE 12 BUDDHAS
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Client: Me
Project Description: Design Buddha for my first tattoo
Background Information: The first Buddha (the one that serves as a link to this page) was originally conceived as an idea for my first tattoo. After a while though I put him aside as I didn't feel he was quite up to snuff. I hadn't looked at him for years but while updating my website here I started looking over some older projects that either never got off the ground or never found an application. So I started working on them again for fun and managed to complete twelve that I was happy with (who strangely reminded me of some of my closest friends). For some reason the idea of completing twelve of them seemed important. Once I was done I decided to see if there was any significance to the idea of twelve Buddhas, so I consulted the all seeing all knowing Google and stumbled upon the following from https://www.onmarkproductions.com.
"The 12 Heavenly Generals protect and serve Yakushi Nyorai (the Medicine Buddha). The twelve are Hindu Yasha 夜叉 (Skt. = Yakṣa or Yaksha) who were later incorporated into Buddhism as protective warriors. In Japanese sculpture and art, they are almost always grouped in a protective circle around Yakushi Nyorai -- they are rarely shown independently. Many say they represent the twelve vows of Yakushi; others say the 12 were present when the Historical Buddha introduced the “Healing Sutra;” yet others that they offer protection during the 12 daylight hours, or that they represent the 12 months and 12 cosmic directions, or the 12 animals of the 12-year Chinese zodiac. The Jūni Shinshō are also members of the Tenbu (Sanskrit: Deva), a larger grouping of deities protecting the Buddhist realm."
With this new bit of information I decided to include the chop and the Yaksha characters to give them that extra Asian vibe for the final version. I also drew upon the graphics I saw as a kid in the 80's when pseudo Asian inspired graphics were finding their way onto clothing and main stream media (think Big Trouble in Little China here ;).
Project Description: Design Buddha for my first tattoo
Background Information: The first Buddha (the one that serves as a link to this page) was originally conceived as an idea for my first tattoo. After a while though I put him aside as I didn't feel he was quite up to snuff. I hadn't looked at him for years but while updating my website here I started looking over some older projects that either never got off the ground or never found an application. So I started working on them again for fun and managed to complete twelve that I was happy with (who strangely reminded me of some of my closest friends). For some reason the idea of completing twelve of them seemed important. Once I was done I decided to see if there was any significance to the idea of twelve Buddhas, so I consulted the all seeing all knowing Google and stumbled upon the following from https://www.onmarkproductions.com.
"The 12 Heavenly Generals protect and serve Yakushi Nyorai (the Medicine Buddha). The twelve are Hindu Yasha 夜叉 (Skt. = Yakṣa or Yaksha) who were later incorporated into Buddhism as protective warriors. In Japanese sculpture and art, they are almost always grouped in a protective circle around Yakushi Nyorai -- they are rarely shown independently. Many say they represent the twelve vows of Yakushi; others say the 12 were present when the Historical Buddha introduced the “Healing Sutra;” yet others that they offer protection during the 12 daylight hours, or that they represent the 12 months and 12 cosmic directions, or the 12 animals of the 12-year Chinese zodiac. The Jūni Shinshō are also members of the Tenbu (Sanskrit: Deva), a larger grouping of deities protecting the Buddhist realm."
With this new bit of information I decided to include the chop and the Yaksha characters to give them that extra Asian vibe for the final version. I also drew upon the graphics I saw as a kid in the 80's when pseudo Asian inspired graphics were finding their way onto clothing and main stream media (think Big Trouble in Little China here ;).