Investigating the Japanese Kappa in illustration

A drawing of a kappa that was supposedly captured on a beach in Japan in 1836. According to records from the time, this kappa was 1 meter long, weighed 45 kg and had a bent neck and protruding chest.
Suiko Koryaku,(1836) Koga Toan

The Kappa of Japanese folklore are human-like water imp creatures that are said to have the same height as a child and are very proficient in sumo wrestling. They were also said to haunt inhabit rivers, ponds and lakes, and were also responsible for drowning horses and children. In supernatural mythology, they are categorised as one of many yokai spirits and are essentially a amphibious hybrid of human and turtle with webbed feet. 

The Kappa in modern illustrated media
Kappas are often illustrated as being a anthropomorphed fusion of a human and a turtle, having a shell on its back and a beak. Many companies or artists who illustrate the mythical creature often make a human-like, and sometimes cartoonistic impression of the kappa.

Yokai Watch
Image result for kappa yokai watch
Faux Kappa, Yokai Watch. [Animated Series] Level-5.

Level-5 takes a cartoonistic approach tailored towards that of anime and manga audiences. The kappa is simplified to its basic features, whilst focusing on certain key descriptive features of the kappa to ascertain the kappa as its own character.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Muramasa Rebirth Concept Art. Vanillaware

Vanillaware adopts a particular graphic style that represents the juvenile and amphibian aspect of a kappa. The artists have kept faithful to the general build of the kappa but have also adorned them with Japanese style accessories to match the Edo period setting of the game. However, it can come across as looking like just a frog in a turtle shell.

Sketchbook

In order to understand the aesthetics and general build of the kappa, I did some observational studies on different creatures and objects, as well as experimental sketches of puppets to learn the scaling and placement of the features for the kappa.




Resources:
HISTORY (2015), Ancient Aliens: The Legendary Japanese Kappa, Creatures of the Deep. [TV Show], Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjOWPD7hJhw

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