The Guardian’s Friend
Natalie N.
-
This is an illustration I made of an original story that I've been working on for the past year. The story is titled "Broken Realms" and is inspired by Vietnamese folklore and culture. I wanted to create a fantasy story that spotlights Southeast Asians, specifically Vietnamese culture, since there isn't much representation of us in the media. My illustrations focus on highlighting the beauty of my Vietnamese heritage and designing characters that combat harmful stereotypes of East and Southeast Asian women such as the "Dragon lady" and "China doll" tropes. My hope is to share my culture with others through my artwork and provide a more positive representation of my culture.
The illustration itself depicts a dragon from Vietnamese culture interacting with one of the characters that I've designed named Y?n. The background itself is inspired by Vietnam's landscapes as well. This piece is one of my favorites that I've made as it combines my own culture and heritage with the fantasy genre that I love so much.
-
Creativity means expressing my values and beliefs in beautiful, fantastical, and sometimes serious ways to share with others. Creativity has the power to tell stories that are not often heard and impact people emotionally to generate important conversations of how we view one another.
