Takara Chiyo - Sketch

There aren't enough anthro birds out there. So I'm gonna fix that. Takara Chiyo ("treasure of a thousand years," roughly) is a Japanese Crane who also happens to be a swordsmith...and she's not just good at forging the katanas. I don't like to give anthro birds an extra set of limbs because that makes them appear to be gryphons to me, and I don't like the "wings that magically become arms" approach in cartoons; nor do I like the "arms with feathers" style. So I shamelessly swiped Kynekh's way of making anthro birds; wings with claws at the wrist joint. The wings themselves are smaller in relation to the body, but I imagine they'd still work for a steep glide down from a height.

Anyway. Takara. Cranes are sacred symbols in Japanese culture; their courtship dances are amazing, and their voices are unearthly. They're associate with martial arts and also swords, and I don't blame the Japanese for that association, given those beaks. Taking on the Japanese culture and the build of a crane, making Takara a katana wielder seems very appropriate. I've got plans for a kingfisher broadswordsman and a hummingbird fencer, and maybe some other bladebirds, too. But for now, it's just Takara.