Revisiting Illustration Friday: Dessert

After my wedding, I've been working hard on finishing this "dessert" illustration, which I had submitted without finishing it two weeks ago. Now it's done!

"Wedding Dessert" by littlepixyboots.blogspot.com

It's actually rather unbecoming that I submitted the unfinished drawing with the bride and the groom wearing white the first time. White signifies death and bad luck in the Chinese culture. So...no more bad luck! Red will chase all the bad luck away :)

Closeup of Chinese bride

Isn't the bride lovely? I gave her typical fair skin, treasured by the Chinese as a sign of beauty. Alas, I myself do not fit such a beauty ideal, but have tanned skin that a Caucasian/Norwegian would like. Yes, my Viking Man likes my skin very much...

She's eating a dessert called tang yuan, commonly eaten during Chinese New Year and weddings. See my previous post on this to find out what it signifies.

Notice the birdies on her headdress? I tried my best to simplify the drawing...but have you seen the real shebang? It's hideously complicated.

Chinese bridal headdress

See? I simplified and stylised the thousand and one phoenixes on the bridal headdress, the hundred pearls and the crazy design on the dress too. Very nice on the dress, but not on my cartoon. Phoenix usually symbolises the female, and the dragon symbolises the male.

simplified phoenix & lotus pattern on bridal dress

Before starting on this illustration, I never noticed that a lot of bridal headdresses are mostly blue. I've always thought that Chinese brides wear red from top to toe. Guess I was wrong. There are some dangly things too, that I observed from my other research photos. I think they symbolise infinity.

Handsome Chinese bridegroom

I like my handsome Chinese bridegroom. Added some sparkle to his cheeks too :)

wedding "ball" on groom's torso

I never truly understood what this ribbon ball stands for, but a lot of grooms can look ridiculous with this ball in front of torso, especially if they are pudgy. But Viking Man has a theory that this ball of red ribbon could be a shield that protects the male, who has the protective function and duty to protect the female and the family. So... this ball is very important :)

"Xi" - Double Happiness

A common word you see in Chinese weddings is this Chinese character/word called "xi" (pronouced "sea"). Usually one side of this character means happiness, a double repeat means two people coming together in happiness. Having items in twos and even numbers is very important during weddings, because it signifies a union of two people and two families.

That's all folks!

See my previous post on Illustration Friday: Dessert

x pixy