Manabozho

Manabozho, from my fantasy/mythology serial Manitou Island [link] I used a tutorial I found here to try to draw him as I'm lousy at drawing my characters, especially humans; this isn't EXACTLY how I picture him, but it's close.

Manabozho, or the Great Rabbit, is the culture hero/trickster of Ojibwa mythology. And he plays a huge part in my stories. He teaches Charmian how to use some of her powers and communicate with manitous (he's half manitou himself, being the son of the West Wind), and Return To Manitou Island and Escape From Manitou Island are loosely based on stories from his own myths. He can shapeshift into the form of a rabbit, and also has a sort of "powered-up" form known as Michibou (the more literal name for Great Rabbit). He has four other brothers--Chakenapok, who is younger than he is, and Wabasso, Peepaukawiss, and Mudjikawiss, all older. As his father never came to see him and his mother died in childbirth, he was raised by his grandmother. He's also the most contradictory of the siblings, being at times wise and foolish, brave and cowardly, powerful and weak, confident and uncertain. He loves to boast, and pretend that nothing gets to him, but even Charmian can see through his tough facade to the often frightened, eager-to-please half-human inside.

Manabozho, even though not of my own creation, has quickly become a favorite character of mine and even though I put my own spin on him, if you look at the traditional myths you'll see that he really does act like this a lot. He's the link between humanity and the spirit world, a hero to his people, but he was also abandoned and rejected and always uncertain about his place in things. Of course, I relate to that a lot, and it's always a pleasure writing him. I was actually afraid to try drawing him lest I do it wrong and upset him, but I think he turned out moderately okay for a first try.

Manabozho is from Ojibwa mythology, but this representation is copyrighted to me.