Drawing a Kukeri dancer from Bulgaria.

Hello steemit is Johann. Today I want to show you a drawing from a traditional ritual from ok Bulgaria, the kukeri dancers.

The kukeri is a ritual dating back millennia intended to dispel the evil and invite good. The dancers cover all their body with decorated mask and large bells attached to the belts, showing references to the landscape of their region. Kuker is a divinity personifying fecundity, embodying certain figures can represent the human inside symbolically assuming that figure power. After parading around the village, they usually gather at the village square to dance wildly and amuse the people.

The ritual's origins are unclear, kukeri practice has survived Christianization, an ottoman occupation, and decades of dictatorship communism.

Now I want to show you my creative process to draw a kukeri dancer.

Step 1. Doing the first.

In every drawing you have to create the outline, so I use a pencil to do this. I prefer to begin with the proportions, head and torso first to have an idea. Then I began to applied color to the head, I always prefer to begin with the upper part and go down to prevent to mess up the drawing.

The hat is really important because have a lot of diverse colors so I put emphasis in this part.

Step 2. Applying color.

Then I began to applied colors to the torso, this part is relatively easy because I just have to applied texture and form to the costume.

Step 3. Finishing the drawing.

In the end I finish by creating a texture similar to the human hair that the kukeri dancers used in theirs pants.

I hope that you enjoyed this story, I really like the tradition of the kukeri. Stay tuned for more publication and more pieces of cultures.

Thank you for reading.