Makara

A mythical aquatic beast that can be encountered, and potentially recruited as an ally, in Atlus' Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (デビルサマナー ソウル ハッカーズ) Sega Saturn (1997), Sony Playstation (1999), and Nintendo 3DS (2012/2013) roleplaying video game. In the Hindu religion, Makara is the living Vahana (vehicle) of the goddess of the Ganges River, Ganga, and, sometimes, the god of the sea, Varuna. Makara, which means "sea dragon" or "water monster" in Sanskrit, is usually depicted as being half fish and half some other animal, although exactly which organism can vary considerably. These combinations include, but are not limited to, elephant, crocodile, and stag (which is obviously what we have here). Several experts have speculated that the myth of Makara is based upon sightings of various real-world animals that are, or were, native to India, like the South Asian River Dolphin (once numerous, but now endangered) or even the prehistoric mammal Ambulocetus.

Makara (マカラ) Statistics
		Clan: Dragon Gods (龍神, "Ryuujin")Dragons revered in Eastern religions and/or legendary dragons defeated by mythological heroes. In Soul Hackers, this clan consists of: Vritra, Gucumatz, Illuyanka, Seiryuu, and Makara.
		Alignment: Chaotic GoodBenevolent, but unpredictable, in nature. Dislikes the strictness of Lawful characters and simply will not tolerate Evil ones.
		Personality: KindPrefers a nonviolent role in combat. Only command it to defend itself from attacks and/or use healing/support magic to increase its loyalty towards you. Enjoys receiving flowers as gifts. When its loyalty is high, it will actively protect the player from harm, even at the expense of its own life.
		Experience Level: 38
		Hit Points (HP): 383		Magic Points (MP): 134
		Consumption Points (CP): 6		Magnetite Summon: 452
Strength: 10	Intelligence: 9	Magic: 15	Endurance: 9	Agility: 12	Luck: 7
Physical Attack: 96	Physical Accuracy: 61	Magical Attack: 128	Magical Accuracy: 32	Base Defense: 110	Evasion: 60
Resist: -	Void: Expel	Absorb: -	Reflect: Electricity	Weak: -
Skills: Media - 6 MP (Restores a small amount of hit points to the entire party.) Shock - 4 MP (Deals electric damage to one row of enemies and may inflict the Shock negative status ailment.) Paraladi - 3 MP (Cures one paralyzed ally.)

Materials:
Newsprint, tissue paper, white glue, acrylic paint, super glue, and transparent plastic (disc base only).

Dimensions:
6.7 cm (2.6") x 5.8 cm (2.3") [widest point x highest point]

Time:
One day; December 13, 2013 (Friday the 13th, lucky!).

Below are several mid-construction photos of my Makara figurine. Until I actually sat down to work on this project, I wasn't sure if I was going to make the simpler, and cuter, DemiKids version or the more realistic Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers one, which is why you see quick reference sketches for both. Ultimately, I split the difference by doing the Soul Hackers version with the DemiKids pose, which I think worked out well.

For comparison/informational purposes, below are several relevant images:



Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers Makara artwork, by Kazuma "Kaz" Kaneko.



Devil Children Makara artwork.



DemiKids Light/Dark Makara demonary entry.



The goddess Ganga riding Makara (artist unknown).
The Makara is completely crocodile-like in form in this particular illustration.

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The midi music playing is "Law (Orchestrated)", one of the themes from the SNES video game Shin Megami Tensei (Reincarnation of the True Goddess).