Second piece from art collection 'The Fall of Destinies'.

Way of the sword has made it's bearer must face the trial of sins before entering Heaven. That courtplace is Meido, the gate before Heaven or also known as purgatory.
The trial will count the balance of her life karma, if good karma is dominant, she is cleansed from sins and may enter the Heaven.
But if bad karma is heavier, she is required to face the testament of sin to purge her soul before she can continue with her next life cycle.

This piece took quite a lot of time, maybe around 80 hours or so, done in Photoshop.
For facial expression, i want to create a young pretty female, but looks mature enough as she has face all good and bad thing in her life.
So when i came across Maggie Q photos, i can't say anything else, because she is just the perfect character.
I also did an extensive research about irezumi or japanese tattoo through google image.
The outlines for the koi fish tattoo were created by using pen tool to maintain sharp look.
References: [link]

Feel free to give comments

Other piece:
Redemption [link]
Salvation [link]