This digital painting was modeled after one of the most beautiful birds (at least in my opinion). The red-crowned crane, also called the Manchurian crane or Japanese crane, is a large East Asian crane among the rarest cranes in the world.

Interestingly the red-crowned crane (in Japan, it's called tancho, meaning red crown) is known for dancing. They train for years in order to become skillful dancers. I didn't know this prior to making this painting. The funny thing is I always thought cranes radiated elegance and poise similar to that of a dancer. Now I know why.