Theresa Chen Arzola

Illustrator & Graphic Novelist

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12 Lunar Year Zodiacs

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About The Book

12 Lunar Year Zodiacs is a coloring book of 12 pages, 1 page per zodiac animal of the Lunar Year.

While it originated from China (and is often called the “Chinese Zodiac”), the Lunar Year Zodiac is widely followed by many East and Southeast Asian countries. Over centuries of cultural migration and evolution, the zodiac animals have been shared across borders, adapting into the regional customs and traditions of each nation. This coloring book celebrates the history and diversity of these East and Southeast Asian countries through their connection in the Lunar Year Zodiac.

Each page depicts a woman in the cultural attire of an East Asian or Southeast Asian country that follows the Lunar Year Calendar.

Further Details

Each spread in the book includes a snippet explaining the cultural significance of the zodiac animal or an interesting fact about the traditional attire of that country. For Vietnam, the dragon is significant to their origin folklore.

This project was a combination of several interests of mine: drawing line art, drawing women in dresses, and exploring cultural history. I wanted to go beyond the typical interpretation of the “Chinese Lunar Year Zodiacs” and understand how other Asian nations evolved to include the zodiac animals in their culture.

Through this research, I started seeing patterns of connectivity and cultural significance between different nations and specific animals, as well as the role of women in their societies and the cultural significance of their “national attire” or historical attire. All this inspired me to create this set of illustrations as a book.

There could be whole books written about each country. This coloring book provides just a glimpse into the richness of that history in relaxing and interactive way.

Year of the Rabbit went to Japan due to their folklore about the rabbit in the moon, which is celebrated in the late summer. This woman is wearing a yukata, the traditional summer garb of Japan, while silhouetted by a moon.
China represents the Year of the Rat because of its place as first in the Lunar Zodiac calendar. While the Lunar Calendar is known and used throughout Asia, China is the historic origin and thus deserves the honor of first in this series.
In Nepal, the Rooster is substituted by a phoenix, whose symbolism I incorporated into this woman’s cultural attire and adornments. She stands intentionally proud and regal in her regalia, further exemplifying the phoenix she represents.

For more information about this book, inquiries about bulk orders, or other questions, you can reach out to me via email at theresa@theresaarzola.com.

To purchase a copy for personal use, visit my Square Shop.