Tink... The Continuing Saga

Here we are again, and this time I want to share with you the development on a couple of the fairies.

Some of the main characters of the initial stories – like Rani, Fira or Beck – never made it to the films and thus became the lesser known "girl gang" that surrounded Tink. But their counterparts – Silvermist, Irridessa and Fawn – despite being secondary characters in the books, found their way to the screen.

A few fairies did make the cut:  Rosetta, Vidia, Queen Clarion and Terence.  Unlike Bess, Lily and Prilla... Oh yeah, and Mother Dove...  who don't even have a conterpart in the films.

Speaking of Prilla... she was the "youngest" of the fairies... or should I say newest?  This gets confusing because, you know, they don't age.  Anyway, since everyone had a talent, they gave Prilla a unique one.  She had the ability to astral project her way into the "real world" and visit children.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention.... no fairy left Neverland back then.  So, she was kind of important to keep the belief of fairies alive in the real world to ensure all the other fairies' existence.

Not going to bore you with ALL the fairies, just wanted to touch upon Vidia (at first, "Invidia").  Back then, she was a villain.   She didn't hang out with anyone... kind of Maleficent-like, she was the bad fairy that lived apart from everyone else (who all lived in the same tree, BTW).  She seemed kind of like a Grima Wormtongue (LOTR) that preyed upon the fears and insecurities of other fairies.  Basically, negative karma.

 

Anyway, back to the development process:

As I began my studies, it became painfully apparent how much my skill level was not up to par for this property, and had to practice a lot to begin to understand it.  This involved a lot of research... and a lot of just drawing.  I began to just draw poses.

 

These are only a few examples I kept over the years.  I did many that were so horrible, I had to quickly throw them away before they sprouted more heads and burned holes in the walls.  But as tedious as it was, I had to get the feel of the characters until they were more of a natural extension than just a drawing.  Guess that's what they call "finding the character".

It got a little better as time went on and things developed more.  Instead of trying desperately to cling on to the designated "models", I started bending towards the influences of Fred Moore and Norman Rockwell (for children poses).  And interestingly enough, girls from Anime.  You know, the cute ones... but not so... fully developed.  The posing for the pvc anime figures were perfect to help with getting the feel of these characters.

 

I was just starting to get the hang of it... and then, they decided to make the films...
(to be continued)