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AsjJohnson — Once upon a time...

Published: 2014-05-10 16:31:50 +0000 UTC; Views: 17254; Favourites: 386; Downloads: 0
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Description For the 's Mother's Day contest 2014.
Lady Tremaine with Drizella and Anastasia.

I figured Lady Tremaine could've been a pretty nice mother once upon a time. At least, Cinderella's father must've chose her because of being a good mother.
I thought of the book being Snow White because Snow White was before Cinderella. But there are some similarities between the two stories, too, with Snow White's stepmother being jealous of Snow White and making her into a maid. But Lady Tremaine does what she does mainly for her kids. She wants them to have a good life.

I start work on it right after seeing the journal about the contest, and I still just barely get it done on time.
First time trying to draw characters from Cinderella. ...I was going to draw Cinderella, too, but I wasn't sure if I'd get the picture done on time and decided to do her last, because Cinderella's not important.
I referenced a video I took of myself holding a book and mock-reading to two stuffed animals (I'd thought about animating Lady Tremaine looking between Drizella and Anastasia, but decided not to), as well as referencing screenshots from Youtube and disneyscreencaps.com.
I think I got the idea for the picture last year but didn't draw it. I'm not certain, though, because I didn't look to see what note I might've written about the idea.
Kind'a a coincidence, I found out when looking for some references that there's a prologue thing at the beginning of Cinderella with the characters at the same ages I was going to draw them (and with similar clothes, though a bit frillier), as well as the beginning and ending of Snow White showing Snow White's book. So I didn't have to make up the book design or the clothes/hair of the characters, after all. (but ignore the spine of the book, because I got a little too panicked about the time to compare references and instead just doodled some spirally stuff)

I gave both the kids greenish eyes, after their mother, though different shades (Drizella's darker and a bit gray, and Anastasia's darker). I tried to make the characters look like them (like Drizella having a pointy nose), but also more... nice looking at the same time. But they're already kind'a cute in the prologue, too. (Drizella's hair should probably be a bit darker, since the prologue's colors seem a bit faded, but I liked the idea of her hair becoming darker as she got older, since that happens sometimes.)
(also, you ever notice that Cinderella characters wear those Aladdin gem things? I thought that was a little interesting. I didn't add the highlights to these, though, because I think they're probably opaque, not see-through. Can't really see Anastasia's light blue one here, though, since the book covered it. ...it also covers quite a bit of their dresses. I probably should've saved some time and not drawn all that behind the book.)
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Comments: 70

menslady125 [2022-05-14 00:26:06 +0000 UTC]

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Blaria95-love-bunny [2022-05-03 04:11:59 +0000 UTC]

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cjbolan [2022-01-28 04:59:45 +0000 UTC]

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EyBas In reply to cjbolan [2023-07-31 17:57:35 +0000 UTC]

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SillyOlBear1989 [2018-03-05 22:09:35 +0000 UTC]

Pretty sure Lady T was a crappy mom to her own kids too. But this pic is too cute.

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gibbs615 [2016-04-14 23:31:21 +0000 UTC]

Anastasia looks like the youngest one Actually in Cinderella 3 I think it became pretty clear that she WAS the youngest one cause of how she was acting and starting to turn good and Drizella was kinda acting like the older one who was on their mother's side 

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LadyLambdadelta In reply to gibbs615 [2017-12-06 15:51:56 +0000 UTC]

How does Anastasia becoming good prove she's the younger sister? If anything her getting the first chance to try on the slipper would imply she's the older sister.

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gibbs615 In reply to LadyLambdadelta [2017-12-06 17:47:31 +0000 UTC]

Haven't you noticed how Anastasia acted like a SILLY LITTLE KID! who was having a change of heart & Drizella sorta acted like the more mature & STILL MEAN one   

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LadyLambdadelta In reply to gibbs615 [2017-12-07 14:14:41 +0000 UTC]

That doesn't really prove anything, older siblings can be immature and younger siblings can be mature. And what about the fact that Anastasia was the first one to try on the slipper?

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gibbs615 In reply to LadyLambdadelta [2020-06-18 16:11:43 +0000 UTC]

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AsjJohnson In reply to gibbs615 [2016-04-15 00:44:20 +0000 UTC]

hm... it's been a little while, and now I can't remember the impression I had. Whether I felt more like Anastasia was a year or two younger, or whether I felt they were twins that had different body types and personalities. I should probably watch the movies again sometime...
Poor Drizella needs to fall in love and find true happiness, too. ):

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gibbs615 In reply to AsjJohnson [2016-04-15 01:00:21 +0000 UTC]

Well if you have NETFLIX just try to find them on there and watch them again and you'll see what I mean 

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Luiz4200 [2015-06-28 21:43:38 +0000 UTC]

I can imagine Tremaine reading Snow White.

"In spite of not having any children of their own, Queen Grimhilde wouldn't treat Snow White like a good mother would treat her daughters. It doesn't make any sense for her to treat Snow White like that since, as a Queen, she probably had real servants to do the work. That castle was certainly bigger than this chateau. I'd not have Cinderella work so much if her father left enough money to afford us the luxury of having someone else do it for her."

I wonder why nobody else was seen doing menial work at the castle.

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AsjJohnson In reply to Luiz4200 [2015-07-01 18:16:41 +0000 UTC]

hm... interesting thought, there.
And Tremaine does sound rather reasonable when she puts it that way. :P

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AuroraGriffin [2015-05-21 03:42:58 +0000 UTC]

Aw! That's so sweet! You don't get to see that they had a good side. Well, save Anastasia in the later movies ...

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Carrie-Kube [2015-03-07 05:29:50 +0000 UTC]

I could see her doing that. She probably does care about them in her own way.

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elphieofkiamoko [2015-02-16 01:23:31 +0000 UTC]

This is really sweet, and very well done

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AsjJohnson In reply to elphieofkiamoko [2015-02-17 18:12:48 +0000 UTC]

thanks. ^_^

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whiteirislady [2015-02-14 06:59:30 +0000 UTC]

OH, how ironic the story went!

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AsjJohnson In reply to whiteirislady [2015-02-17 18:23:37 +0000 UTC]

irony's fun.
ironic because he married her because she was a good mother and turned out to be a horrible one for Cinderella? Or were you thinking of a different irony?

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whiteirislady In reply to AsjJohnson [2015-02-22 02:07:04 +0000 UTC]

Lady Tramaine is a terrible stepmother and that Cinderella gets her happy ending.

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Tibor0803 [2015-02-13 23:42:53 +0000 UTC]

They were so cute when they were children.

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AsjJohnson In reply to Tibor0803 [2015-02-17 18:12:26 +0000 UTC]

yeah, such cute little monsters.

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Blue-Demon-Hybrid [2014-12-19 01:32:58 +0000 UTC]

So sweet!

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gibbs615 [2014-11-06 02:53:48 +0000 UTC]

I tell ya Cinderella's father married the wrong lady and he didn't know it. I mean what did he see in her? He just didn't see her evil and cruel side. and perhaps that was because seeing her with those two little girls of hers.

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AsjJohnson In reply to gibbs615 [2014-11-06 22:17:47 +0000 UTC]

maybe. It kind'a sounded like he married her because he wanted his daughter to have a mother figure, so maybe he didn't even like her and just married her because she had two daughters about the same age and thus would have experience in that department. Maybe he didn't think he could handle single parenthood.
I wonder if things would've worked out better if her father had tried doing more things as a family. It looked like the family was divided, where he spent time with Cinderella, while she spent time with her own daughters. Maybe if he'd done things with all of them together, it would've helped them to feel like a real family. Lady Tremaine definitely doesn't seem to feel Cinderella is part of her family, even though she should have been.
But, maybe Lady Tremaine never intended to become part of the family, she was solely in it for the money, her and her girls refused to join in on outings and such, and the two of them were only married briefly (whether because he was sick - which could be why it was so important for Cinderella to have a mother, or because she had poisoned him or something).
Would be kind'a interesting to explore the possibilities about what might have happened back then. Disney was so ambiguous about it, only showing a quick glimpse.

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rababco In reply to AsjJohnson [2016-04-17 01:04:34 +0000 UTC]

They were basically like an unhealthy blended family. They were divided and never really blended together as a family where parents never treated or saw their step-children as their own and the girls never saw step-sisters as their own sisters. I don't really like the common theme of evil step-mothers in fairytales because it's not a good thing to teach children because it's common for children to have step-parents and step-siblings. Most step-parents learn to love their step-children the same as if they were their own. The main time step-parents and step-children get along when step-children become part of blended family in their teens but generally not if they become part of blended family at a young age.

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AsjJohnson In reply to rababco [2016-04-17 01:17:34 +0000 UTC]

I noticed that separation in the prologue of the movie. (oh. I guess you saw where I'd said that earlier)
Hm... so it's better to gain a step parent as a teenager than a younger child? I thought it'd be the opposite, where a teenager would have a lot of years with their life being one way and be less able to adjust.
I have a step-dad. Though, right now I'm living with my dad (...but I probably should be off on my own by now). My step-dad and I never really got along. His first words to me was a threat, and my first impression of him was 'middle-aged motorcycle gang member'. But then his second impression was better. I think we have too similar of personalities. Neither of us wants to be submissive to others and will fight for what we believe. I suppose, 'willful'. I also have some step-siblings, but I never really got to know them very well. They were grown up already and off doing their own things. Kind'a odd, though, since my step-dad didn't seem to know much about children.

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rababco In reply to AsjJohnson [2016-04-17 01:28:57 +0000 UTC]

No, that's not what I meant. I said blended families generally have problems if step-children are teenagers when their parent remarries. If they are young when their parent remarries, they generally see their step-parent as the equivant of a biological parent. Teenagers often have this issue where they think they don't need to listen to and obey their step-parent because they don't see them as their parent. Sometimes children don't get along with their step-parents, it happens. I just don't think it's a good idea to teach children the message that step-parents are "evil" from a young age through fairytales and the like. It makes it harder for children to accept their step-parents and for blended families to be healthy. It must suck to be a step-parent reading those stories because they're being portrayed as the bad guys. Were you a teenager when you had a step-dad for the first time? If so that would make sense why you both don't get along.

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AsjJohnson In reply to rababco [2016-04-17 01:55:47 +0000 UTC]

Oooh. Sorry, either you made a typo or I just had a lot of trouble reading that sentence. ^_^"
Nope, I was kind'a halfway between. I was 8 1/2. I never did the 'you are not my father!' line or anything (and I didn't even make the connection between Disney step-mothers and step-parents until I was older. I'm not sure I knew what a 'step-mother' was when I first saw those movies). It was just... I donno, when I was a kid, I tended to think all adults were knowledgeable and to be generally trusted. So... I didn't really think of him as 'my father', but I thought of him as a parent - or at least, as a senior member of the household. But... he was too controlling and was often unfair toward me because I stuck up for myself. I feel he liked my brother more because my brother just stayed quiet (though he was sneaky, while I'm honest about stuff). My mom and dad were more similar to friends who were older than me than like parental dictators (my dad once said that he'd thought of my brother and me as mini-adults rather than children). My step-dad, on the other hand (at least after the first year or two), seemed to think his word was law, and often couldn't seem to explain why he'd want something done when I'd ask. Why even do something if there's no reason for it? He seemed to have a grudge against me in my teen years, and was even so controlling as to decide what haircut my brother and I should have. He kept ordering me to cut my hair when he knew I hated it short (for years kids at school would make fun of me for my short curly hair, and he'd make fun of it himself - this was before curly hair was popular: now we have Hermione and Merida).

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gibbs615 In reply to AsjJohnson [2014-11-07 07:03:55 +0000 UTC]

yeah guess all that is true. Also as we learned in Cinderella 2 and 3,Anastasia did have self righteousness in her after all.

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Simmeh [2014-09-25 11:39:17 +0000 UTC]

So cute.

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Nettiemac [2014-08-24 00:26:17 +0000 UTC]

This is lovely,and so nice to see something positive about a generally disliked character.  I think you are right, that she was a good mother to her own girls.  Shame she couldn't be a good mother to Cinderella too.

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PatheticCreature [2014-07-10 12:38:07 +0000 UTC]

Love this! I was planning on doing something similar for the villains gone good contest (with Cinderella included), but didn't have time. It's nice seeing someone else share the idea of a used-to-be-nice lady Tremaine.

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WhitePedal25 [2014-07-03 21:02:40 +0000 UTC]

Amazing! And this is really sweet. Not only was Tremaine jealous of Cinderella's charm and beauty, she didn't want her to ruin her daughter's chances to marry high class men who would want her more than Drizella and Anastasia.

But sadly her jealousy got the better of her and no longer thought of her daughters well being but her own insecurities.

Great job.

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AsjJohnson In reply to WhitePedal25 [2014-07-08 02:40:39 +0000 UTC]

thanks. ^_^
(...I feel I should say more, after you've said stuff, but I can't think of anything to add)

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WhitePedal25 In reply to AsjJohnson [2014-07-08 02:53:34 +0000 UTC]

That's alright

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jeh517 [2014-05-19 18:14:34 +0000 UTC]

I really love it. Could you do some more pics of Young Lady Tremaine and Young Drizella and Anastasia?

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AsjJohnson In reply to jeh517 [2014-05-23 00:09:21 +0000 UTC]

thanks. ^_^
don't know. maybe if I feel like it and have an idea.

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jeh517 In reply to AsjJohnson [2014-05-23 01:05:30 +0000 UTC]

I have some ideas that I can note you about.

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glowworm56 [2014-05-13 03:53:45 +0000 UTC]

This is strangely adorable--Lady Tremaine is generally not someone I'd consider to be a good mother--but this is a cute depiction of her.

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AsjJohnson In reply to glowworm56 [2014-05-13 14:39:14 +0000 UTC]

thanks. ^_^ I thought of drawing Cinderella sitting close by, but ran out of time. I thought Lady Tremaine probably was a nice enough mother to her until after her father died (unless he was just completely blind). hm... I think Lady Tremaine was kind'a upset that Cinderella was so much better than her two daughters and that she was taking away their chances of success, but if she had thought of Cinderella as a daughter, she probably would've been proud of her... Maybe they didn't spend enough time together to think of each other as family. It did kind of seem to hint that Cinderella's father was always doing stuff with Cinderella in the prologue, leaving Lady Tremaine and the other two kids behind. Or maybe Lady Tremaine didn't want to get too close to Cinderella and her father because she didn't want to lose sight of her goals.

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glowworm56 In reply to AsjJohnson [2014-05-13 16:07:13 +0000 UTC]

I always thought she was a gold digger-truthfully. Probably just wanted a higher station for her and her daughters. Some variants of Cinderella or other fairy tales with wicked stepmothers state that exact reason I just mentioned.

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AsjJohnson In reply to glowworm56 [2014-05-13 17:36:56 +0000 UTC]

yeah, I think so, but it could've been interesting if things had worked out a little bit differently.

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tinkerbri1212 [2014-05-12 06:19:56 +0000 UTC]

this is so adorable!!!!

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AsjJohnson In reply to tinkerbri1212 [2014-05-13 14:26:50 +0000 UTC]

thanks. ^_^

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tinkerbri1212 In reply to AsjJohnson [2014-05-15 02:31:21 +0000 UTC]

you're welcome ^^

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Drangelu [2014-05-11 03:49:17 +0000 UTC]

So adorable scene!!

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AsjJohnson In reply to Drangelu [2014-05-13 14:26:38 +0000 UTC]

thanks. ^_^

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crystal-of-ix [2014-05-10 23:16:02 +0000 UTC]


Never thought of her, but it's such a cute idea! Love it!

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