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Description
Final character designs for "The Six Swans," for the children's book class.

For those who haven't heard of that one, a maiden's brothers are turned into swans by their stepmother, and to turn them back the girl must take a vow of silence for six years and weave six shirts made of flax, one for each of them. In the Grimm's version, a prince falls in love with her and marries her, but his mother plots against the girl, taking away each child she bears and accusing her of eating it. Because she wants to save her brothers, she can't speak to defend herself.

So I wanted a really innocent look for the girl, and a powerful but more undermining presence for the mother-in-law. Besides, Disney has the monopoly on tall, aristocratic fairy tale villains. Thanks to some suggestions, I selected a kind of Puritan/pilgrim world for the story.

Media: Pencil and watercolor

Character Sketches: [link]
Inside Spread: [link]
Book Cover: [link]

Description
Final character designs for "The Six Swans," for the children's book class.

For those who haven't heard of that one, a maiden's brothers are turned into swans by their stepmother, and to turn them back the girl must take a vow of silence for six years and weave six shirts made of flax, one for each of them. In the Grimm's version, a prince falls in love with her and marries her, but his mother plots against the girl, taking away each child she bears and accusing her of eating it. Because she wants to save her brothers, she can't speak to defend herself.

So I wanted a really innocent look for the girl, and a powerful but more undermining presence for the mother-in-law. Besides, Disney has the monopoly on tall, aristocratic fairy tale villains. Thanks to some suggestions, I selected a kind of Puritan/pilgrim world for the story.

Media: Pencil and watercolor

Character Sketches: [link]
Inside Spread: [link]
Book Cover: [link]