Character Study:
Below: Ink study concentrating on face and expression. My character 'Miller's Daughter' in Rumpelstiltskin has already been designed, however, completing the storyboards brought to attention the need to have a very detailed face design. This is because my experiments with camera angles have let me toward a 'close up' view of the story and expression will be doing a lot of the storytelling. The character should not be particularly well put together, as she is poor but she should appear to be desirable (as the King set his sights on her). The hair is based on a 70's style, paired with the typical medieval attire (modern corset and socks) The amalgamation of different styles making the character an empathetic one but also a fictional one.
The freckles suggest a harder life; I used them in 'Beauty..' also. They imply the need to work outdoors (not shying from the sun as would have been the fashion). The different between the character and the character of Beauty is 'M. Daughter' (I haven't named her, I didn't want to imply a great sense of self because she seen by her superiors as an object) is more hardened, not sheltered or looked after by anyone but herself. The face that she cannot work her way out of this situation, or save herself from the King and his intentions, shows how impossible her plight really is.
The ink drops were meant to imply her disheveled state, something I was able to achieve through media, a mixture of wispy and harsh lines. The face is strong, however, and I have drawn her to appear strong (she is not spindly or lanky like my other characters) using curved strong lines; she is not a fragile character.
The freckles suggest a harder life; I used them in 'Beauty..' also. They imply the need to work outdoors (not shying from the sun as would have been the fashion). The different between the character and the character of Beauty is 'M. Daughter' (I haven't named her, I didn't want to imply a great sense of self because she seen by her superiors as an object) is more hardened, not sheltered or looked after by anyone but herself. The face that she cannot work her way out of this situation, or save herself from the King and his intentions, shows how impossible her plight really is.
The ink drops were meant to imply her disheveled state, something I was able to achieve through media, a mixture of wispy and harsh lines. The face is strong, however, and I have drawn her to appear strong (she is not spindly or lanky like my other characters) using curved strong lines; she is not a fragile character.
Costume Designs
Whilst completing my storyboards I became aware of some design elements that would require templates or practice. I had designed the girls primary costume but overlooked the end of the story, during which she becomes pregnant, a time lapse is shown and then there is the final costume. This required four new dresses and they had to effectively communicate the time lapse and suit the growth of pregnancy. I flipped through my book:
Looking Back at Fashion 1901-1939 (Von Whiteman)
for some inspiration into cut and shape. I was especially drawn to the flowing lines of the 1930's and so I incorporated this into a style in fitting with other costume choices in this and my other comic (certain elements the buttons, bodices and socks were recurring). The flowing lines suited the 'maternity' gown and also allowed for growth. Importantly, the gowns also had to show wealth; she is no longer a Miller's daughter but a Queen. This is also implied by other design elements; ringlets in hair, jewelry and a neatness that wasn't present before.
The first sketch was my initial thought before research and then the three designs side by side show the progression; the bodice opening out, the lines becoming fuller. I felt I should test my colour choices out, to ensure the shape complemented the colour.
Below: The yellow in this case suggested a richness that wasn't present before. This is because the lines are cleaner and the designs more detailed an opulent. This is a good decision for the section I am Illustrating but This would be particularly hard to repeat. Each dress will only be produced once, so I can take time and give the detail the right attention.
Templates
And the Story-Theorizing
Some images in the comic strip were difficult compositions to get right on the first try, or I had to show a time lapse, which was done by reproducing character or setting and showing a change within the frame.
The baby-what it symbolizes
Below: I decided to loose the head because I didn't want to deflect from the baby; this needed to be the most present figure in the image. The Composition was designed to imply a cocoon, to symbolise protection, even the design of the dress implies this (fullness and drapery).
There is also something more simplistic an honest about this image. In the story, the girl does not want to marry the King, or indeed, have his baby. In my version, this is evident, however, I wanted to show that she still feels a bond with the child and having it taken away is leaving her with nothing and therefore, she is back where she started. The story is about greed and how it can effect the next generation...we see three generations in this story, which further cements the theory of this pattern. I want to state that, in my story, it ends after Rumpelstiltskin takes the baby, however, in the original story, she makes another deal and overcomes him, keeping the baby. In my mind, this happens, I just didn't draw it that way to better suit my personal objectives. In some ways the story needed to be cut off at this point for the message to be evident, if she kept the baby, a deal was left undone. Behind the scenes I had other ideas; I thought about making the baby Rumpelstiltskin's, but this would throw the story, i.e the King would not keep her, the only was I could imply Rumpel as the babies father was to make the baby yellow...and this would, realistically, not have been overlooked by the King and so a whole new conflict begins. This is the why I told the story in the way I did.
Below: Template
To show her pregnancy after the marriage, I organised three frames, with the design below the key image. the image changes slightly, showing the stages of her pregnancy, hair growth and costume change. I needed a template to ensure each image was reproduced well, hence the piece below. This was a process I used for a tricky to produce image in 'Beauty ' I simply trace these templates on a lightbox.
