Finally i can upload something proper about these dweebs. I wanted to do a design on the well known fairytale Thumbelina In a style that is similar but not close enough to disney. And to be honest i’m super happy with out both her and the prince turned out. I Plan on drawing up the other characters as well but i really wanted to show off these two whom i have fallen in love with incredibly.
From the first Ukrainian translation of Andersen’s fairy tale (1873) Illustration of “Thumbelina”Николай Мурашко(1844-1909) The Ugly Duckling and others
TheTULIP Kickstarter campaign is here!TULIP is an 8-minute stop-motion animated adaptation of Thumbelina that I am co-creating with animator Andrea Love. We have set the bar at 45k and will need to raise it all within 30 days. The money will be going to the remaining animation (there’s a lot), the post production and all the associated fees with running a Kickstarter. Thank you SO much for your support! ✨
I arose to the morning sun peeking through the open window sill; it seemed like my little spoon had run off on me. That was very much like her, the little rebel she was. I rolled over to check my messages, of course none from her. I left my room, headed to the kitchen, and grabbed the amaretto. Two Rocks, no mix. Standard. I mean, it was 11:42am, drinking time in Ibiza started 102 minutes ago.
I walked on to the verandas where my Canadian friend sat. “How was your night?” he asked. It was great, can barely keep up with her, she was like the bloody energizer bunny. I just met her but she had me uttering the words that x girlfriends usually said to me! “Do you want to head home now?”, and sure enough I got the same look I gave them. It was quite refreshing, a taste of my own medicine. The girl could consume like a champ and wasn’t afraid to throw a solid chirp around, rare qualities. “The question was where did she go?” I whispered. “No, no, no, the questions is what happened to you two last night?“ he said.
I swallowed the rest of the amaretto and lit the Marlboro ciggy, while I prepared to reminisce. My mind idling like a diesel engine waiting to startup, I said "I can remember bits and pieces but if she was here we could definitely figure out this rubix cube of a night.” "Come on give us a laugh, tell us something” my friend barked. “Well she showed up to the flat last night and things were kicking off”, which was ironic because the previous night we were warned for a noise complaint. I believe we had a disco in our living room, not the pinnacle of ideas especially when you’re residing on the 7th floor. We slipped out onto the balcony for a smoke, the Mediterranean sun almost down. I couldn’t fathom the next thing she did, not that I was totally against it. She did give me a jolly good kissing after. “What do you mean? What happened?” Well she looked me in the eyes and pulled me close and gave a toast. She said “Tonight we love, tonight we dance and tonight our passion is one.” Were we going into battle? Was brave heart giving his troops his final speech, never the less I was the one usually giving the toast and this was totally refreshing. Then she took something out of a bag and shoved it in my mouth, it was shaped in fish. I didn’t even ask her what it was, I was in shock. Had this girl—had this rebel—who did she think she was? What in the flying fuck? My brain was trying to process the information. Then she pulled me in have a harsh kiss finishing with a bite. "What was that?” I asked. “A kiss, duh,” she said. This girl was quite facetious. "No no, the thing before that, THE FISH!” I replied. My Canadian friend was on his knees dying of laughter. "As if the little Italian stallion drugged you Che Cazzooo!!!” I was skeptical about the fish but how bad could it be, I mean it was a fish and I did love Nemo. She took me inside and everyone was doing the traditional, should we call the cabs? Is it time for the cabs? Then there is always one person overly concerned about guest list along with Mr “Man it’s only 12:30.” I was in the kitchen with Bruno and his wifey mixing some more amaretto, contemplating how far miss fishy has swam downstream. My phone vibrated, it was her.
Thumbelina: "Outside kiddo, time flies.”
I didn’t even think twice and that’s when I departed like Decaprio and slipped down stairs. I expected her to be with some people from the pre drink, this girl was taking no prisoners, but I get down stairs she’s solo dolo. I guess this kind of turned into a date night: Me, My Thumbelina and our pet fishes we were harboring. “I take it were not waiting for anyone?” I asked. She laughed and asked the cab driver to turn up the music. We were going to Prestige Nightclub, with the capacity of 10 thousand. I started to feel one with music and had a sudden urge to stick my head out the window like a dog, speeding through the Spanish streets. It wasn’t long until we were almost full out dancing in the cab.
We got into the nightclub and it was unreal. It was this big transparent dome with a massive dance floor. So it was basically like dancing under the moon light. The dance floor was our bed and we fornicated all night, twisting, turning and dipping it was all quite suspect but hey no one’s perfect, still waiting for dancing with the stars to ring me. But that’s where I blanked. I don’t remember anything else at the club. The next thing I recall was her blowing smoke on me while we lay in our room. “We chatted about school and life, then she rolled us a J and then it was lights out, and now I’m here with you wondering about fish. “ "Just fish you say sounds like someone crushing a little,” he said. “Hmm, I don’t know. You could be right I suppose,” I might be a "smidge” smitten. She was quite charismatic and quite pleasant but very unpredictable hard to get attached as I reiterated. “Whoa, whoa, are you referring to yourself?” he rebutted as he laughed. WOW as if it did in fact sound like I was selling myself a much more refined bottle of fun, what a look in the mirror this was. Where was the reflection? Where was my Thumbelina?
Story: A woman yearning for a child asks a witch for advice, and is presented with a barley which she is told to go home and plant (in the first English translation of 1847 by Mary Howitt, the tale opens with a beggar woman giving a peasant’s wife a barleycorn in exchange for food). After the barleycorn is planted and sprouts, a tiny girl named Thumbelina (Tommelise) emerges from its flower.
One night, Thumbelina, asleep in her walnut-shell cradle, is carried off by a toad who wants her as a bride for her son. With the help of friendly fish and a butterfly, Thumbelina escapes the toad and her son, and drifts on a lily pad until captured by a stag beetle who later discards her when his friends reject her company.
Thumbelina tries to protect herself from the elements. When winter comes, she is in desperate straits. She is finally given shelter by an old field mouse and tends her dwelling in gratitude. Thumbelina sees a swallow who is injured while visiting a mole, a neighbor of the field mouse. She meets the swallow one night and finds out what happened to him. She keeps on visiting the swallow during midnight without telling the field mouse and tries to help him gain strength and she frequently spends time with him singing songs and telling him stories and listening to his stories in the winter until spring arrives. The swallow, after becoming healthy, promises that he would come to that spot again and flies away saying goodbye to Thumbelina.
At the end of winter, the mouse suggests Thumbelina marry the mole, but Thumbelina finds the prospect of being married to such a creature repulsive because he spends all his days underground and never sees the sun or sky even though he is impressive with his knowledge of ancient history and lots of other topics. The field mouse keeps pushing Thumbelina into the marriage, insisting the mole is a good match for her. Eventually Thumbelina sees little choice but to agree, but cannot bear the thought of the mole keeping her underground and never seeing the sun.
However, at the last minute, Thumbelina escapes the situation by fleeing to a far land with the swallow. In a sunny field of flowers, Thumbelina meets a tiny flower-fairy prince just her size and to her liking, and they wed. She receives a pair of wings to accompany her husband on his travels from flower to flower, and a new name, Maia. In the end, the swallow is heartbroken once Thumbelina marries the flower-fairy prince, and flies off eventually arriving at a small house. There, he tells Thumbelina’s story to a man who is implied to be Andersen himself, who chronicles the story in a book
Tattoo Idea
A bloomed tulip with a cracked walnut inside and (a girl with) fairy wings hovering over the flower
