Childhood Memories

The Little Mermaid
by Hans Christian Anderson Translated by Naomi Lewis Illustrated by Christian Birmingham

The Little Mermaid is one of my all time favourites and I believe it will stay that way for a long time. In this particular version (although the same story) I love haunting the images are, yet they’re extremely gentle and soft. The way the princess has been done is so beautiful I can’t possibly imagine why no little girl wouldn’t be addicted to this book. It is however, a more advanced version of the story and therefore for an older audience.

The Whales Song by Dyan Sheldon Illustrated by Gary Blythe

 

FLOWER FAIRIES of the Garden by Cicely Mary Barker

 

The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley Illustrated by Anna Grahame Johnstone

Dragonology – The Complete Book of Dragons

Maleficent

I think that if I’m really honest with myself then I’ll admit that I’ve always been a little frightened of Maleficent. We all know her; she’s the evil witch from Disney’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’. I understand she’s more sinister than what I’m actually looking for within my project but I wanted to include some images as she popped into my head while I was brain storming. So here are some of her moments when she’s at her best.

 

This is a paper mache model by Dan Reeder; an expert in paper mache making and modelling. I’ve also included the links to his blogs and YouTube channel. If I have time, I would seriously like to consider this for later on in my project.

http://papermacheblog.com/

GournetPaperMache

http://www.gourmetpapermache.com/

 

 

My Dragons at Home

Okay, so these 2 aren’t exactly dragons, but when they screech outside because their being protective about another cat appearing in the garden, it certainly does make me wonder. Here are some photos I’d like to use as references for physique.

We always thought Saffie was a little bit like Toothless.

  

 

London Zoo

I visited London Zoo also, again mainly for the reptiles. I did have a look around but unfortunately many of the creatures seemed to be hidden out of the way or not exactly the sort of influence I was after. I am actually very interested in a cat or wolf like figure though. I studied some more images of Draco from ‘Dragon Heart’ and watched the film and he appears very cat-like. The way he moves, walks, places his head reminds me of that and although I would like to take exactly the same idea, I have photographed some of my cats at home just to capture their sitting positions and movements and will include these in a later post. Perhaps this could become a very good base for my dragons.

 

The V&A

Alexander McQueen

I was interested in gathering some references which weren’t directly linked to lizards or reptiles, of anything that can be more obviously linked with illustrating a dragon, so I decided to visit the V&A. Some of the main influences here were mainly for decorative references. I’ve included images of the Hereford Screen design by Sir George Gilbert Scott for Hereford Cathedral in 1862. I’ve also included pieces from the jewellery section and the basic tiles on the floor. At the end here I rediscovered some images I’d taken of some Alexander McQueen’s work. This was the only piece on display from his Spring/Summer collection in 2010 but I think many can agree it is absolutely stunning.