Concept Character design. Brother grimm

These are my character designs for my final major module from the second year of Illustration and Print. These illustrations are based on a Brothers Grimm tale, "The Fisherman and his Wife", with self alterations I made my self to one of the characters.
When I originally began this project I had planned this big production project which was far too ambitious. So with some advice and reflection I narrowed down the project to just character design and creating one puppet.


The Fisherman and His Wife

by The Brothers Grimm translated by Margaret Taylor (1884)

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There was once on a time a Fisherman who lived with his wife in a miserable hovel close by the sea, and every day he went out fishing. And once as he was sitting with his rod, looking at the clear water, his line suddenly went down, far down below, and when he drew it up again he brought out a large Flounder. 

From this I could adapt a character very easily to fit my own ideas as well. I decided to make the characters fit the Elizabethan era .  I based the main character the Fisherman on a friend from the course who fitted how I wanted the character to look, a young fisherman.

This was the character that I chose to alter from the original Brothers Grimm story. In the original story there was an enchanted Flounder fish I chose to alter it to an enchanted Merman . Which I felt was far more appealing to an audience, than a ugly old fish.



The Fisherman and His Wife

by The Brothers Grimm translated by Margaret Taylor (1884)

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There was once on a time a Fisherman who lived with his wife in a miserable hovel close by the sea, and every day he went out fishing. And once as he was sitting with his rod, looking at the clear water, his line suddenly went down, far down below, and when he drew it up again he brought out a large Flounder. Then the Flounder said to him, "Hark, you Fisherman, I pray you, let me live, I am no Flounder really, but an enchanted prince. What good will it do you to kill me? I should not be good to eat, put me in the water again, and let me go." "Come," said the Fisherman, "there is no need for so many words about it -- a fish that can talk I should certainly let go, anyhow," with that he put him back again into the clear water, and the Flounder went to the bottom, leaving a long streak of blood behind him. Then the Fisherman got up and went home to his wife in the hovel.

This was the second main character the Wife, I decide to design her character on specific section of the tale were she wishes to be emperor. 

"Then he went and stood before her, and said, "Ah, wife, and now you are King." "Yes," said the woman, "now I am King." So he stood and looked at her, and when he had looked at her thus for some time, he said, "And now that you are King, let all else be, now we will wish for nothing more." "Nay, husband," said the woman, quite anxiously, "I find time pass very heavily, I can bear it no longer; go to the Flounder -- I am King, but I must be Emperor, too." "Alas, wife, why do you wish to be Emperor?" "Husband," said she, "go to the Flounder. I will be Emperor." "Alas, wife," said the man, "he cannot make you Emperor; I may not say that to the fish. There is only one Emperor in the land. An Emperor the Flounder cannot make you! I assure you he cannot."  "

http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/grimm/bl-grimm-fisherman.htm

This was my puppet design developed from Fisherman character, it is a Jumping Jack puppet. Made with sturdy card, acrylic, fastening pins, ribbon, willow weed and wire. I was quite pleased with the final article it was very tricky and time consuming to make, but all it really needs to make puppets well is lots and lots of practice.