Friday, March 28, 2014

A Smorgasbord of Maleficent "Fan Art" (& Link-y Love)

Maleficent & Diablo by Travis Lewis

There's always been a lot of fan art for the Disney character Maleficent, especially since social media took off. The character has been one of Disney's most popular to draw and speculate on and create stories about with fans. (Heck, there's even a Darth Maleficent out there.)

With the live action movie release just around the corner, more and more is appearing every day. So much, in fact, it's difficult to keep up! 
A Forest of Thorns Shall Be His Tomb by Xiao wei Li
Being a regular on Pinterest for some time now I often come across Maleficent art, and since she's a subject-du-jour for us, I thought I'd share just a few of the stand out pieces that, while still obviously being Maleficent aren't specifically animation-spin-offs, nor scenes from the various trailers being released.
Maleficent by Angela Rizza
The first pic was supposed to be a drawing in progress but I think it's perfect as is. The second is a graphic design made for a t-shirt competition at Threadless. I really love the concept and would happily don said printed 't'. Unfortunately, I don't think it made the cut... Immediately above is an original deisng created by Angela Rizza who, while inspired by the trailers for the movie, wanted to create something that combined the different aspects of Maleficent we're being shown are in the movie. (Note: You have to check out this woman's art. It's so fairy tale-esque and you'll probably recognize her Snow White, which has been floating around for a while.)
Maleficent by the-crazy-spork
Unlike a lot of amateur fan art, which uses stills for inspiration, the rest of the pieces are their own scenes and designs, though clearly still based on the movies. The one above is based on the classic animated film, while the one below is based on the Maleficent trailers that have recently been released. There are such talented people out there!
Maleficent by Josh Burns

I wish there was another, less deprecating name for this sort of art than "fan art". The term always puts me in mind of kids and amateurs copying movie stills and various shots with a less-than-professional touch. But fan art these days is done as much by professional artists as amateurs. In fact, Disney is now making a habit of commissioning professional artists to create "fan art" to sell as Disney exclusive and approved fine art, like the one below. (And it ain't cheap!) I have to say, much of it, I actually prefer to the "real thing", although, in Maleficent's case, I adore her animation design. We need a better description of this type of art, don't you think?
Dark Side of the Moon by David Ho
There's much, MUCH more to explore - from sexy (and sometimes adult-rated) to cartoon- cute, to baby Maleficents to downright nightmarish versions, and you've seen the historical Maleficent, right? (She's HERE if you haven't.) There are many boards on Pinterest dedicated solely to her and, if you like the character and are intrigued by her story possibilities, from her demon-affiliations to her fairy side, be sure to go explore. I also really love the Disneyland Paris version of Maleficent as well - which is completely different to anything you might imagine. Check her out HERE.

By the way - did you count how many Maleficent art pieces I hid links to in the paragraph above? If you're at work, you may want your lunch hour to find them all... ;) Enjoy!

1 comment:

  1. I really miss fire-y Maleficent at DLP!
    Ever since they redid the parade and pulled this amazing vulcano of a Villain float out, she's not been seen again - and sadly the Meet & Greet costume is the same as anywhere else...

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