Finnish Artist Creates Humanly Possible Anna & Elsa

So this is not normally the type of thing I post on the blog, especially when I'm so behind on all the regular fairy tale happenings around the globe but when I saw how this artist had transformed Anna, I felt like the character of Gerda could be in there, and had to share. It's not a reaction I've ever had, not with all the cosplay, nor with Once upon A Time's 'humanization' (let's just say that's a word, OK?) of the Frozen sisters. (Despite how wonderful an acting job the actresses who portrayed Anna and Elsa did on OUAT, never did I not feel like I was watching some extended Disneyland promo.)

While the result is clearly "not human" the images are hugely more realistic than any of the drawn characters and do give an interesting interpretation of what these characters might look like in life. I quite like that they are sort of human-like illustrations. Not being perfectly human gives them that otherworldly storybook quality and keeps them out of the "bad-cosplay" zone, something that appeals to me personally.

I had to add Elsa because it's weird seeing one sister without the other when they're getting any 'treatment". She finally has realistic body proportions (and still looks great) but she doesn't look as related to her sister as I'd expect.

You've seen this artist's work before. Jirka Vinse Jonatan Väätäinen is a native Finn, currently based and working in Melbourne, Australia. He's been around for a while now, transforming Disney princesses into something approximating real life girls and doing an amazing job. He works in graphic design, illustration and photo manipulation and it's via his realistic portraits of Disney girls that he's gained world wide fame.

- Images are created by combining small elements, textures, and features several tens of real photos. In addition, this "photo compositing" technology and image manipulation in addition to the process also includes a digital painting, says the artist. (Source)

I also had to add his Merida, whom I don't remember seeing before. Interestingly, this version isn't so very far from Pixar's original take on the character, though in comparison to her "doll reincarnation" (the one lots of people got upset about - and I don't blame them), she's completely different. What does that tell you?

You can find Väätäinen's website, with all the characters to date, HERE, along with his other impressive work. (To see his other Real Life Disney, click on the title of the same name, under the Pocahontas picture on the site.)

The Underwater Fairy Tales of Andreas Franke

Red Riding Hood by Andreas Franke

This is a different exhibit: Andreas Franke, who is well known for his underwater fantasy photography, has most recently turned his attention to fairy tales for a unique set of venues for a unique cause.

Here's the press release:

Plunge into the strange, surreal and mysterious world of award-winning visual artist Andreas Franke and experience his photographic Phantasy Fairytale underwater art exhibition at Huvafen Fushi and NIYAMA in the Maldives.

Each photographic piece has been submerged in the Indian Ocean and can be seen from inside the underwater music club Subsix at NIYAMA and inside the underwater LIME spa at Huvafen Fushi. Should you decide to purchase a piece to take home with you a percentage of proceeds will be donated to Per AQUUM’s Coral Regeneration Program. 

Snow White (yes, NOT Sleeping Beauty)

The exhibition magically combines photography, nautical exploration and digital mastery to produce compelling underwater dream worlds where Western fairytale characters are creatively superimposed against the backdrop of the Indian Ocean. Each photographic art piece evokes a feeling of folklore and magic with Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood and Star Money exhibiting at both NIYAMA and Huvafen Fushi, while the Snow Queen features exclusively at NIYAMA and The Last Unicorn features exclusively at Huvafen Fushi. 

The Last Unicorn

How cool is that? Using the sea floor as a gallery? Not only that, underwater algae and other microorganisms are encouraged to organically become part of the painting. It's fascinating!

Star Money

Mr. Franke is completely passionate about diving and underwater sea life, so it's really wonderful to see his art supporting what he's most passionate about - the underwater realm and all that he loves about it. All his creations (not just these fairy tales) are magical and otherworldly and I really love how he takes care to incorporate the"normal life of sea creatures" in his photos as well. The reality of them existing in these other-underworlds take these from interesting to wondrous.

Here's a description on how the paintings were created:

The images are created by Andreas undertaking two separate photo shoots; one using an underwater backdrop followed by a secondary studio shoot with real life models that bring the final visual to life. These secondary shots are then superimposed onto the original images to create the finished Phantasy Fairytale. To secure the art underwater, they’ll be encased in Plexiglass and suspended from the underwater structures of Subsix at NIYAMA and the LIME Spa at Huvafen Fushi. 

Snow Queen 

Andreas says his creative input is just the first part of the process. Once the images are submerged, it is up to the sea and nature to create the final finished product. Together with algae and microorganisms, the salt water adorns the pictures from the world above. It is the individual signature of the ocean that embellishes the photographs, a bizarre and beautiful touch of impermanence.

How did you imagine the scenes for Phantasy Fairytale?Andreas: While I was diving, fairy-tale like scenes appeared in my mind’s eye, like Little Red Riding Hood walking through coral reefs resembling trees. The moment I start the photo shoot, everything becomes clear: the concept, the realisation, even the post-production. It is only the interpretation that I leave to the spectators.

Here's a couple of photos of the installation process:

Here's a much more detailed look at how Mr. Franke goes about the dives, the set-ups and the layers of photography. If you love diving and the sea, you will LOVE this video!:

And here's how the Phantasy Fairytale paintings are currently being viewed: 

 

When I first saw these I, on a whim, looked up the prices for an overnight stay and just about fell off my chair. Needless to say, the main resort mentioned is a popular celebrity retreat BUT I'm very happy to know that while I will never see these works in person, the important work of coral regeneration gets a boost in money and resources every time monied visitors indulge themselves, while the exhibit is on display.

The Phantasy Fairytale exhibition by Andreas Franke first premiered on March 4 and will be on display until the end of May this year. To find out more about visiting the exhibit in person you can find more information HERE.

Sources: HERE, HERE, HERE & HERE

Ali... by RikeMa

An odd and funny eye-catching photomanipulation of a young Ali (either Baba or Aladdin) by RikeMa. I wish I could give you more information on the artist but it seems RikeMa is an artist of few words and no blog.

Found HERE.

Fairy Tale Photography by Irina Istratova

Irina Istratova is an artist from the Ukraine who has a preference for the dark side but this photographer/photomanipulator/digital artist has also produced some lovely fairy tale-like pieces. 

I like that despite her obvious preference for the dark and morbid side of things she shares this ultra romantic tale on her profile of how she met her husband. I have to wonder if meeting him inspired her to work on some of the fairy tale romantic images posted here. :)

Irina Istratova

You can see more of her work HERE and HERE (but of course, remember you will see some 'dark' work there too).

Fairy Tale Art by Pat Brennan

Goldilocks and the Bears

For your viewing pleasure I'm posting just a few of the fairy tale themed work by digital artist/illustrator Pat Brennan (on deviantArt as moonmomma). The Goldilocks one at the head of the post remains one of my favorites, since seeing it a few years ago.

The Piper

Cinders in the Limelight

The Princess and the Pea

Yuki Onna

Undine

She has a LOT of gorgeous work in her deviantArt gallery, mostly fantasy based (lots of fairies and mermaids) so be sure to visit, take a look and leave a nice comment (and maybe hint how great it would be to see even more fairy tale pieces.. hint, hint). You can also visit her website HERE and her Flickr account HERE.

The talent must run in the family. Her daughter, Rebecca Parker, is just breaking into the book cover illustration biz too.

I'd love to see Pat work on a specific fairy tale project for a book herself though. She has such a lovely touch. While she does do commissions I gather she's very busy, so if you want to work with her be persistent in trying to contact her and let me know if you work together.

Lissy Elle's Imagination

Photographer, Lissy Elle, has done some really nice work in capturing the whimsy of childhood imagination and other fantasies in her "Let's Play Pretend" photo set. While she does explore dark themes too, it's the imaginary play ones that are memorable for me. Here are my favorites.
There are many more on Trendhunter, where she's currently being profiled for her fairy tale-like work.
She also has a Flickr account HERE, with even more dreamlike images.Takes me back... :)

Note: Not all her pictures are sweet daydreams. She explores darker themes too.

Marc Schömann's Match Girl

I found this set of story photos on the Behance Network and it does a brilliant job of telling the story of The Little Match Girl in a modern context, without needing a single word.

The creator is young German photographer and artist Marc Schömann. Click HERE to see his portfolio and, if you like his Match Girl, you can click below the photo set (on its dedicated page) to show your appreciation anonymously.

Hans Christian Andersen set his tale in a snowy, Christmas-time context and both the tale and this photo story remind us to count our blessings and think of others during the season.

Snow White's Deadly Tomato

Here's a different use of Snow White and the modified fruit she bit into with tragic results. This one uses a tomato (you know the tomato is officially a fruit, right?) and is designed to get us thinking about what we're doing to our food sources with everything from pesticides to selective propagation.

This work is from art student Alice Wang at Brisbane Girl's Grammar School in Queensland, Australia.

From the description of the piece:

"The Invention explores the issue of genetic modification. The still life genre is normally associated with affirmations of life and momento mori reminders to seize the day, but this image features the hand of a dead Snow White, after taking a bite of a tomato. In a contemporary twist, the tomato has been modified with fish genes. Flies are bringing on putrefication to both the corpse and the fruit and a pungent smell is implied.

Questions are raised about human motivations regarding genetic modification of food, and more broadly in relation to other interventions in the life fabric".

Makes you think - which is the whole point. Congratulations to Miss Wang.

V-Ray Tales by Silvia Bratanova

Discovered on deviantART, this 'V-Ray Tales' series is advertising the power of the V-Ray rendering engine for 3D computer graphics but I think these images (not including the accompanying text) show us yet another interpretation of our old favorites.

The artist is Silvia Bratanova (SOOO on deviantART) and is an 'experimental photographer/designer', working as part of 'Wings Creative Studio' team.

There is text on each image with the 'tale' (according to V-Ray). Clicking on the images will take you to Silvia's deviantART page where you can click 'Full View' and have a closer look to read what's written (there's an example at the bottom of this post).







NOTE:
Copy for The Princess and the Pea V-Ray Tale:

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a beautiful princess, cursed in a most peculiar way - whenever she saw a bad pixel, it would turn into a pea underneath her mattress. She would lie awake every night praying for a new v-rayvolutionary product - reliable and accurate enough to render out all the pixels and break the curse.

V-Ray - no more sleepless nights!