A while ago Propnomicon posted this excellent specimen of a young fairy developing in a pupa. The idea lurked around at the back of my head for a while and, as these things do, eventually prompted me to have a go myself. Propnomicon and I read off the same page when it comes to fairies. We don't care for the twee Disney variety; we like the old school creepy fairies that they had in the middle ages. The kind that sour your milk and steal your children.
I think the main take away lesson here is that you can make a really great cocoon out of cotton fiber impregnated with glue. I have a thing for fibrous cocoons as a result of seeing this episode of the X-Files when I was young and impressionable, and the idea of an insectoid fairy really resonates with me. It underscores the sense of otherness - of the fae being a completely different species - that you get in the old stories.
I like to think my cocoon is an improvement over the original. In my (obviously not so humble) opinion the fibrous cotton batting gives a more convincing appearance. I've used several layers of paint here, including a layer of iridescent medium. It's not very obvious because I've covered it with burnt umber and Payne's grey, it just gives the thing a subtle sheen - my take on the idea of fairy dust. Note also the fluffy interior of the cocoon. This is another cool effect made possible by the fact that I was working with cotton fiber.
Propnomicon's fairy has a little specimen label stating it was killed off by a late frost, but if I found a couple of these bastards stuck to my hedge plants I wouldn't be waiting for a late frost to take care of them.
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| Here's the cocoon from the back. |
I like to think my cocoon is an improvement over the original. In my (obviously not so humble) opinion the fibrous cotton batting gives a more convincing appearance. I've used several layers of paint here, including a layer of iridescent medium. It's not very obvious because I've covered it with burnt umber and Payne's grey, it just gives the thing a subtle sheen - my take on the idea of fairy dust. Note also the fluffy interior of the cocoon. This is another cool effect made possible by the fact that I was working with cotton fiber.
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Propnomicon's fairy has a little specimen label stating it was killed off by a late frost, but if I found a couple of these bastards stuck to my hedge plants I wouldn't be waiting for a late frost to take care of them.
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