Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Disney Princesses Reimagined


So, I've got Disney Princesses on my mind lately, because I am working on gift bags and a personalization line that involves that license.
There has been a lot of talk about the Princesses' new look, which Disney revealed in early 2013. I hate to sound like a hipster (really, I do), but it's such old news to anyone in the industry, since most companies that have the Disney Princess license have been working with the new style guides for a while (because, if you want your merchandize to be in stores in January, you need to design it in July, and sometimes earlier).
So, the new look (should it be capitalized? "The New Look"!!!) does not bother me one way or another anymore, so instead I found myself thinking about the Hipster Princesses, by the talented Viria, that I have come across a while back. That got me thinking about the different identities that DP could take on, and my search began.

Allow me to present to you

the Seven Awesomest Alternate Disney Princesses.

I intentionally left out all the live photography stuff, because I wanted to concentrate on 2-D renditions, and no slight was intended.

Let us begin with a picture for which I was unable to find the source. Does anyone know who drew this? I found it on a Tumbler account that simply posted the image without giving the credit.

Photobomb!



Following this, look at this sweet snapshot (also could not trace to the source):

 Disney Princesses in Prep School.
Mr. Philipp did a great job with the characters. I am pretty sure I can tell who is who, including the boys. Makes me giggle. I especially love Aurora napping at her desk and Esmerelda trying to get Phoebus' attention. And did you notice tiny EVE by Ariel? So cute!



These illustrations are from The Art of the Disney Princess, which is available on Amazon. The whole book is different interpretations of the DPs by various artists. There are retro travel poster looks, there are black and white (and red) graphic illustrations, there are all kinds of visions. I am not really into DP's very much, but I found myself putting this book on my wish list. For the art maketh me drool.



Drawn by Viria12 on DeviantArt, these cool chicks really look like hipster versions of everyone's favorite girls while staying true to each of the girls' personalities. I especially LOVE Pocahontas and Mulan (because, dude! Mushu hoodie!)


These blew me away. I love  Claire Hummel's illustration style, and as someone with a fashion background (and I loved my history of costume classes), I was really glad to see someone getting all the clothes right  - AND taking the time to render everything faithfully.


Speaking of fashion, when I searched for "couture Disney Princesses", in my wildest dreams I could not imagine that I would find this piece of visual equivalent of a chocolate truffle. Just sayin'.
Incidentally, Sashiiko Anti is Russian, also just sayin'.
I absolutely adore Pocahontas, again. Something about that girl makes people draw really fantastic feisty fashions. Merida and Jasmin are both extremely wearable looks, while Tiana blows my mind with her super sexy elegant gown.
She also did the villains in haute couture style.




Last, but not least, l thought I'd give you something light and giggly.
Amy Mebberson, who is amazing, has this here Tumbler account where she posts little one-panel comics about DPs. She's got their personalities (and looks) down pat, and her sense of humor is incredible. Art department peeps got many giggles from looking at these gems.

Do you know of any other cool Disney Princesses art? Let me know in comments!


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