This is my OC Thumbelina, named and based off of the original fairy tale. I created her because while I was thinking about the original movie, I thought it was odd that the plot was basically Thumbelina getting tossed around and threatened with marriage the whole movie! So I thought, well what if she was still small, but she had her own initiative? Instead of the prince being the love interest and nothing else, what if he was at first an antagonist that you eventually befriend? I thought this would be a much more compelling character dynamic and romance between Thumbelina and the prince. This concept is what gave me ideas for the story, but my main inspiration was honestly Hollow Knight. I liked the idea of a platformer or other exploration experience where you play as someone so small that the natural world around them feels giant. I'm really passionate about nature and environmentalism, so I found the idea of being fully immersed in- and fully at the mercy of- nature really interesting.
I gave her an acorn for a hat because, well it's adorable, but it's also a nod to the Pixie Hollow movies, which are a huge inspiration for me and a huge part of my childhood. Terence, the pixie dust keeper, wears an acorn top for a cap and it's just so cute. Most of the rest of her design is somewhat outdated. I gave her a sunflower seed as a brooch, since she would have been born out of flower. I have since changed the top part of her dress to be made of white flower petals, because I thought "Well how do they have fabric? Wouldn't their clothes be made of leaves and petals? And another thing-" And then I spiral thinking about the implications of textiles in this universe with faeries and tiny girls...
I also gave her a little needle for a sword, because omg isn't that the perfect little weapon for someone so tiny? And then I realized Team Cherry had the exact same idea for Hornet, and then I felt silly... But to be fair, I feel like I've seen similar weapons for similarly tiny creatures, so maybe it's okay. Overall, I really love her color palette, it's very cottage core and exactly the natural, sunflower-inspired color palette I was going for. I hope to upload more updated drawings of her soon. :)
-Miz