Illustrations

A brief emotional survey of Disney's Queen Elsa of Arendelle, we journey through expressions of pride, fear, joy and rage, over the course of three headshots and a pinup, based on screenshots and original art from the full-length feature and short films in the series.

Anna, Olaf, and the Snowgies (and not to mention a curious Gerda) are present as Elsa conjures a cosmically-inspired display for her younger sister. In light of Anna’s insatiable curiosity for worlds beyond the castle walls, Elsa goes even further, using her powers and creativity to give life to the descriptions in her astronomy books, and to try to give dimension to what was heretofore an imperfect, but nevertheless tantalizing vision through her telescope.

Frozen's Elsa & Anna bound in an Arctic portrait, based on the visages (and figures) of mid-century pinup models Rosina Revelle and Michelle Angelo, and setting inspired by Canada's Auyuittuq National Park.

What started as a simple pencil sketch of this lone figure in an attic library (based on Read or Die’s Maggie Mui) became my first attempt at digital painting. The effect was so profound that I have to admit, with some sadness, that I haven’t used my Copic markers or Prismacolor pencils since.

This was a commissioned piece for the Fall 2011 issue of CRAM Magazine. 10.7.2011 ©Matthew E. Ward