NPR Profiles "The Path" - a new video game based on fairy tales

While a couple of other fairy tale friendly blogs have posted on this I feel an obligation to as well (links at the bottom of the post) - when NPR takes notice, it's worth noting!

When you're told to stay on the path to grandmother's house do you listen and obey?

In this new game from Tale of Tales, called "The Path", if you do, you will have failed. Ultimately, this isn't about staying safe but about facing your wolves and using your wits. One person might say it's about growing up, another: survival.

This quote from Samyn, one of the game's creators, says it best:

"I think we've succeeded in making a game that's about the player. What's frightening about it is the confrontation with your own interpretation of things, and probably realizing that they're your own."

The NPR All Things Considered article title, "On 'The Path": Everything a Big Bad Wolf Could Want" should give you some clues as to what the characters have to face and this is where the term 'game' almost doesn't fit. It's not a competition, with ticking clock or shiny bonuses when tasks are completed. It's apparently a short game that can be completed in six hours but players are reported to say "once it's over it stays with you", even giving them a sense of empowerment and determination as they go about their days. This, obviously, is no ordinary game.

"I think we've succeeded in making a game that's about the player," says Samyn. "What's frightening about it is the confrontation with your own interpretation of things, and probably realizing that they're your own."

Here's a trailer for you. Please remember the 'mature content' warning and that, as a result, it's not for everyone:


I recommend reading the rest of the NPR article and listening to the podcast there before delving any further into the game. Based on early,dark version of Little Red Riding Hood, the game makers have labeled it 'horror' although no graphic violence or gore is shown. Mature and possibly disturbing themes are alluded to, however, and a 15+ warning is rightly given on the box.

But this is why I like fairy tales: they're reflections of ourselves and road maps for life. They not only tell you which roads to take but which roads not to. The path you then choose is up to you.NOTE: The Path is multi-platform ie. you can play it on a Mac or a PC.
You can read SurLaLune's post HERE and Little Red Riding Blog's post HERE.

Old-Style Digital Fairy Tale Collages

I recently found these sweet little digital collages on flickr, by Rowan Tree Design.

The theme for this set is myth and fairy tales and uses some lovely old illustrations as the base on which to design the rest. Here's a small selection for you:
You can find the rest HERE. You can see a lots of her other collage HERE with links to a limited selection at her Etsy shop under the profile tab.

Enjoy!

Winning Red Riding Hood T

Like your fairy tales dark? You'll like these.

Artist 'shantyshawn' has just won his 2nd design award for this Red Riding Hood t-shirt. His artwork tends toward the gory (think zombies - not the cute kind) and he's showing an interest in getting into the nitty-gritty of the old tales and presenting them for all to wear. No gore here but there's plenty of creepy. That splash of red is just right and in case you can't see it, the zoomed view will show you the wolf, looking delightedly on. (See the website where it's being sold - click the image to go there)
Says shantyshawn:

I think I’m going to be doing a series based on fairy tales. This one’s tame, the rest will be much darker. No more Mr. Nice Shanty.

We hope you do!

It's available HERE through Design By Humans for $25 (though at this writing a special was shown on the website for $18).

Shantyshawn's other winner is shown below. It's titled "Blackbirds Attacking in the Dead of Night" but my instant thought was the four-and-twenty blackbirds got loose for some good old fashioned fairy tale revenge.

I like it.

Fairy Tale Make-Up Competition w Prizes!

I discovered a different type of contest for the fashion and fairy tale inclined.

The Gloss Goss is holding a Brothers Grimm make-up contest with some lovely prizes. The idea is to create a look based on one of the Grimm's tales, with stipulation that you 'think on the dark side'. For inspiration, deviantART is a great source to get you thinking (see the pictures posted above and below).

The rules (which are fair and easy) are posted in THIS entry on her blog.

Competition ends July 23rd so hurry if you're interested!

I'm hoping Tali will post entrant pictures but if nothing else it's an interesting way to think about the heroines of the tales we love. Exactly how would you present the Princess and the Pea, with a nod to the darker themes in her story?

Good luck to all entering!

Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer

This is awesome! (Joins the "Why didn't I think of that idea?" club)

Coming in September is a new comic book written by Van Jensen in collaboration with artist and creator Dustin Higgins, titled "Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer".

It's the story of what happens after vampires kill Gepetto and the little wooden boy swears revenge. Armed with a pack of lies and his ever-growing nose, he ends up being humanity’s last hope against enslavement by the monsters.

In a very interesting interview with Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources Van discusses how Carlo Collodi's original story provided a lot of the fodder for the characters and situations.

From the interview:

Van: There’s very little [about the original Collodi story] that isn’t compelling. It starts out, “There was once upon a time a piece of wood…” It’s just such a strange, funny story. Like most fairy tales of that era, it was later stripped down and recast as a simple moral lesson, and it lost all of its weirdness and texture. And Collodi’s Pinocchio is kind of a rotten kid, which also is a lot of fun.

Van answering "Will we see other characters from Collodi in the book?": The fairy is a major character in the story, as magic plays a big role. No Monstro. I think he’s just a giant nameless fish in the original. And the cricket also plays a big role, though he also doesn’t have a name. His character is a great example of Disney’s changes. Collodi actually has Pinocchio smash the cricket and kill him, and then the cricket’s ghost later returns as a friend. And our version continues that, so we have a ghost cricket floating around and offering Pinocchio advice. To me, that’s way more interesting.

You can find the rest of the interview, which discusses Collodi's story, Van's research and process and how he found his way to SLG Publishing, HERE. And yes, if it sells well there are already plans for books two and three.

Below is a trailer to give you a taste, though the full page preview at the bottom of the page HERE gives you a better sense of how the story develops. I recommend you check it out.

The Water Babies - a retelling by Zena Holloway

Not many Americans seem to be familiar with Charles Kingsley's serial "The Water Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby" (written in 1862 and published in its entirety as a book in 1863*) but where I'm from it was part of the classic childhood cannon. You can read it and see the original illustrations through Google Books HERE.

Underwater photographer Zena Holloway, has retold the story, along with illustrator Heidi Taylor in a very magical way. The book follows the story of a young boy, a chimney sweep, named Tom, who has a series of underwater adventures. As per the subjects in the original story, Zena's photographs are mainly of children - underwater.
The project took her two years and is now available as a book. I've included a picture of Zena at work below, to give you some sense of her process (and patience!).

Even if you're not familiar with the story, you can see the fairy tale quality of the images captured so beautifully in the small selection I'm posting here.You can see many more at her website and at the book website (click on any image to enter).

Her additional underwater film and photography work including her 'Underwater Angels' (shown on her website) is well worth your time to browse.

NOTE: To give you a sense of the era The Water Babies was written in, Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" was published in 1865, also in England.

Leibovitz's Alice in Vogue

I previously iconic fashion photographer, Annie Leibovtiz's take on Disney versions of fairy tale characters (which you can find HERE). Prior to that, in 2003, she'd already tackled another fairy tale subject: Alice in Wonderland, for Vogue magazine.


While Alice in Wonderland isn't considered a true fairy tale there's no doubt it has fairy tale-like aspects and Leibovitz obviously had a lot of fun with those when she directed the spread, as you can see by the sampling I've included here.
Model Natalia Vodianova plays Alice with a wardrobe to be envied for, including such labels as Helmut Lang, Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix, Dior, Versace and more.More images from the Alice shoot can be found HERE.

The Fantastic Botanical Creations of Michel Tcherevkoff

“Taking pictures of something that just exists was never interesting to me,” says Michel Tcherevkoff. “I’ve always gravitated to photography that’s more illustrative in nature, where I can create my own reality — with a twist."

Paris-born Michel Tcherevkoff graduated from law school only to realize he needed a more creative career to dedicate himself to. He came to work in the fashion industry in New York (following after his sister, who became a model) and though successful, he soon found he preferred still photography without the manic flurry that often surrounds fashion shoots. At his website you can see how how transitioned into a 'fashion stills' niche but it was his Shoe Fleur creations that rocketed him to fame beyond 'fashionista' circles.

From his interview with Apple Pro Profiles:

Inspired by the upside-down leaf, Tcherevkoff played with the image in Photoshop on his Mac, adding a heel and turning it this way and that until he’d created a shoe. When he showed the prototype to his agent and a few others, he says, “I got this terrific reaction. People kept saying, ‘This is so unusual’ and ‘You should try it again’”

His book (pictured here) is a must-have for lovers of faerie attire, flowers and high fashion.

“I decided early on that I wouldn’t mix different types,” he says. “Every shoe and handbag [most of the shoes in the book have matching purses] would be made from one particular plant or flower.” Tcherevkoff shot blossoms and stems, twisting and knotting and weaving and tying them to bring nature’s flora to heel as meticulously as a third-generation Italian cobbler.

According to Faerie Magazine (see note at end of post), Tcherevkoff has more botanical wonders in store, this time along the lingerie line.

Apple.com also got a good description of his creative process of which I'm quoting a portion here. It turns out Photoshop is only one of his tools, and there's a much more intricate approch to his original photographic content than you might think. As a result his creations really are unique to his photographic sense and work.

“I’ll take a leaf, make it into a sole, bend it to make a heel or a strap, then shoot it.” He works untethered. After taking the pictures, “I walk over to my computer room and download the flash cards. Now, some art director might say that’s wasted time,” he says, “but for me it’s thinking time. I’m looking one or two steps ahead, getting ideas, making creative decisions.”

Once the image is downloaded, he plays with it in Photoshop. “I silhouette the element I’m interested in,” he says, “then I place it here and there. I ask myself, ‘What would happen if I shrink it, distort it, shear it?’”

He’ll return to the set, as needed, to capture new visual elements. “I might take a rose or a daisy,” he says, “and the first time I shoot it straight on. Then I might go back and customize it for what I’m building — say I turn it 20°, then 20° more, and so on, until it forms a collar around the shoe. Getting all the flowers at the proper angle, with the right lighting, creates a put-together ensemble.”

The rest of the interesting two-page profile article can be read HERE.

As for the fashion? There's a LOT more to see on his website (choosing a small selection to include here was uber-difficult!). Many of the shoes have a matching bag and there are glasses too, not to mention all his other work but once you have a good look I think you'll say the same thing I did: "More please!"

Note: You can read more about Michel Tcherevkoff and his creations in the Spring Issue of Faerie Magazine, which is still available in stores at this writing.

Steampunk Fairy Tales - Part III of III

Here's the final post of 'steampunk-ing' fairy tales illustrations I've been showing you this week. You can find Part I, posted 7/12/09, HERE (with introduction) and Part II, posted 7/14/09, HERE.

Again, you can click on the images to see a larger version (highly recommended), while the links to the artists are in the title and name above each piece.

SLEEPING BEAUTY by ANTONIO CAPARO

THE PRINCESS AND THE NIGHTINGALE by MAURICIO DAL FABBRO
(after The Emperor & the Nightingale)

STROMBOLI'S CATCH by LIOR ARDITI

CHESHIRE ADVICE by ERIC CLAEYS

I'm including one more which, while not rendered in the same fashion as the others, still has real charm and explores an interesting concept for "The Little Match Girl" (you'll see what I mean when you click on the pic to have a closer look).

THE LIL' LAMP GIRL by MAX ARKES

That concludes my pick of steampunk fairy tale illustrations on the web to date. I do hope to see more artists exploring fairy tales this way in future. If I find any you can be sure I'll post them too.