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Beauty and the Beast
That was a 1976 commission by Editions Fleurus
in Paris. The original text by the Princesse de Beaumont had been slightly
updated for easier reading for the 13-year old girl audience of the magazine
Djinn. Of course I had seen Cocteau's version of the tale, an obvious influence here with the torch-bearing arms... But for the rest I spent a full month preparing, sketching, drawing and painting the 15 pages I was instructed to deliver.
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I took a day strolling at the Château de Vizille, exploring it both inside and outside, seeking appropriate settings, taking sketches and pictures. | |||
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Then I worked on horses in movement until I felt I had them right. Errors are still visible, though, but they are of the minor kind. I still was on a learning curve, and that was when I understood how to draw trees. |
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For the monster I started from a book of photographs of large cats, focusing on the lynx. The male figure had to be tall and imposing. I also went deep into costume documentation, so details would be true to life. |
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