So, I had this crazy idea the other day. I was thinking, wouldn’t it be cool to somehow mash up Peter Pan and The Little Mermaid? I know, I know, totally random, but it sounded fun, so I decided to try it. I’ve always liked tinkering with art and story ideas in my spare time, So it’s my latest personal project.
Getting Started
First, I grabbed my sketchbook and started brainstorming. I doodled a few rough sketches of Peter Pan, but with, like, a fishtail. It looked pretty goofy at first, I’m not gonna lie. Then I drew Ariel, but gave her fairy wings. It was all very experimental, just trying to get the feel of these two very different worlds coming together.
I thought about the story too. Maybe Peter Pan could live underwater sometimes? Or maybe Ariel could fly around Neverland? My brain was just firing off all these “what ifs.”
The Messy Middle
- I spent a good few hours just sketching and erasing.
- I tried different color palettes. Should it be all ocean blues and greens? Or should I throw in some of the brighter Neverland colors?
- I even tried doing a little writing, some short scenes of Peter and Ariel meeting, but it wasn’t quite clicking yet.
- I wasted a good hour just staring at a blank page, feeling totally stuck.
The “Aha!” Moment
Then, it hit me. What if I focused on the themes they share? Both stories are about wanting something more, about being different, right? So I started playing with that idea. I sketched Ariel gazing longingly at the surface, with Peter hovering nearby, also looking a bit lost. I kind of liked where it was going.
Putting It All Together
I decided to do a digital painting. I scanned in my sketches, fired up my drawing tablet, and got to work. It was slow going, lots of layering and blending colors, but it started to take shape. I added some details, like giving Peter some subtle scales on his arms, and making Ariel’s wings look a bit like seaweed.
The background has hints of both the ocean and the glowing lights of Neverland.
Finally, many many hours later, I finished *’s not perfect, but it was a really fun experiment, and I like the way it captures the longing and wonder of both stories.
So, it’s my recent creative play, Just for the fun of seeing what would happen. I thought I’d share the process, even the messy parts. It’s cool to just let your imagination run wild sometimes, even if it leads to some pretty weird places.
