the village chief
i recently bought jessica julius and maggie malone’s the art of moana, and it was such a beautiful and enjoyable read! i was inspired to draw moana again; this is how i imagine an older moana would look as the village chief of motunui.
i decided to marry parts of the designs of both motunui villagers (such as tattoos) and their voyaging ancestors (such as fresh vegetation) for moana’s village chief look, also making sure to use a lot of red, which is the color of royalty, and to throw in whale teeth into her necklace, which only royalty would be allowed to wear. the story of moana, after all, is about how moana found and defined her identity when she set out to fulfill her ancestors’ quest and how she connected herself and her people to their ancestry in doing so.
Tag: moana
I’ve delivered us to where we are, I have journeyed farther. I am everything I’ve learned and more, still it calls me…
They have stolen the heart from inside you
But this does not define you
This is not who you are
You know who you are
Do you know who Maui is? Only the greatest demi-god in all the Pacific Islands. With this magical fish hook he slowed down the sun, pulled islands out of the sea, battled monsters… And I should know, cause I am Maui.
Who am I? I am a girl who loves my island. I’m the girl who loves the sea. It calls me.
In the beginning, there was only ocean. Until the Mother Island emerged: Te Fiti. Her heart held the greatest power ever known. It could create life itself and Te Fiti shared it with the world.
Shout out to this book that wants to make sure you draw Moana accurately
Okay something that’s been on my mind about Moana.
I can’t name another film that romanticizes and older woman like this one. Grandma Tala was not just a wise old lady, she was a rounded character. She was lively and wasn’t confined in her actions to stay graceful. Her face was expressive, she was allowed to make funny faces and be a comic relief. She was just as much of the “rebellious princess” as Moana herself.
And better yet, she was wearing clothes that didn’t entirely cover her up. They exposed her back and limbs, and even animated her under-arm flab. She, and her age, were celebrated rather than diminished. I mean really, when’s the last time you saw an old lady with exposed skin, large/unapologetic tattoos, who had a bechdel-passing relationship with her granddaughter that glorified the unique bond between two women?
Lin-Manuel Miranda & Auli’i Cravalho perform ‘How Far I’ll Go’ at the 2017 Academy Awards
I have crossed the horizon to find you. I know your name.
Izzie’s tumblr archive 