The Wee Green Man

I had a go at creating my own little fairy gent out of twigs, foliage, natural twine and twine made from stripped bark. The final outcome was rather better than I expected and he camouflaged himself well amongst the trees of my garden. Unfortunately, this model wouldn't work as a stop-mo character as he is rather static. The twigs I used to craft him have some give and bend to them but they won't hold a position and he definitely would not be able to stand without aid. He is entirely to fragile to be a stop-mo puppet.

It's possible that I could invest some time in crafting a wire armature and then covering this with foliage and natural elements to make him look like my first wee green man, but I am certain that this will detract from the look I am after as he needs to be willowy and brittle-looking. Covering an armature so that no wire could be seen would look to bulky. I may still try by not using natural elements, and instead painting him to look like he is made from twigs and leaves, but I am not certain I want to just film some stop-motion puppets in a real environment. An outdoor setting for a stop-motion prompts MANY technical and logistical challenges, such as weather conditions, lighting issues, wind levels, outside interferences from the public/excited dogs in the woods and limited timescales (Scenes would have to be shot in one day as equipment cannot be left in place). I am not sure I think the look I got from these few pictures of my fairy in his environment are exactly the look I even want for this animation, certain elements such as the northern lights scene would probably have to be achieved post-production which might cheapen the entire aesthetic of the film as a grounded, tactile animation.