The initial research into Mary Blair was primarily internet based and focused on Mary’s achievements and her career. I created a timeline of her career in my sketchbook which I could then develop a storyboard and concept from.
I looked at which animations she worked concept ideas for. From this I then looked into the films and found her concept art. This allowed me to pick out both characters to use but also her style and what makes her work hers.
In order to develop the pastiche for Mary Blair, I created five puppets: Alice (Alice in Wonderland), Cinderella (Cinderella), Peter (Peter Pan) and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Mary Blair herself. These were all created on a thick cardstock and painted with acrylic paint in order to recreate her style, but I’m not a natural with paint so I didn’t pull it off the way I hoped.