Scarecrow

Here is Scarecrow. I am actually quite pleased with the way he turned out! In the book Baum describes him as being made by a couple of Munchkin farmers out of old faded Munchkin clothes an old sack and blue paint. Their color of preference is blue and they consider the white and blue combo to represent good. They say to Dorothy in reference to her Gingham dress:

"It is kind of you to wear that,"... "Blue is the color of the Munchkins, and white is the witch color. So we know you are a friendly witch."

Baum also describes him as having a pointy blue hat. I didn't give him the traditional pointy hat, one because I imagined that pointy hats come in all different shapes and I am more prone to believe that individual Munchkins would probably have different shaped pointy hats in varying shades of blue (Blue Black/Baby Blue) to distinguish them. Secondly, I wanted the hat to faintly echo the tall crown he wears as ruler of OZ when he is appointed by the Wizard.

One thing that Baum left a bit vague was how Scarecrow was put together. I decided to make him more rugged and durable. His legs are wrapped up with rope to keep the hay in his boots and thighs and also to make him seem taller (though he is perhaps only an inch or two taller than Dorothy). However, as durable as he looks, his arms, torso and head are still rather vulnerable.

Nick Chopper is next. I am particularly excited about working on him because I want to imagine him in two ways; both before and after he became the Tin Woodsman. Besides these character Illustrations, I am also beginning work on my first larger format piece based on the composition in my sketchbook post. Again, thank you for looking.