The concept for Ariel is a sort of mash-up between The Little Mermaid and Red Sonja. A few years back I created a Red Sonja doll and I so enjoyed the doll and creating the armor I naturally went in this direction with Ariel. What if the princess of Atlantica became its defender. What if, after the battle with Ursula, Atlantica faced even greater threats... from humans.
I am a huge mermaid fan. I have a lot of collectables. I started my art career painting them and I have read a lot about them. There are many stories and actual ancient cave drawings of humans and mermaids that I also drew inspiration from. (Not to be confused with the fake Animal Planet documentary, The Body Found.)
San art in the Karoo, South Africa
So I decided Ariel would go on land with Eric and they would train so she could fight on both land and at sea. She would become a seasoned warrior. Also influenced by the new Wonder Woman movie (I am a huge fan since I was little).
I will have a story to share when work in progress/sneak peeks are revealed. Until then.. here is my inspiration of Aerielle: Scarlet Warrior of Atlantica.
