INTRO
In our illustration class, we were tasked with creating a 3D diorama inspired by the fairy tale The Shadow by Hans Christian Andersen. I chose to focus on the final lines of the story, where the shadow, having taken over the life of the original man, marries a princess while the true protagonist ends up dead and forgotten. This poignant ending set the tone for my creative interpretation.
MANDATE
The assignment required us to interpret and visualize a scene from The Shadow in a 3D format. We were encouraged to reimagine the tale in our own artistic voice while still preserving the essence of the story. My goal was to add a unique narrative twist by personifying the characters as animals that reflected their traits and roles in the original text.
RESULT
In my diorama, I reimagined the main character as a lion—symbolizing his bravery and strength. The princess, portrayed as a female lioness, reflects both nobility and elegance. The shadow, now the dominant figure, is depicted as a sleek, cunning panther—a darker counterpart to the lion. I substituted the traditional castle setting with a large circus tent, introducing a more surreal, symbolic space. The lion, representing the original man, is shown lifeless and confined in a circus cage beneath the scene, reinforcing the theme of entrapment and lost identity.
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PROCESS
Throughout the creative process, I explored animal symbolism and experimented with materials to best convey the textures and dynamics of each character. Developing the setting as a circus allowed me to visually express the theatrical and deceptive elements of the story. I focused on composition, lighting, and spatial relationships to enhance the emotional contrast between the shadow's triumph and the original character’s tragic end.