Thumbelina Sitting On A Lily Pad

The dress is what makes this page. It is built from overlapping flower petals arranged in three descending rows, and each petal is a separate pointed shape with a single vein line down its middle. There are more than twenty of them altogether, which gives an older child a genuine project: alternate two tones across the rows and the skirt takes on real depth. Above it the bodice is plain, with one narrow strap over the shoulder. The fairy is seen from the side facing right, her hair cut in a short rounded bob, and a pair of pointed wings rise behind her back. Drawing her in profile keeps her face simple, just one eye, a small nose and the curve of a smile. She sits on a broad lily pad that spreads out beneath her and meets the water in a long shallow curve. To the left a closed flower bud stands on a bent stem with a single small leaf drifting beside it. A few loose lines suggest the surface of the pond. Nothing else appears on the sheet, so the petal skirt keeps every bit of the attention it deserves.