Eira, Queen of Winter

 

As part of my contract with Clockwork Wolf Publishing, I am sometimes required to produce cover art for their magazine, Clockwork Chronicle.  My first task related to this was to come up with an idea for the cover to Issue 01, which was to be a winter issue.  I didn’t want to go for the traditional Christmas theme, so I looked for inspiration elsewhere.  I found it in the then-upcoming film “Frozen” and thus, Hans Christan Andersen’s “The Snow Queen”.

The Queen of Andersen’s story is an icy-hearted woman, while Elsa is simply frightened of her power.  I decided at that point that I wanted my Queen to be a misunderstood, warm-hearted person trapped by her own icy power.  I chose to ask Julia Scott to be my Winter Queen, as she was already modelling for her own interview and had the perfect outfit for the shoot.

I took photographs of her outside in a dark, faux-snow setting, acting mysterious and sultry, and sitting alone indoors in a warm environment.  Ultimately, we decided on the image below as the cover art.  This was because it was composed in a suitable way for the cover, but also because it captured Eira in many different lights.
It shows her as tempting and mysterious (the feather fan), inviting (looking directly at the camera and the subtle smile) but also as cold (the colour scheme).

Model: Julia Scott

“Eira, Queen of Winter. She is mysterious, beautiful, but also dangerous. Her power over ice and snow is absolute. Yet she is misunderstood. She longs for the warmth of acceptance, and perhaps, love. Her heart breaks with loneliness as she gazes into warm, family homes. But she is the Queen; she cannot show weakness. So she hides her sorrows under an icy gaze, waiting for the right person to melt her frozen exterior.”