Hello!  A discussion post by @rose in the Costumes forum regarding the different cultural influences within Narnia sparked my interest.  There is also this post discussing specifically dryads and naiads in greater detail.  I literally just saw this, having overlooked it before (I did not see it until after drawing the dryads).  The first discussion in particular inspired me design concept art of dryads (and naiads) with a decided Greek influence in their clothing while still incorporating the patterns of the trees. @rose in particular mentioned that she hoped the dryads forms are quite human-looking, so that is what I tried to go for.  I’m afraid they turned out more humanoid than I’d like with not enough “tree” features.   And their ears are quite elven for some reason.

I’d be curious to know if you can guess what type of tree each dryad is supposed to be based on the picture alone!  

Here is the first one:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/Dz1hSTF3UgJhDiNt5

Here she is with more dramatic lighting:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ro1wE53nRfG8S51w7

It’s a... 

I’d say I’m decently happy with how she turned out.  In my mind, her dress was lighter and gauzier, and the pattern of the leaves would be more subtle and overlayed (more like frosted glass), which is not exactly how it turned out.  Her hair is not at all like the description in Prince Caspian, though I suppose if you let it down, she would be able to “push back her hair from her brooding face to gaze on Aslan.”  Though I suppose her face is not all that brooding, either. Ah, well, I’d found the discussion with the descriptions listed after I had drawn her.

Here is the second one:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/obHUZ2EFMEm4p3R96

Here she is with more dramatic lighting:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/dVTsVBNLLSV2xXNW8

Finally, here she is without the leaves in her hair:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/KELcWNvfsn5KjmBa8

It’s a...

I personally think that this dryad turned out better than the first one.  For this one especially, I wanted to play with the design and show how the different layering and silhouette of Greek dress could be used to convey the type of tree—in this case, tall and stately.  I was going for rather statuesque figure, though I’m not sure about the leaves in her hair.  

This was a fun experiment, and I’d love to know you think!  Should I draw more dryads in this style?

—Wanderer