~ FREYJA, the Norse Goddess of Love ~
Character design
What’s interesting with this character is the irony that despite being the Goddess of Love, Freyja spent a lot of her time alone, waiting for her husband to come back from wandering the world.
With this painting I tried to include as many of Freyja’s symbols as I could without it being too overwhelming or ‘cliché’.
Here’s a short breakdown of the symbols and how I represented them:
▪️ The Brísingamen Necklace, the most valuable treasure, crafted by dwarves, is supposed to be made of amber and glitter. But because what I had in mind was all grayscale with just a hint of color, amber and glitter were out of the picture.
I designed the necklace to be more of a Viking-sturdy looking kind of jewelry that would allow me to include more hidden symbols. As for the heart gem at the center, it is making up for the missing amber.
▪️ A Chariot pulled by two cats would be Freyja’s go to transport. I didn’t want to get lost in details so I went for a simplified version and added a wheel shape to the necklace framed by two cats. (Yes there are 2 of them in my painting but one is hidden by the hair!)
▪️ A Coat of falcon feathers. I really really wish I had enough patience, I had found great references for a feather coat. Maybe another time. The 2 feathers I worked on are… a symbol of the symbol!
▪️ And last but not least, the boar Hildisvíni, Freyja’s ride for battle. I chose to represent it with the fur coat and by adding a boar fang to the headpiece.
With this painting I tried to include as many of Freyja’s symbols as I could without it being too overwhelming or ‘cliché’.
Here’s a short breakdown of the symbols and how I represented them:
▪️ The Brísingamen Necklace, the most valuable treasure, crafted by dwarves, is supposed to be made of amber and glitter. But because what I had in mind was all grayscale with just a hint of color, amber and glitter were out of the picture.
I designed the necklace to be more of a Viking-sturdy looking kind of jewelry that would allow me to include more hidden symbols. As for the heart gem at the center, it is making up for the missing amber.
▪️ A Chariot pulled by two cats would be Freyja’s go to transport. I didn’t want to get lost in details so I went for a simplified version and added a wheel shape to the necklace framed by two cats. (Yes there are 2 of them in my painting but one is hidden by the hair!)
▪️ A Coat of falcon feathers. I really really wish I had enough patience, I had found great references for a feather coat. Maybe another time. The 2 feathers I worked on are… a symbol of the symbol!
▪️ And last but not least, the boar Hildisvíni, Freyja’s ride for battle. I chose to represent it with the fur coat and by adding a boar fang to the headpiece.
