Finding Arendelle

Stave churches of Norway: Bergen (top left), Borgund (top right), Gol (middle left), Heddal (middle right), Lom (bottom left), Ringebu, (bottom right)

Frozen animator Cory Loftis just posted these "paintings" from For the First Time in Forever to his blog. So far as I know, the second from bottom (The Swing by Fragonard) is the only real piece of artwork in the bunch. If I'm wrong, I hope someone will let me know!

The photo is of Ella Li-Spik, a woman from the Sami region in the far north of Scandinavia, and appears in the November 2011 issue of National Geographic. With the white-blonde hair and green eyes, there's a wonderful echo of this concept art of Elsa by Brittney Lee in The Art of Frozen.

All concept art by Minkyu Lee except bottom right by Brittney Lee.

As many of you may know, animated films go through various changes, which includes characters and their personalities. In this early version, Anna and Kristoff’s characters were different from who they are in the final film.  The main cultural reference we focused on back then was a group of reindeer-herding indigenous group of Scandinavians called the Sami People. So I started from there with these designs, trying to be as faithful as I can to their unique and beautiful costumes.   –MINKYU LEE, ARTIST

It's official, I've started Finding Arendelle, the sister site to Finding Corona. It's all about looking at all the influences on Frozen and exploring all the nooks and crannies of the kingdom. I hope you'll drop by.