Oh I just keep on going - don't you even try to stop me!

For a long time now I have wanted to draw Tiana and Naveen wearing these wonderful lily swamp inspired outfits...

I have done some sketches for this vision, and this week when I finished this sketch ---> [link] I finally decided that THIS is going to be the coloured drawing I've been wanting to do for so long!


I cannot explain how much joy drawing these two is giving me! I have just finished this one, and edited it for it's online version you see here, and I was looking at the drawing thinking, "My God! I still hadn't even seen the movie, but I just love them!" There is something so fresh with this two. Yet I think that they somehow reminding me of Pocahontas and John Smith but from the other perspective. I mean, Pocahontas and John couldn't be together because of cultural and racist issues... She was dark skin, he was white - "they can't be together" as some voices from the movie (and true life history) said. And now Disney is bringing us Tiana and Naveen with the same issue, only that this time around, it is NOT an issue! They are getting to realise their love for one another and be together! I see a lot of hope there, and a feeling of "We have come a long way indeed!"

I guess I really love these type of love stories more as I can really relate to the issue... My love life are often an easy target for backlash from all kind of people all over. And even at my age, an animated film who challenges these issues can still give me a great deal of hope - for me, and more so, for generations to come!!!

I really can't understand the backlash that Disney is getting for Prince Naveen not being of African decent. I think all of the people who see it as wrong, are racist themselves! Why - a "white" prince can't fall for and be attracted to a true black beauty?! Why - a black girl, can't see under the surface and find a white guy to be the prince of her dreams regardless his skin colour?! What a wonderful thing that is that we can finally see people for who they are from the inside and nothing more?!

That is - maybe - why I fell so strongly in love with this couple! If the film will be a smash hit or not, Tiana and Naveen will bring in something to our world that (hopefully) will stand the test of time!!!


Wow, some speech... As for the drawing itself...
Well I made it in like 2 days, like 4 hours a day. 6 different layers. In the sketch of it you can see Tiana wearing her veil and not here. That is because I still don't have a good enough picture to use for as reference for a "final product" type of drawing, so I just took it off here. Maybe I'll add it to this one when I'll know what to do with it

Please, if anyone is going to use it somewhere, on forums and such, feel free to edit it in colours and cropping and stuff like that, but please give me credit! I've seen my drawings all over lately and people don't give me credit. You have you already used it without permission, credit could be nice, you know?!

Thank you so much for reading all this, and I really hope you'll love this drawing for what it is, and what it represents in it's way to everyone!

Have a Wonderful Day!
the

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Photoshop CS
David Kawena, 2009
The Princess and the Frog characters and logo, belongs to the Walt Disney Company.