"A Changeling is a creature found in Western European folklore and folk religion. It is typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other legendary creature that has been secretly left in the place of a human child. Changelings usually can be identified by a greenish tint to their skin. Changelings also hate shoes so they walk about barefoot as often as possible. They are very wise and possess vocabularies betraying vast intellect. Their hair is hopelessly tangled, no matter how many times you brush it, and grows very fast. Their eyes and hair are usually earthen colors such as green and brown. In Scotland it was generally believed that Changlings had a great love of playing upon Pipes, and would do anything to get a hold of that or similar instruments, needing no teaching at all to be able to play upon them. Changelings have pointed ears, and they also grow slower than other humans. Compared to other children, Changelings tend to be extremely eccentric in personality and in clothing choices. As young adults, their strange traits will become harder and harder to conceal."

^{Source: [link]}



This is my entry for 's contest Night Fairy Song -> [link]

I felt like creating a little less traditional fairy creature, a Changeling. I have always found the stories about stolen children replaced by fairies fascinating, and I have actually written few stories inspired by these folklore creatures.
This work is depicting one of my fictional characters - the boy who finds out that he's actually a Changeling, a fairy child, trapped in human world where he can never fully belong. The people around him can see his difference but can't quite prove his ill origin. Despite of this the boy, Amias, has very difficult life from everyone around him. The hostile environment is endlessly testing him, trying to find the proof to get rid of him and therefore he has never been loved as a true child. Amias himself tries to keep his discovery as a secret and balances between two parts of him - he isn't a human being but neither a fairy. Because of his nature he is somehow stuck between two different worlds, not really belonging either of them.
In spite of his part as an outsider Amias feels the most comfortable in the woods where his true kin dwell. Every fullmoon he sneaks out to the nocturnal forest and escapes the twisted life he's forced to live. These moments bring him as close to the fairy world as he can ever get. In this piece Amias is in one of his nightly trips, playing his pipe in the heart of the woods. The moonlight reveals his true form: the fragile wings, wildly tangling hair and the lurid claws. The otherworldly song he plays is alluring the legendary creatures out of their lairs, and for the moment he can let down his guard and be who he was meant to be.

So much for the story... I'm quite happy with this piece, and I had good time experimenting with some new stuff I haven't tried before. This is also the first piece where all the material used is my personal resources: I used the photos I took from Netherlands for the forest, and the model for the Changeling is once again my brother Niklas (he hardly recognized himself when I showed this piece ^^). The rest of the image including the hair and the wings I painted with the Wacom tablet. Some parts of this piece were a bit arduous to do but on the other hand it was pretty nice to do a lot of painting and use my own material.
I really hope you like this piece!

See the close-up here -> [link]


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