Fantasy Art Butterflies

From LoveToKnow Sci-Fi

Fantasy art butterflies take advantage of the fairy tale like existence of butterflies. Butterflies begin their existence as caterpillars. The ordinary caterpillar is hardly noticeable and rarely seen. It spins a cocoon, and from that cocoon bursts forth the most colorful of creatures; the butterfly.

Butterflies represent rebirth.

About Fantasy Art Butterflies

Fantasy art butterflies appear within the works of many popular fantasy artists including Nene Thomas. Historically, butterflies also appeared in hieroglyphics, representing the soul. This agrees with the ancient Greek word for butterflies, "psyche." In mythology, the butterfly is most often associated with rebirth, because the caterpillar emerges as a beautiful butterfly after a dormant time in the cocoon.

Chinese Lovers

Fantasy art butterflies in China often represent love or lovers as two butterflies twining together. In Chinese folk stories, there is a tale of two star-crossed lovers (similar to Romeo and Juliet) who are known as The Butterfly Lovers.

The story follows an educated girl, of a proper Chinese household, who longs for more than just trading one set of walls for another. She disguises herself as a man and studies with a house scholar for three years. The two become inseparable, sworn 'brothers,' and she falls deeply in love with him without ever revealing herself. The tale of these two lovers is so closely associated with butterflies that many people consider the Chinese folk art that features butterflies as a reference to these two lovers.

Modern Fantasy Butterfly Tales

In 2001, Lions Gate began distributing a series of digitally designed Barbie films. The feature-length films use high quality CGI animation to enchant families with popular fairy tales and stories, often told through the eyes of Barbie to a young child.

In 2005, Barbie: Fairytopia began a series of butterfly fairy films that would include Mermaidia, Barbie: Mariposa and Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow. In the first film, audiences are introduced to Elina, a wingless flower fairy who must save all of Fairytopia. She is awarded a set of beautiful wings for her trouble. The use of butterflies and butterfly fairies add to the enchanting magic of the story lines. Mattel released a line of Barbie dolls including a Mariposa (which means butterfly in Spanish) that took advantage of the highly decorative butterfly wings.

Butterflies and the Magic of Neverland

Butterflies make another fantasy appearance in the Pixie Hollow series book Prilla and the Butterfly Lie. In the novel, Prilla must help herd the butterflies. The books explore the magical world of the Pixies that the well-known Tinker Bell comes from. Butterflies make an appearance in other novels, but they are the focus of this one.

Butterfly Wings

Fantasy art butterflies influence costumes as well as standard art. Children often want to dress up as angels, fairies and of course, butterflies.

Butterflies are a symbol of renewal. They appear in the springtime and throughout the summer. People plant gardens in order to attract them. Butterflies feel like the kiss of a fairy when they land on your finger. Their vibrant displays of color and pattern on their wings increase their beauty. Fairies with butterfly wings are an increasingly popular mixture of modern art and fairy tale sensibilities.

Learn more about fairies, butterflies and fantasy butterfly art at:

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