Who IS Princess Vivian ?!?

2012 was an auspicious year for Snarky The Elf , as she made the
transition from simple single panel gags to sequential narrative . She
also gained a nemesis , the Ice Princess Vivian .

Admittedly , with " Fear The Season " , very little character development or exposition was given Princess Vivian ; aside from the most basic traits of an antagonist . No attempt was made on my part to explain who she was or WHY she wanted to steal Christmas for herself . At the time , it was not necessary . I really had no plans to continue her role beyond that particular story . That she was " The Ice Princess " was just my way of explaining ( to my own mind ) WHY she would be at the North Pole trying to steal Christmas in the first place .

As I began to consider expanding the scope of the Snarky The Elf story concept after the completion of Fear The Season , I knew that I wanted to keep Princess Vivian as a recurring source of conflict , along the lines of an inconsiderate neighbor . I suppose it could be likened to the affluent Drysdales having the hillbilly Clampetts next door - with Snarky and Santa's workshop filling the role of the Beverly Hillbillies .

With the release of " A Snarky Fearsgrieving " there was still very little exposition on who Princess Vivian was , she appeared to aggravate Snarky and display her insensitivity to the Elf Twins , Buttercup and Hunnypie and just add a bit of humor . Within the context of the story , she served to illustrate things that the modest budget of Snarky The Elf could not otherwise . Her role also served to help ME develop her character . I was beginning to understand
her and see the importance she had as to the overall storyline of Snarky the Elf . Princess Vivian had become that missing puzzle piece that connected the entire concept of the " Snarkiverse " .

Culturally we are all very familiar with Santa Claus , Christmas , The North Pole , Santa's workshop , the elves that make toys ; but typically only their activities during Christmas time . The day in day out life of these magical characters is pretty vague and ambiguous , Snarky The Elf is my exploration of what these individuals are up to the rest of the year . Last year's story was the beginning really , as the elves at Santa's Workshop celebrated Halloween at the North Pole .

Life at the North Pole is key to the presence of Vivian , the Ice Princess . Privacy aside , WHY would Santa Claus locate his workshop at one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth ? Scientific expeditions to the region have NEVER found any signs that it's inhabited - let alone by magical elves or flying reindeer . There's some sort of MYSTERY going on there !! Princess Vivian provides that side of the story , a connection between mystical beings living in a cold and hostile land as easily as normal folk exist in more benign climates .

As far as story development goes for Snarky The Elf 2014 , my " want " was to delve deeper into the mystery surrounding Princess Vivian - although I was not quite sure how deep I would be , or COULD be able to go . That changed when I received a gift of costuming from an astoundingly talented doll costumer , Amy Jones , who primarily does western themed outfits , occasionally venturing outside the box ,  http://ajclothiers.com is a place of wonder and excitement ! The outfit I got was " Snow Queen " and it pretty much fit the bill as to all my hopes and desires when it came to Princess Vivian . I had exactly what I needed to take Snarky The Elf forward for 2014 . 

I had alluded in the 2013 edition of Snarky The Elf " A Snarky Fangsgrieving " that Princess Vivian had completed construction of her new palace so it's a fair bet that she is here to stay . She has also " softened " up slightly in character , having adopted a new slave . . . uh , no that's not right - a new " daughter " , an elf named Lollypop . She has also hired a new manservant to replace the previous one who disappeared under mysterious circumstances at Snarky's Halloween .party .

As has become " tradition " between episodes , 2014 Snarky Teezers have introduced two new costuming changes for Princess Vivian - both more demonstrative of her royal lineage , which begs the question " As Vivian is a princess , suredly she MUST have parents - a King and Queen ? " As work continues for the 2014 Snarky Season the answers are to come . . . or perhaps as I am wont to do - maybe I will just pose MORE questions .

Reindeer Games

I suppose it was inevitable , having created a character who happens to be a Christmas Elf  living at the North Pole at Santa's Workshop ; the time would come when I would feel the compulsion to add reindeer to the mix of characters . With the inclusion of the Sleigh House as a story element in 2013s " Snarky Fangsgrieving " it became increasingly clear to me that to fulfill the potential of Snarky , Santa's eight tiny flying reindeer would need to become a reality .

Snarky the Elf ain't convinced . . . 

Were Snarky The Elf a more traditional medium - illustrated , or a more modern one - computer generated this would not be much of an issue ; but since it's a fumetti utilizing dolls one suddenly realizes " It is going to be impossible to find a stock reindeer doll or toy that will mesh with the established reality . "

Building up the body , making antlers and heads

The reindeer will need to be created from scratch . The phrase " Famous Last Words " springs to mind . Of course the easiest approach would be just to make some static sculptures , but when you're telling a story about supposedly real living creatures it's kinda imperative that they have the ability to move - body language helps communicate . The alternative to an actual poseable reindeer would be to create a series of static posed models - but how many would I need ? Five - Ten - MORE ?!? That would be a lot of work for a single artist only able to devote a few hours a week to a project . I decided to approach the task at hand as though I was making a puppet for a stop motion film , a jointed doll , just like the rest of Snarky The Elf's cast .

Sintra PVC sheets , 6mm , used to make antlers

Working with my modest Snarky Budget , which is ZERO ; I rummaged around my parts bins to see if I could find suitable gizmos to build a working armature . As is very typical of me , rather than spend preproduction time developing the concept I just jumped headlong into it . I'll learn as I go . That old phrase " Famous Last Words " comes back to mind . I'm not that concerned with making mistakes since one learns more by screwing up than by performing successfully , and on this project I was treading down new paths so I figured I'd just enjoy the trip and have fun while I was at it .

Sculpey Firm head and laminated craft foam head

The process of building an armature and bulking it up with foam has been surprising simple , although I can see that my makeshift armature likely will not be up to the task it will be called upon to carry out . I'll probably have to fork over the money for professionally machined puppet joints . The beneficial side to this setback is that it has me looking at an inexpensive and possibly simpler method of making a reindeer puppet utilizing craft foam - considerably lighter and possibly just as functional . For me the fun part is playing around with a creative expression .

The shoulder joint is too high - I will need to change it .