My Uncle Oswald - Character Profiles

        Although Roald Dahl is adept adept at painting a vivid picture in the minds of his readers, his actual description, of with his characters' or settings' physical appearance is quite sparse. While this is in a way beneficial, leaving room for a certain amount of creative freedom on my part (although the story is set in a definitive era, with its own styles and fashions), it is my wish to be as true to Dahl's original vision as possible. The sparsity of description also makes it more important to incorporate any features which Dahl deemed it necessary to put into words.

        Neither have there been many prior depictions of My Uncle Oswald, that I have been able to find. Aside from front covers, editions of the book are not illustrated, and I have only come across one portrait of the titular Uncle, looking very suave and of the era, but not in my mind the 'youth of quite piercing beauty' Dahl describes. Consequently I was not weighed down by the influence of previous incarnations.

        In order to ensure that my interpretation of the devious Oswald and his seductive partner in crime Yasmin were as accurate to Dahl's vision as possible I wrote up quick character profiles, gathering together Dahl's own descriptions, as well as making my own notes about their personalities based on their actions and behaviour. This process I believe was helpful in allowing me to really focus on each character, understanding their motivations and immersing myself in descriptions of their characteristics, building up a strong mental picture before attempting to translate this to the page.

Rumplestiltskin Character Design Feedback

        Having completed the initial character designs, I was able to receive feedback from the client (Becky). As the initial brief was quite vague, with little reference material provided, this feedback was invaluable in giving me a clearer idea of what Becky was looking for in the characters.

        For the Miller, Becky requested a variety of features from across the three initial designs. She preferred the face and head shape of the middle character, but ideally would like his physique to more closely resemble the figure on the left. However, she would like him to maintain the shorter stature of the central figure. What came through from this discussion was that it was important for the Miller to look weary and downtrodden. In terms of costume, the button down shirt was the preferred option, with tatty , torn and patched trousers.

        On a more practical note, having a  moustache allows Becky to get away with not giving the character a mouth. If the moustache were to be detachable from the face, moving this could more easily create the impression of speech and changing expression than if different mouth shapes or entire heads had to be cast. In this case, the thicker, bushy moustache would be more practical than the thinner, handlebar style. However, Becky requested that the ends were elongated somewhat, while still maintaining the stronger shape.

        For the Miller's Daughter, Becky's favourite design was the girl on the far right. Despite my reservations about the difficulty of animating long, free flowing hair, this was a feature which Becky requested, in a chestnut brown shade, with a hair band. She also preferred this figure's outfit, with the fitted sleeves. However, she specified that the skirt should have the same tattered and ragged aesthetic as the Miller's trousers, something which can easily be incorporated. When I drew the girl on the right, I envisaged her having a similar face as the girl on the far left, only I drew her with her features scrunched into an expression of anger. Becky agreed that the features of the girl on the left (the rounder face, and large, sad eyes) were most befitting to convey the youth, innocence and vulnerability of the character. In terms of the girl's figure it was tricky. As she is married off during the story and becomes a mother, there needed to be a balance between youth and maturity. Consequently, Becky suggested a petite figure, however, considering that this character will be created as a physical puppet, having rounder hips will help balance the puppet (prevent her being top heavy), as well as providing Becky something to hold on to during animation, and helping support the voluminous A line skirt.

        The colour scheme for these characters should reflect the fact that they are poor penniless peasants (at least for the start of the story), so no rich or ostentatious colours (or fabrics, when it comes to costuming). As such, I will limit my palette to a range of browns and natural colours, as though their clothes are made from coarse linens, cottons and hessians.

        Reassured that I had a better idea of what Becky was looking for, I now felt ready to begin work on the final character turnarounds. 

Rumplestiltskin Initial Character Designs

        As with every design I undertake for a character which will exist as a physical, stop motion puppet, it is important to bear in mind that the underlying armature will influence and impose limitations upon the physicality of the character. For example, very tall, slender characters are more difficult to craft, as they would require specially constructed armatures, with smaller joints. Such characters may also require additional support and rigging, as the puppets may be unable to stand on their own, or the joints may be incapable of supporting the weight of a long limb.

        Simple things, which may be less of a concern in other animation mediums also become problematic. Hair and clothing for example, will need to be constructed in such a way that they too can hold a pose while each frame is captured. This means that long flowing locks, and elegant swathes of fabric can be awkward and best avoided. These are factors which I tried to bear in mind when sketching out initial character designs for Becky's Rumplestiltskin animation. Although I was not given any visual reference material to work with, I did have the already complete designs for the other characters, the King and Rumplestiltskin himself. This allowed me to make a concerted effort to differentiate the Miller in terms of body shape, posture and height (the daughter would be distinct enough, being the only female character).

        However, to provide some frame of reference, I did gather a range of illustrations of the Rumplestiltskin story. While the Miller's daughter has been depicted in a number of ways (from stereotypical blonde princess) there are few or no depictions of the Miller, being only a minor character. None the less, I found the illustrations of the daughter useful, if only for costume and hairstyle inspiration.

        From the brief profile Becky provided, I got the impression that the Miller should be skinny and undernourished. As the design for Rumplestiltskin was short and thin, albeit with a bit of a pot belly, I began by making the Miller taller, with a stooped posture which I hoped would convey his wretched and unfortunate nature. However, my pedantic nature began to take over...would such a weak and wiry figure be able to work as a Miller? Could he physically manhandle the heavy sacks of flour required? As such, I also drafted some more solid, sturdy figures, with a range of head shapes. It was my hope that even if Becky did not like a whole character, I would have presented her with enough range that she could mix an match her favourite elements for me to incorporate into the final design.

        The aforementioned point about hair and clothing was especially pertinent in relation to the Miller's Daughter/Queen character. As a traditional fairytale princess, my initial instinct was to give her long tresses and swirling skirts. In an attempt to make things easier for Becky I attempted to style the hair in such a way that it would be simpler to animate. Tying in back, in twists and plaits, would mean that the hair would not need to be animated strand by strand, but rather a wire could be inserted through the plait, allowing for some animation. Similarly, princesses are often depicted with full, swirling skirts, which would be required to perform secondary and overlapping animation to suggest the weight and momentum of the fabric, in order to make the character's movements seem natural. To achieve this, the skirt may need rigging with wire, which can be manipulated and animated frame by frame. Another option is that the skirt could be supported by a rigid, hooped petticoat, as per Victorian fashion. It would then only need to swing, rather than flow and ripple. The fluidity of movement would also have been a concern on the more bell shaped sleeves of the figure on the left. To limit this issue to just the skirt, the bodice and sleeves could simply fit close to the puppet's body.

        In the past, Becky has made stop motion puppets with interchangeable resin faces allowing a few different expressions. This could potentially be her intention with this project, but in case the puppets will maintain a fixed expression (as in the Periwig Maker by Steffen Schaffler), I hoped to use an expression in the designs which would appropriately capture the spirit of the characters. For the Miller, I imagined him to be worn down and weary. He must be a somewhat desperate figure, in order to place his daughter in such a precarious position. The daughter herself could have a range of emotions; she could be either despondent, angry or frustrated by her impossible task of spinning straw into gold. In any case, neither character is happy, and that should come across in their faces, as well as their stance.

        Another point which occurred to me was how the transition of the girl from Miller's Daughter to Queen could be achieved. Would there be two puppets of the same character, each wearing a different outfit? Would the outfits be interchangeable on a single puppet? I was only asked to depict the Miller's Daughter in her tattered peasant's garb, but in case the character will be need to appear more Queenly later on in the animation, I will refrain from making her hair too tousled and unkempt.

        The Miller's Daughter was more of a struggle than the Miller himself. I find there is more freedom and variety of body and head shapes when designing a male character, particularly on who is not the strong attractive hero. In spite of my best efforts, the influence of Disney is all too apparent in my attempts to create a pretty young woman, fit to be a fairytale princess. This may be due to the fact I was lacking a strong visual style or influence when conceiving these characters (with My Uncle Oswald I will be using the elongated figures of Art Nouveau illustration as reference). As I develop and practice my skills with character designing, I hope that this influence will become less apparent. 

My Uncle Oswald - Art Nouveau

"The essence of Art Nouveau is a line, a sinuous extended curve found in every design of this style. Art Nouveau rejected the order of straight line and right angle in favour of a more natural movement. Whether these lines were used in realistic depictions of natural forms or as abstracted shapes evoking an organic vitality, the emphasis was on decorative pattern...Solidity, mass, permanence, any connection with weight or stability and stillness ran counter to the Art Nouveau style. The insubstantiality of line was best exploited in light malleable materials, or those that could be fashioned to appear so. It was, in essence, a graphic style of decoration that was transferred onto a variety of solid objects. This curving, flowing line brought with it a feeling of airy lightness, grace and freedom.

Nature was the ultimate source book of the Art Nouveau artist, particularly the plant world, for many artists had a scientist's depth of knowledge of botany. Flowers, stems and leaves were chosen for their curving silhouettes.. Naturally, lilies, irises and orchids were favoured, although any and every form, from palm fronds to seaweed, offered potential for development into an animated pattern. Insects and birds of colour and grace lent themselves to the same stylising and refining process - dragonflies, peacocks, swallows, or creatures such as snakes or greyhounds. These decorative possibilities could also be developed from the curves of the female body, particularly when combined with long, loose, flowing hair which could be arranged into a fantasy of curls and waves."

- William Hardy, Introduction to Art Nouveau Style

        My Uncle Oswald is set neither firmly within the Art Nouveau or Art Deco movements, but is on the cusp of both. As the majority of the story takes place in 1919, this would be very late in the Nouveau, but right at the beginning of the Deco periods. Thus it seems sensible to assume that there would be more of a Nouveau influence, as Deco would not yet have had time to becom established. Art Nouveau also has strong links to the erotic, a theme which Dahl's story shares.

        An overarching theme consistent throughout Art Nouveau design, whether furniture, illustration or architecture is the influence of nature. This can not only be seen literally, in the embossing of plants, and flowers and sculptural metal work and ceramics, but in more abstract lines and shapes. Whereas Art Deco would develop into something more angular and geometric (in keeping with the advance of technology and the Machine Age), Art Nouveau can be characterised by sweeping, organic lines, which are translated into softly curving tables, chairs, bedrames, chandeliers, lamps, jewellery, doorframes, vases, a variety of which can be seen below.

        The broad variety of objects which demonstrate the Art Nouveau influence shows how the artists of this movement desired to combine the fine arts and the applied arts, making even utilitarian objects beautiful. The shapes and lines seen in the work of artists such as Beardsley, Mucha and Klimt are closely echoed in the work of designers such as Tiffany, Galle, and Fouquet. Nouveau is now considered an important transitional style between the eclectic historic revival styles of the Victorian era and the 19th Century, and the modernism of the 20th Century.

        While these objects are no doubt beautiful, they do present something of a problem. While the intricate curves and tendrils do not present a problem in two dimensions, if I were to craft a miniature table or chair which curved in three dimensions (that is, protruding forwards and backwards as well as side to side) I would be unable to cut this item using the laser cutter, but would rather have to sculpt it by hand. While this may not be impossible, it may prove to be more time consuming.

Stag - Body Modification

        I had hoped that completing the stop motion stag puppet (a character from David Clement Davies' book Firebringer) would be a relatively quick and straight forward project., and prove a valuable contribution to my portfolio, as my first quadruped stop motion puppet. After all, the design and a significant amount of sponge padding around the armature (building up the body shape) had already been completed as part of my CoP3 module. In theory all that was left for me to do was to complete padding out the body shape, cover the puppet with fur, and create the head and antlers.

        However, it is often said that stop motion animation is the process of overcoming a series of problems, and this puppet posed more problems than I had initially anticipated. The body padding which I had already completed had been done hurriedly, using too much glue, which created a rigid seam between each section, not to mention compromising the puppet's flexibility. This was not too much of a problem to remedy, as the body was constructed using the same templates (albeit on a smaller scale) which were used for the theatrical stag puppet. All I needed to do was cut another set of body shapes and use a smaller amount of glue, kept close to the centre of the stag's body, where the armature runs through it. Now, the body is soft to the touch and far more flexible.

        A far bigger problem was presented by the neck. I had originally intended to continue in the same style, cutting sponge templates to shape the stag's prominent neck.. However it swiftly became apparent that the volume of the stag's neck would obstruct and resist the movement of the armature when the neck extended to the floor (an important movement for a deer). Even when using thinner foam, or hollowing out the sponge segments the problem persisted. I will now have to consider alternative techniques which will allow the necessary movement while still keeping the distinctive shape which is a key part of the character.

Possible solutions include:

• Still using sponge templates, at intervals, rather than solidly, up the neck, and covering with fabric/fur. That way, the templates will act as a support, much like a hooped petticoat, but hopefully offer less resistance.
• Pad out the shape using cotton wool.
• Thin the neck down, and add the extra volume at the front as a ruffle of fur, more like a lion's mane. The whole neck need not be solid 'muscle'.

My Uncle Oswald

        My Uncle Oswald is one of Roald Dahl's stories for adults. It shares the same dark vein of humour demonstrated in Tales of the Unexpected and the more familiar children's stories. The plot concerns the exploits of a young man (the titular Oswald Hendryks Cornelius) in early twentieth century Europe. The young deviant is determined to make his fortune so that he may enjoy a life of privileged leisure, with only the finer things in life. Through his experiences with an incredibly powerful aphprodisiac (powder made of crushed Sudanese Blister Beetles) he hits upon the plan of creating a sperm bank by stealing the sperm of all the great geniuses of the era, which he will then flog to wealthy women. Thus with his partner in crime, Yasmin Howcomely, he sets off on a tour of Europe.

        The risque nature of the plot, coupled with Dahl's flair for dark humor, not to mention the elaborate fashions of the time (on the cusp of both the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements) I feel would make this an ideal candidate for stop motion animation. Consequently, I aim to create the two central characters, Oswald and Yasmin, and a set for them to inhabit. This is an intimidating challenge, as I have never undertaken the design and construction of a set on my own before. It will allow me to further develop my knowledge of working with the laser cutter, and also present the opportunity to try my hand at new technologies such as the CNC machine. There will also be a number of props to craft (depending upon the selected scene) which will offer me the chance to work with new materials and further my modelling skills. 

        While this will no doubt be a challenging and difficult project, especially when alanced with the three smaller briefs I also intend to undertake, this is a story which I greatly enjoy, which gives me a great dea of motivation and passion to do justice to Dahl's characters, and to ringing his vivid narrative to life. 

Golden Dragon

        The Golden Dragon is a project which has been in development since mid way through second year. I was approached by a fellow student, Fiona, who asked if I would be interested in creating the titular dragon for a short stop motion animation she was writing:

One day the little prince was strolling in the woodland, behind his mother’s castle.

When he stumbled upon a 5,000 year old baobab tree, 

He knew baobab trees contained magical properties, and that they were also very fun to climb..

However as he stumbled closer and reached up, a secret passageway was revealed.

He stepped inside and as eyes adjusted to the light, he realised, he was in the presence of a malnourished dragon.

He was whipped back to reality when he heard and felt her belly grumble.

He immediately noticed all her shiny gold scales and though of all the toys in the kingdom he could buy.

He jumped backwards. But as he looked into her eyes, he realise he had no reason to be afraid. She was too weak to move.

He suddenly felt very guilty about all his previous thoughts, and realised this magical creature had a soul and needed help.

He ran as fast as he could back to the kitchen and looked for food for the dragon.

But he didn’t know what a dragon would eat. All the knights had killed all the dragons long before he was born.

He decided upon taking chocolate cake and chicken wings.

Together they ate a feast fit for royalty and the little prince got all the BBQ sauce in his eyebrows!!

As he rubbed the dragons belly he saw her pearly white teeth flash in front of face and said:

‘Oh no this is it, the dire end!!’

He was a melodramatic prince, the dragon just licked his eyebrows clean!

As he left that night he vowed ever evening, he would take some of his tea to the dragon in the magical tree.

A few weeks passed. The little prince looked into the eyes of a chicken and realised this creature had a soul too, and it was unfair to be eating such a gentle soul and to not expect a dragon to eat him!!

By now, the dragon was no longer malnourished. She was almost as big as the castle itself! One false move and the dragonslayer blood in the townsfolk would be reignited.

But she surprised them, even the little prince when she flew round the castle and clipped all the flowers,

bluebells, irises and forgetmenots,

and showered them all over the townsfolk.

She granted the little prince one wish for making her better, she shined better than any toy he’d ever owned and he asked for them to stay together forever.

So together they went away and travelled to lands where dragons were accepted for safe refuge.

The little prince met a lovely princess with skin that oozed the scent of chocolate. And all together they settled on an island they called Paradise. 

My responsibility would be limited to designing and constructing the dragon. The responsibility for the other characters, sets, storyboarding et al. would lie with others also working on the project. I began by experimenting with ways in which I might be able to create stop motion dragoon, covered with golden scales.

        The technique which I experimented with initially was creating the scales from thin cereal card, covered by gold chocolate foil, and layered together. While aesthetically I feel these tests were successful, practically they may not work. The samples came out quite stiff and rigid, which would cause problems when the dragon moves, particularly on the neck and tail, as the scales may catch. This issue may be lessened by attaching the scales one by one to a more flexible material, which could be laid over a padded armature, but to to this would be rather fiddly and time consuming.

        A key feature of the story is that the dragon changes from being thin and malnourished to being plump and healthy. While this change could be achieved through the use of multiple puppets of varying shapes, I had the idea that if the dragon's underbelly were knitted, and capable of being opened up (say with button fastenings) then stuffing could be added or taken away as necessary. There could even be multiple rows of buttons along the stomach, to allow it to expand beyond the natural stretch of the stitches.

Initial scale tests and knitted underbelly samples.

         Having already experimented with knitting in this capacity, why not take it further and use knitting for the sales too? There are an infinite number of knitting stitches which produce beautiful and interesting textures, some of which (berry and moss stitches) are bumpy and bobbly and may be able to emulate the texture of scales. Lace patterns with delicate and decorative eyelets could be placed over the foil to allow glints of gold to show through. Cable patterns too could produce an interesting effect, if laid along the length of the dragon's body. I was quickly becoming enthused with the idea of covering the whole dragon with a variety of knitting stitches.

Unfortunately, when I experimented with the lace knitting laid over
gold foil, the foil did not show through clearly. This may be due to the knitting
being too tight. If I repeated the pattern on thicker needles, the eyelets
should be larger, and the foil show through better.

Statement of Intent

Subjects & Themes

Broadly speaking, what are you interested in studying and why?

I wish to use this opportunity to focus upon model making and character building, without the pressure of having to then animate, composite and edit an animated film. I wish to immerse myself in the processes, from design, through material tests, moquettes, armatures and the final surface design. I aim to build a portfolio of work which demonstrates my skills and abilities.

By constructing a number of different puppets, both animal and human, from different stories and narratives, the resultant portfolio should demonstrate a range of styles, techniques and materials, which should show my versatility and range of abilities.

Statement of Intent

The predominant project in this brief will be in designing and constructing the central characters from Roald Dahl's short story for adults, My Uncle Oswald. This story focuses on the unscrupulous efforts of the titular Oswald to make his millions by building up a sperm bank of the greatest artists and geniuses alive in early twentieth century Europe. He is assisted in his endeavours by an equally unprincipled young woman, Yasmin Howcomely. Aside from designing and constructing these two central characters, I aim to select a scene from the story and construct a set and appropriate props. The story is set on the cusp of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods, with the characters preferring the heights of luxury, which should allow for interesting and sumptuous art design. Branching out into sets and props will also allow me to build upon the experience I gained with the laser cutter during CoP3.

The second project will be to complete the stop motion stag puppet I began as part of CoP3. While in that module I focused on the underlying structure and articulation of the armature, in this module I will work on the puppet's surface design, showing my ability to work with quadruped puppets as well as human figures. The character designs and underlying structure of this puppet is already completed.

The third project will be the creation of the Golden Dragon, a puppet which Fiona asked me to make for a proposed collaborative project as part of last year's PPP. While the collaboration is on hold, I undertook a series of material tests for the puppet and am eager to carry on with its design and construction. Again, this puppet will be require a different armature shape and construction to either a standard biped or quadruped. It will require wings (which could potentially replace the forelegs) and an articulate tail. 

Each of these projects will require me to work with different techniques and materials, to achieve fur, antlers, scales and smooth human skin, encouraging me to step outside of my comfort zone and think laterally in order to overcome the challenges and obstacles which working with each of there materials may entail. I also feel I need to stretch myself in terms of style, and prove my own versatility.

I have also agreed to undertake two character designs for Becky Gilby's stop motion animation of Rumplestiltskin. While Cara has already designed the King and Rumplestiltskin himself, my job will be to design the Miller and his young daughter, who is tasked with spinning straw into gold. It is important that these designs clearly communicate the key attributes of these characters, and I will need to show all angles and perhaps a turnaround of each character for Becky to model. As with my own aforementioned characters, it is important that during the design process I consider how the characters will translate to 3D figures, and how the inner armatures may affect their design. 

Explain how this will be developing your specialist practice

This will develop my specialist practice by enabling me to spend a significant amount of time designing, sculpting, mould making and casting. It will provide the opportunity to develop my existing skills, but also to work with a range of materials and techniques (both familiar and less so) and put into practice some of the knowledge gained whilst researching CoP3, such as the advice and techniques discussed by Barry Purves, Animation Toolkit and the speakers at the Meet The Puppetmasters event.

Producing a range of different puppets in different styles will also assist in allowing me to gain valuable experience in working with a variety of materials, rather than a single technique.

Resources & Workshops - What do you need and by when?

I will need to make use of the ceramics workshop for all mold making and casting, the laser cutters for cutting sets and props in a variety of materials, and potentially the digital print resource, which would enable patterns and images to be printed not only to paper but also on to cloth and fabrics, which may come in useful for soft furnishings, wallpaper, carpets and other set dressing.

It has also been brought to my attention that the CNC machine may be useful for cutting props which have been modelled in Maya.

While I am used to the ceramics and laser workshops, the other resources are unfamiliar, so I will need to quickly establish their opening times, complete any necessary inductions and determine as soon as possible what I will need to produce in each.

Will you be working on a group project or brief?

For the most part I will be working alone, taking on the design and construction of the puppets myself.

However, I have the responsibility of designing two characters for Becky, so will need to ensure I meet any deadlines set by her, and fit this work around my own schedule and proposed milestones, so that nothing gets neglected.

There is also a possibility I will enlist the help of someone more specialist to assist with costumes, and a photographer and animator to help with testing the movement of the puppets (animation tests), and recording good quality stills of my work which can be used in a portfolio.

Are there any stakeholders in your project?

The main stakeholder in this project will be Becky Gilby, for whom I will be designing two characters for her stop motion interpretation of the classic fairytale Rumplestiltskin. I have agreed that these designs will be completed by the end of February, to allow her to proceed with the construction of these puppets. I have been provided with a rough treatment of the story, and description of each character and their necessary characteristics. I will consult with Becky during the design process in order to receive feedback and ensure she is satisfied with the designs, but also take inspiration from the designs already completed by Cara Lambert, to ensure continuity and that the characters all sit well alongside one another.

I have also considered the possibility of enlisting the help of fashion or Vis Com students who may be interested in creating costumes for my human characters, to achieve a more professional finish than I may be capable of.

Recording my work has also been a problem in the past, so it may be prudent to request the assistance of a photography in order to create some portfolio worthy stills of my characters and set. 

Although I do not wish to create a full animation with my puppets, I will also need to produce tests to demonstrate the success of their performance capabilities.

Rumplestiltskin

        Initially, I did not intend to take part in any group or collaborative briefs as part of Extended Practice. Although I did enjoy working as part of a team in both Responsive and Applied Animation in Level 5, I felt that I would be more comfortable selecting my own individual brief (or briefs) which would best develop my own portfolio. However, I was approached by Becky Gilby about the possibility of designing two characters for her stop motion retelling of Rumplestiltskin. As my responsibilities would be limited to simply designing the miller and his daughter (who becomes the queen), with Becky building the puppets herself, I felt that I would be able to undertake this project alongside the others I was already contemplating.

        Becky has already enlisted Cara to design the King and Rumplestiltskin himself. Having these designs as reference is useful, as although my designs may not exactly match Cara's style, I can ensure that the miller and his daughter will sit comfortably and consistently within the same world as those characters designed by Cara.

        Although familiar with the story of Rumplestiltskin, as with most fairytales there are countless variations, which while sticking to the same general plot change small (or occasionally larger) details. Consequently, I asked Becky to send me a copy of the version she is working to, so that I might pick out any relevant details which might inform my character designs. In order that she does not burden herself with too much animation, Becky's version of Rumplestiltskin is relatively simple, with few characters and not much description given. However, Becky also provided a brief profile for each character, outlining any necessary features and characteristics she would like incorporating.

• Miller's Daughter - A teenage/young adult girl (old enough to be married and have a baby), pretty (the story says 'beautiful), yet quite dirty and grubby to suggest her and her father's poor state at the outset of the story. They are peasants. Perhaps she could be shoeless? Both her and her father will be clad in traditional, old fashioned, fairytale clothes (look at fairytale illustrations).
• Miller - A middle aged/old man, father of the girl. Skinny. Like his daughter, he will be grubby in appearance, clearly a poor peasant. 

        Once there was a miller who was poor, but who had a beautiful daughter. Now it happened that he had to go and speak to the king, and in order to make himself appear important he said to him, "I have a daughter who can spin straw into gold." 

     The king said to the miller, "That is an art which pleases me well, if your daughter is as clever as you say, bring her to-morrow to my palace, and I will put her to the test." 

     And when the girl was brought to him he took her into a room which was quite full of straw, gave her a spinning-wheel and a reel, and said, "Now set to work, and if by to-morrow morning early you have not spun this straw into gold during the night, you must die." 

     Thereupon he himself locked up the room, and left her in it alone. So there sat the poor miller's daughter, and for the life of her could not tell what to do, she had no idea how straw could be spun into gold, and she grew more and more frightened, until at last she began to weep. 

     But all at once the door opened, and in came a little man, and said, "Good evening, mistress miller, why are you crying so?" 

     "Alas," answered the girl, "I have to spin straw into gold, and I do not know how to do it." 

     "What will you give me," said the manikin, "if I do it for you?" 

     "My necklace," said the girl. 

     The little man took the necklace, seated himself in front of the wheel, and whirr, whirr, whirr, three turns, and the reel was full, then he put another on, and whirr, whirr, whirr, three times round, and the second was full too. And so it went on until the morning, when all the straw was spun, and all the reels were full of gold.

        By daybreak the king was already there, and when he saw the gold he was astonished and delighted, but his heart became only more greedy. He had the miller's daughter taken into another room full of straw, which was much larger, and commanded her to spin that also in one night if she valued her life. The girl knew not how to help herself, and was crying, when the door opened again, and the little man appeared, and said, "What will you give me if I spin that straw into gold for you?" 

     "The ring on my finger," answered the girl. 

     The little man took the ring, again began to turn the wheel, and by morning had spun all the straw into glittering gold. 

     The king rejoiced beyond measure at the sight, but still he had not gold enough, and he had the miller's daughter taken into a still larger room full of straw, and said, "You must spin this, too, in the course of this night, but if you succeed, you shall be my wife." 

     Even if she be a miller's daughter, thought he, I could not find a richer wife in the whole world. 

     When the girl was alone the manikin came again for the third time, and said, "What will you give me if I spin the straw for you this time also?" 

     "I have nothing left that I could give," answered the girl. 

     "Then promise me, if you should become queen, to give me your first child." 

     Who knows whether that will ever happen, thought the miller's daughter, and, not knowing how else to help herself in this strait, she promised the manikin what he wanted, and for that he once more spun the straw into gold. 

     And when the king came in the morning, and found all as he had wished, he took her in marriage, and the pretty miller's daughter became a queen.

       A year after, she brought a beautiful child into the world, and she never gave a thought to the manikin. But suddenly he came into her room, and said, "Now give me what you promised." 

     The queen was horror-struck, and offered the manikin all the riches of the kingdom if he would leave her the child. But the manikin said, "No, something alive is dearer to me than all the treasures in the world." 

     Then the queen began to lament and cry, so that the manikin pitied her. 

     "I will give you three days, time," said he, "if by that time you find out my name, then shall you keep your child." 

     So the queen thought the whole night of all the names that she had ever heard, and she sent a messenger over the country to inquire, far and wide, for any other names that there might be. When the manikin came the next day, she began with Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar, and said all the names she knew, one after another, but to every one the little man said, "That is not my name." 

     On the second day she had inquiries made in the neighborhood as to the names of the people there, and she repeated to the manikin the most uncommon and curious. Perhaps your name is Shortribs, or Sheepshanks, or Laceleg, but he always answered, "That is not my name." 

     On the third day the messenger came back again, and said, "I have not been able to find a single new name, but as I came to a high mountain at the end of the forest, where the fox and the hare bid each other good night, there I saw a little house, and before the house a fire was burning, and round about the fire quite a ridiculous little man was jumping, he hopped upon one leg, and shouted - 

     'To-day I bake, to-morrow brew, 

     the next I'll have the young queen's child. 

     Ha, glad am I that no one knew 

     that Rumpelstiltskin I am styled.'" 

     You may imagine how glad the queen was when she heard the name. And when soon afterwards the little man came in, and asked, "Now, mistress queen, what is my name?" 

     At first she said, "Is your name Conrad?" 

     "No." 

     "Is your name Harry?" 

     "No." 

     "Perhaps your name is Rumpelstiltskin?" 

     "The devil has told you that! The devil has told you that," cried the little man, and in his anger he plunged his right foot so deep into the earth that his whole leg went in, and then in rage he pulled at his left leg so hard with both hands that he tore himself in two."