Okay so this is actually part of a contest submission here: Now, for this contest I wanted to do something really unique. Basically, the idea behind the contest is to redesign the costumes for the Phantom of the Opera. So wanting to do something different I decided to redesign the characters as though they were from a Chinese opera.

This design is supposed to be for Christine during the masquerade scene. She'd use the fan and those long flowing sleeves to hide her face. The decision to make her a butterfly maiden was from the masquerade costume Christine wore during the live play. She was dressed sort of like a fairy. I thought the butterfly would be a good metaphor for her too, given the symbolism of metamorphosis, potential and ambition. Also I kind of think of her as a person who dreams of being something more than she is - kind of like a caterpillar or something of the like. I tried to use a rather innocent colour pallet while still incorporating the vibrancy of Chinese opera costumes.

So, yeah, I don't know how well my designs will go over in the contest - cause they're kinda out there compared to the other ones, but I'm happy I did them at least for myself.

I've got a design for the Phantom coming soon, I've just to finish the shading.

Prints of this piece are up for sale in my Etsy shop: [link]