Beano asked illustrators/animators were asked to give a fresh look to some selected Beano characters. I was intrigued by Valda as I had never heard of her and after reading more about her, I believe she is a powerful female character which should definitely have her own show !

Left to right, an original image of Valda and my sketches.

After reading her description, I decided to make some changes to give her a more contemporary background:
I like the crystal pendant but we can see it on the image provided, the crystal should become a quirky piece of jewellery she carries around al the time.
I found out that when Valda is bored she takes part to ice skating competition to test her strength and always wins the first place. 

I decided to replace ice skating with roller derby, it would give her a stronger look but she would be able to hang around at skateparks and challenge teenager already training there. I also brought her whole world to the future were technology is powered by mysterious crystals.
I think there is a dramatic side to Valda for example her eternal life, how does she live on when everyone she knows passes away? She sounds like a solitary character but maybe is she make friends it will change the way she sees the world and relate to it. 

Sketch and experiments

Final Artwork made with watercolour and Photoshop

Valda's and two bad guys' design

Sketch and visual development

Sketches where I studied movement of dancers and ice skaters
Final Artwork made with watercolour and Photoshop

STORYBOARD
Bellow you will find four pages of storyboards created as a quick introduction story.
The scene happens in a far future and one of Valda's power consists in draining energy from her surrounding to heal and generate power balls. In this scene she goes a bit to far and drains power from the whole town to show off. The rest of the story should be about Valda learning when it is appropriate to use her powers, how to make friends and deal with the burden of eternal life.
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