Crusty Merida

I've been working on this for a week now, and alas it is finally done. This is basically a tribute to both 'Brave', as the movie that completely changed my life, as well as a tribute to my youth as a punk back in the day, which were also the best years of my life. I got the whole idea of turning Merida into a punk (and even a skinhead) when I was watching a vintage documentary about punks and skinheads from the 80's last week, called 'UK/DK : A Film About Punks & Skinheads' ([link]). I got so excited about it, that I picked up my pencil and paper, and just started sketching away, right after watching the documentary. I basically placed Merida in each and every single one of the punk scene's best and worst subcultures in history.

At first, I was planning on working on ten artworks, but this plan was later scrapped because the last two artworks were actually terrible. So, at the last minute, I cancelled the last two pieces and instead decided to upload the remaining eight. I definitely felt comfortable drawing Merida in all the outfits and 'uniforms' of the many punk subcultures, simply because I used to be a rusty and crusty punk myself back when I was only 12! Those were the days for me, running around with my punk friends, listening to old punk records from the 70's and 80's, causing a little bit of havoc here and there, as well as not giving a fuck about whatever the adults said about us. So, for Merida, I can totally tell that she fits right in with the whole punk scene, simply because she herself is very rebelious in the movie, and quite anti-authoritarian too. That is what attracted me to Merida in the first place; she was a real rebel, just like how I was when I was in my early teens and running around with punks and skinheads alike.

Here, we see Merida, as a crust punk, or simply known as 'crusty' to all the other punks. This is by far my most favorite of all the punk subcultures, and thank fuck I was once a part of it as a kid. The Crusty is more commonly known as the dirtiest and smelliest of all the punks, and they're mostly vegan! Though, it is always ever connected to anarcho punk, the crust scene was special in it's own way. I got the inspiration for this piece while listening to Amebix ([link]), the greatest band in the history of music (well for me personally of course)! I think this look really fits Merida, after all, she does like to get down and dirty in the movie. This one is definitly one of my favorites.