Hansel and Gretel - Witch

This is old, but I picked it up again recently and added some finishing touches.

This is the witch from my Hansel and Gretel project I did for Lisa Keene's visual development class at Cal Arts.  She is disguised as a wealthy widow in an extravagant mansion made of gold, rather than a house of candy.  I set the story in the 1930's during the dustbowl.  Hansel and Gretel are poor farm kids that dream of the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle they've seen in films and advertising.  I imagine the witch descending the staircase to be captivating- a perfect embodiment of the glitz and glamour the children dream of.  I tried to make the entryway glisten with gold yet feel hot like the inside of an oven.  Foreshadowing.

The witch is represented by the color green, representing money and agriculture- two things the children don't have.  With all of the crops dying, there is very little green to be seen.