Before fully understanding the design of the character, I have already made it clear that they would be someone whose appearance has to show their resonance with nature and its inhabitants.
The vision I have for the main character. Ethereal, mystical aura is what I wanted to achieve with her design. Some of the examples that I feel inspired by are Fantasia 2000 and Mavka: the Forest Song. Character Lauma from Genshin Impact has quite nice design as well, she is based off of Laumės from Eastern Baltic mythology, particularly Latvian and Lithuanian folklore.
Inspirations from media and mythology
The Spring Sprite is a benevolent force of life and creation. She loves the forest and its creatures, and is happy to bring spring every year. As a force of creation, she has a creative and artistic side, seen when she forms a flower, has a second thought, and then turns it into a dazzling sight, and revitalises a barren tree with gorgeous blossoms.
Depending on her surroundings, she can take on various forms and colors; in water/ice/rain form, she is blue, in natural form, which is her most commonly used form, she is green/lighter green, and in ash form, she is dark gray. When she’s in ash form, there are more colors than one. When smoke is around, she is brown, when the fire is around, she is red, and after the forest is destroyed, she is cool gray.
Mavka or Nyavka is a type of female spirit in Ukrainian folklore and mythology. The Mavka is a long-haired “Soul of the Forest”, typically depicted as a temptress figure who lures men to their deaths.
In the 2023 animated movie “Mavka: the Forest Song”, Mavka has a very special bond with the animals of the forest, who she protects and cares for deeply. In return, they often help her when needed. Being the soul of the forest, she can feel their emotions and understand them when they communicate with her.
Laumė is a fairy-like woodland spirit, and guardian spirit of orphans in Eastern Baltic mythology or Yotvingian mythology. Originally a sky spirit, her compassion for human suffering brought her to earth to share our fate.
Laumės are the very oldest goddesses of Lithuanian mythology. The image of these goddesses may have formed during the historical Mesolithic period, just after the Ice Age. Laumės could appear in the form of animals, as mares or as female goats, bears and dogs. Later, Laumės had an anthropomorphic appearance: they usually had birds’ claws for feet and appeared as women with the head or lower body of a female goat. Other forms included half-human/half dog or half mare, similar to centaurs. Like cyclops, Laumės often had only one eye.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mavka
https://hero.fandom.com/wiki/Mavka