Avatar Fire & Ash - Tlalim Clan

Returning to Pandora once again with 'Avatar: Fire and Ash', we were delighted to be able to work with James Cameron and the late Jon Landau to help bring to life another new Na'vi clan. The Tlalim, or Windtraders as they are also known, travel the skies of Pandora in their floating gondolas, moving from clan to clan, trading goods between them all. As such, these people have an eclectic, vibrant look that is not so much an expression of their particular home, as was the case with the Omatikaya and the Metkayina, but of their role as traders.
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Working with Costume Designer Deborah L. Scott and our own amazing textiles department, we explored ways to create a unique and believable look for a people who live at altitude and are influenced by all of the different styles and materials of the Na'vi race, from one side of their world to the other. They are the only clan we have seen who use wool to craft their clothing, and they wear wraps and cloaks to protect themselves from the cooler temperatures up where they roam. The Tlalim use dyes that evoke the colours of the setting sun and the deep oceans, and textile motifs that are inspired by their bird's eye view of the world: the sinuous lines of braided rivers and the patchwork of landscapes when seen from high above.
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We were also involved in the early development of the Tlalim's huge gondolas, and the creatures that keep them afloat and help propel them; the Medusi and the Windray. Collaborating with Co-Production Designer Dylan Cole, we thought about how these lighter than air animals might function, how they would fit into the Pandoran ecology, and from there what form they could take.
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Costume Designer: Deborah L. Scott
Wētā Workshop Art Director: Stephen Crowe
Concept Artists: Adam Anderson, William Bennett, Ken Samonte, Paul Tobin, Rebekah Tisch, Tahiwi Trenor-Hunt, Yoojin Seong, Joshua Damian, Gus Hunter.
Wētā Workshop Na’vi Costume Art Director: Flo Foxworthy
Costume Artisans: Lisa Doherty, Cathy “Tree” Harris, Frances Hawker, Jasmin Van Lith, Darin Gordine.