The Many Designs of Aradia

Creating the Female Fae Lead of Rid of You

When Aradia first appears in Rid of You, she exudes a quiet, almost mesmerising grace—a softness that feels out of place in a world tangled with death, fate, and impossible choices. But this is deliberate.

She is fae, and fae are never what they seem.

From the moment I began designing her, I knew she had to embody contradictions: ethereal yet grounded, delicate yet untouchable, feminine yet powerful. She isn’t just a love interest or a mystical guide—she is a force of nature, a being who holds the weight of life and memory itself in her hands.

Bringing Aradia to life visually was a journey of balance. She needed an immediate presence—something that made Tristan (and the reader) feel drawn to her, as if stepping into a dream. But beneath that initial allure, her design had to hint at the truth: that love and death walk hand in hand, and that even the most beautiful things have a cost.