OK I have never watched Avatar or read Twlight but I have a character and I am bit concerned I have created a sparkly avatar that would be at home in Lord of the Rings (another book I couldn't read) would like some opinions. He is a Fire Elemental which is sort of my elf equivelent: Fyren is around six feet tall, has long bright fiery-red hair which is fading to orange as he ages, his eyes are amber with flames swirling in them, turns purple when he cries. His skin is flame-blue and flickers in artificial light. He has flame shaped ears. My other characters reckon he is good looking that he needs the odd shaped ears or he would be too perfect. In my first book he wears the sea-green uniform of the Queen's Guard of which he is an arch-commander. Current one he is restored as King of Scotia - and wears a thigh-length orange tunic with a scarlet macaw embroidered on the chest, brown trousers with orange stripe and brown velvet cloak. Red leather boots. He carries a retractable jing-orge bow (fast and more powerful than our usual). He has a fondness for strong alcohol and will flirt with a lamp post if you put a hat on it.
You can ignore the Middle Earth thing - everyone uses elves and stuff. It's just the high fantasy genre in general, and using stuff from a genre isn't a crime. Six feet tall is short for the avatars in the movie. They were much more sort of native American cat people, so just play up characteristics, culture and personality that keeps him away from that. The drinking thing really ought to help. Oh, but the most important thing is that you don't call him an Avatar (or Navi) or put him in Middle Earth
He's possibly a bit taller - he is short for a fire elemental though. My dwarf types are about six-feet. (Short for the indigenous people). Yes he likes his alcohol.
Maybe in the summer have a list of films for once I have the next couple of books finished to first draft. Going to take a break and just edit for a few months. Right now three kids and stories are taking over my life - good grief I am boring all I do is be Mum, write and go to Jamie at Home parties (where I get drunk and spend too much on kitchen utensils) - oh I do roll round on the floor with a gay man and two other males once a week - ACK !!! What have I become.
I'll imagine Fyren as a female, among other things because my phone's desktop is a female fire elemental. I'd avoid anything pointing down. For me Fire is something inextricably tied to Up. I'd give her short pointy hair in always moving... tufts? I'd darken the color of the fire elementals as they age. Bright orange and yellow when young and deep red as a sleeping coal when wise and experienced. Same case as with the hair. For me a cloak has a clear "down" connotation. I'd add the problem that her touch eventually burns, forcing her to search partners willing to endure the occasional small burns.
Fyren is definitely male lol His hair is usually tied back. Some things are set within the parameters of him being also a Litaen Pre-mortal (basically he is indigenous to the planet and begins to die and age upon reproducing with another pre-mortal or a human) - like the uniform just varies in colour between the elemental kings (the cloak and the design on the front being vital they are almost part of the macaw rather than Fyren). His birdform is a scarlet macaw. His Queen was a parrot called Flare and he has a son Crown Prince Flame who is half parrot. There is obviously another child someplace else as bird incidents don't make a pre-mortal, mortal. I am thinking possibly Merlin is his. Again the fading of the hair is a Litaen rather than a fire thing. The cherry red, sea people go pink, shiny black wind goes blue (just realised Soc is gonna go blue if he ever ages lol), earth goes from curly rough black to mud brown. He does have hot skin he can control it to induce passion or in times of anger burn. My MC Soc spends several chapters with a hand shaped burn blistering on his face after he chatted up a falcon. The dog Russ in this one likes curling up in the small of Fyren's back because of the heat given off. Oh he also lets off steam twice a day through his ears by holding his nose and blowing. There are commanders in my Queen's Guard they supervise each regiment - the two Arch-Commanders supervise them (it is a semi-religious post so like an Archbishop) and then the Chief-Captain has over all command. That ain't changing book is written and finished His description can change more easily than my entire Guard structure
For me, Avatar has at least two meanings, and avatar has a few more meanings depending on context that align with mask. In other words, I need to know what environments you are putting your character into to make a judgment. (I should really blog about my Mary-Sues that score low on litmus tests.)
By Avatar I mean the film. His grandparents were exiled from Scotia and he was born on Covesea Island. Although he was a Crown Prince it was a defunct title at the time. He has a twin brother Blayze. In my first book the corrupt General threw himself, his brother and another officer off the base for standing upto him. Fyren spent the next few years as a surfing instructor, living in a gypsy caravan with his girlfriend the half sparrow Jessie. She is a bit flighty. Not revealing the rest as it is vital to the main story but he is a fairly minor character - he is restored as Arch-Commander by the new Queen. He has an ability to project positivity. My current work in progress he has a major role - the bits I can tell he is the lover of my MC Socrates who he has fancied since he was fourteen. They fall out after Socrates has an affair with someone else. I know for a fact he will not be in any books set after this one. Somewhere between the books Fyren has become the King of Scotia (actually rules the country) and his brother has become Abbot Blayze.
From your description, I didn't picture anything sparkly. For all I know, flames doesn't sparkle. About Avatar...well, in the film they're bigger. I guess if you haven't mentioned the film, I wouldn't have picured him lean and avatar-like. As I could see, the similarities - if even there was any - concerns olny his physical structure. And I don't see any problem with that.
Sounds like blue skin is the only thing he has in common with Navi, and especially when he's in a book and not a movie, I think it's going to take more than that for the audience to make a connection. Didn't see anything that made me think of Twilight. Those vampires glitter like diamonds.
I'm thinking you're safe. So far the only similarities I can see to either LoTR or Avatar are him being blue and...well him being blue. I'm not seeing any real similarity to LoTR in him at all. I mean sea green uniform bring Legend of Zelda to mind, but that's more forest green. I'd say you're safe.
