The 2nd Semester students of the Animation Department of Whistling Woods international had a long comic book workshop . With the intention of setting up a studio workflow, the students were instructed to adapt a folk tale from abroad into an Indian setting and thereafter, create the script, storyboard, character designs, background designs, four final comic pages each and a cover page for the same.
What was previously considered to be close to unachievable became a challenge the students accepted graciously, and ,the faculty, might have been pleasantly surprised by the output. Students chose unique art styles, varied stories and narrative compositions and altogether put forward an effort worthy of praise. Here are a few of the cover art created by the students and the gist of the stories.
Rudravidhi – Sanan Goyal, Simran Tapadia, Darshan Polara
Adapted from the famous Greek play ‘Oedipus Rex’, Rudravidhi tracks the story of a man destined to a tragic fate by a horrific prophecy. The creators of this comic, Sanan, Simran and Darshan, decided to use the Gond style of art after being inspired by graphic novel ‘Bhimayana’ by Durgabai Vyam, Subhash Vyam, Srividya Natarajan and S.Anand. The trio have put together some intricately beautiful details and flowing panel orientations, creating a visual spectacle.
IV – Yohan Kashyap, Srijan Rana
Yohan and Srijan came up with the idea of creating an entire comic in 3D, using Unity to create their visuals. The students borrowed the concept from the Biblical story of the Four Horsemen and established it in a Mumbai Mafia setting; a feud between 2 brothers. The grungy visual style adds to the overall dark and menacing nature of the comic.
Aungsu – Ahona Bannerjee, Hesake Sumi, Heta Patel
Ahona, Hesaka and Heta were inspired to take the famous story of Medusa from the Greek Mythology and set it in Nagaland. They went far enough to create their own etymology to give relevance and credibility for their story adaptation. The style was digitally expressive, and the narrative, fast-paced and exciting.
In Harness – Bajro Dutta, Sunny Naik
From the legends of Japan comes the folktale of the supreme warrior, Musoshibo Benkei. Bajro and Sunny adapted Benkei’s story into an Indian setting and made him fight Chagatai Khan, Genghis Khan’ second son. Keeping the original story alive, they went with a realistic but subtle Manga style to illustrate their comic.