Illustration Album: The Sweet & Spicy Sweetshop!! 2018

 

This book by Nandini Nayar had a very enjoyable story which had some nostalgic elements of a small time life, a delightful array of pastries and namkeen and some suspense and adventure to top it! The pictures were all in Black n white with the cover in color. Thanks to the Penguin team for giving me the opportunity!

The rough cover design

Shri Krishna Janmashtami - an offering

...The baby cried as soon as the shackles were back on and the gates shut once again behind them.. The sleeping soldiers who had snored thru the entire adventure of Krishna being born and smuggled out of prison were roused from their sleep.. they rushed to their king! 

Outside the rain, wind and thunder continued their violent performance anxious and steadily moving to the climax of the events of this long night..

"The poor child!!" she wailed.. "but its a girl, Devaki! the prophecy said the eight would be a boy..."! Even though he had been out in the rain most of this night crossing the Yamuna in spate, twice, to transport the saviour to safety to his friend, Nand's house and bringing back his newborn child as instructed by the Divine voice.

The tyrant wasted no time in getting to the dungeons... this was the moment of truth.. the moment he had been waiting for... the moment for which he had his sister and her husband imprisoned... the birth of the eight son! The son who was foretold to be his doom! His eyes bloodshot with the anxiety of years he looked at the child... a girl?... brushing away Vasudev and Devaki's pleas for mercy, he held the infant by her leg like he had all her seven elder brothers... and raised the wailing child up in the air to dash her to the ground like he had the rest...
but she slipped from his fingers and became light.. before he could blink, she laughed!
She was MahaMaya- the goddess of illusion herself and she teased him "your slayer is alive and well...!!
Kamsa's life was now of a man waiting for his death.. he would fight his fate ofcourse... but his every living moment would be consumed with the vision of the avenging child.. his nightmares were the dreams of deliverance for the people of Mathura...and indeed his own... though he knew it not.

art & retelling (C) Chetan Sharma 2018

Happy Birthday Dilip Saab!

The 11th of December was the Legendary Thespian's 'happy' birthday!! Just thought of these really old sketches of him done for an animation piece sometime in 2000.. almost 13 years ago! With the sudden realisation of the passage of time, also dawned the realisation of the timelessness of an artist's work... Dilip Kumar was at the forefront of creativity and success in Indian Cinema for many decades of its golden age and has inspired countless actors from Dharamendra to Amitabh Bachchan to Shahrukh et al.. and somewhere down there in that list of the inspired I find a very earnest myself... I have always loved Dilipji, with not a feeling of an actor but strangely as an elder to look upto.. a person from my own family.. that I feel very close to tho I dont know him at all..
Anyway an old sketch from 13 years ago with a lil touch up.. (this was a printout of an image in our files which used a ruff sketch in the original..) Hope you like it and remember that we become who we do on the shoulders of the ones who came before us.. in his case, its the shoulder of a giant!

Dilip Kumar in 2000 and a flashback from Naya Daur..one of my favorite moments in Hindi cinema

MahaShivaratri 2012

Om Namah Shivay!!

Just back from the 2nd annual Comic Con in Delhi... very exhausted, but very excited too. The response to the preview pages of the TRIPURA graphic novel was tremendous! Thanks to our friend Lalit in New Delhi we were able to publish somethings just in time for the comic con.. 
This poster above sold a lot! Someone brought to my notice it was just as well because it was timely for MahaShivaratri (the great night of Shiva!! read more about this here & here)! Once the penny dropped, it became even more exciting to see the people that would be drawn to the poster and want to buy it... These were people who didnt need any selling (not that I can get myself to... sheesh!!!..erase, erase..negative affirmation!) but their eyes would twinkle in awe and admiration for the Great God! 
Some were struck by the inner strength of the scene, some by the serenity, some by the fact that it was how they saw HIM in their head. Some felt the black'n' white nature of the image was correct for the mood. those who noticed the awestruck Indra looking up understood the moment of majesty... some asked for the artist... soon it came to pass that the artist signed all the posters with a reminder and wish of the "love & Grace" for all who bought it!

  Bam Bam Bhole!!

Jai Bholenath!

ANIMAGIC at COMIC CON EXPRESS Mumbai!!!

For all of us comic book aficionados and pop culture watchers at large, the dream of a comic con (short for convention) seemed like just that... a dream.. but since this year India has its very own Comic con.. the 1st annual comic con happened in Delhi in feb and now a travelling version comes to our very own Mumbai!!!
COMIC CON EXPRESS, MUMBAI!!!

....And we are going to be there!!! 

It has been a matter of great excitement (and not to mention last minute preparations amid running projects) at the lil studio!! There is sooo much to say and do!!!
For starters and you are hearing of it first here, There is the Tripura graphic novel and DVD!!!!! Yes! It is happening! Both are currently looking at a January 2012 release.


We will be sharing a preview of selected pages of the graphic novel at the comic con!! + a galary of works relating to animation, visual development and pre-production, character design and illustration!!
And 'Raju & I' DVD will be on sale too!!

Oh did I mention... 22nd and 23rd Oct, World Trade Centre, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai, Stall 25C!!

See you there!!!
EXCITED!!!!!!!!

TRIPURA: Character Designs 2: SHIVA & PASHUPATI

OM NAMAHA SHIVAYA!!

On the auspicious occasion of Mahashivaratri... want to put down my thoughts about the character design process relating to the great God. Actually the post has been in the works since the last one on Maya's design, but somehow it just hasn't got completed till now!

Designing Shiva was most of the most important things personally and we went thru Shiva as he had been depicted by practically everybody! We looked at everything we could find, from the bronze sculptures of South India, the reliefs at Ellora and Elephanta, to the comic book depictions of Waeerkar, Mulick and Kavadi and drew till what felt like Shiva to me, was on paper. Everybody responded to it favourably enough (above).
Getting the design correctly onto screen was the most unfortunate part of Tripura tho. For some reason the studio was not able to match design at all and even corrections sent didn't somehow get implemented. One of the mysteries of production dynamics to which I haven't received any answer yet.

Some of the rough sketches leading to the development of the final design

When Shiva went into destruction mode he would become Pashupati the primeval hunter.. the lord of destruction! In his terrifying aspect Shiva is often depicted as Gajantaka in the Ellora panels and elsewhere.
Since we felt there should be definite climb into the climax.. the buildup of the moment of Shiva becoming Pahupati would be fascinating to watch.. Even Vishnu and Brahma  contribute to the formation. (In the puranas, the gods are described as contributing to the process by providing various accessories)

Color key from the final storyboards:
Shiva turning in Pashupati!

Shiva in his violent aspect was to still be graceful, elegant.. when Shiva does it.. it is dance of destruction!! Maybe in  a future post,I will talk about this sequence in detail as many have expressed their satisfaction with this depiction of Shiva as the Destroyer!!