In times of social media, internet and constant irrigation, we are exposed to constant flood of information. But without these channels, we are unable to keep in touch. We miss information. Not everyone keeps up. Particularly sensitive people and scanner personalities are looking for an exit from this energy-consuming cycle. Fairytale characters as a metaphor for the escapism from the flood of information. An exploration.
Concept, character design, vectorizing illustrations, manual japenese binding, printing, exhibition design
How would fairy tale characters be nowadays? I create characters for Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Alice in Wonderland. Each character a supposed 'blemish' and isn't perfect at all:
Differently colored eyes, a round belly, weakness or lousy mood. But are these flaws really flaws? Since scanner personalities in particular have conflicts with their "me", I would like to show that this is perfectly fine and creates characters who are flawed.
After designing the layout, I print out sheets with cut marks and tie the stories of the fairy tales into a brochure. The trick here: You can see 'inside' the pages. Hidden sketches of the final illustrations. This kind of binding is called 'Japanese bond'. I think she is well suited for storytelling as well as for beauty salons or high-end luxury products.
After creating the characters, I developed worlds for the characters. Through the combination of digital illustration with real environment, I create an unfamiliar and dreamy aesthetic that is reminiscent of fairytale scenes.
The project was published as part of the exhibition DESIGNBLICK. Visitors could view human sized printouts and explore the brochure, as well as see animations and learn more about the making, drink a beer with alice and background stories on escapism.
