Storyboard and Timelines.

This is what I plan on getting done by the first week of april. :) 

and here's a fern for good luck.

Some more updates

 The last couple of days I've been trying out a few things-
one is - the 'previously in Khoya' bit.
This is important because it establishes the story for the audience at the exhibit.

T

 This is one of the images from that sequence.

I've also been working on the actual animated sequence for the woods. 

it's turning out pretty interesting so far.

Some typography trials coming sooooooon too. :)

Work in Progess- The dark Woods

and now it's done! 

waiting for feedback

More work in progress!

And here's some more WIP!

tthis image above is how my concept sketches are being layed out.

Jasoosi (meaning 'detection or inspection' in Hindi)

is a very sneaky sly character.

Jitu (my cosmic copartner and co writer of Khoya (co-kho)

who works at greenpeace was telling me about how there's a new wave of environmental sluething or spying.

I found this fascinating! No more are our spies simply defending some damsel in distress or govt secrets

but they defend the earth.

This is how Jasoosi was born. 

She's a slinky character. You never see her for too long.

She appears with those wind spindly thingies and disappears within seconds.

She does however, help Maya and Talisma along their journey by helping them along the way in their greatest times of distress.

She carries a little satchel on her belt that contains a whole host of different interesting items that can be used for sleuthing.

She also carries within it - Fireflies.

Remember fireflies from the first story? The beginning of Khoya? 

A single firefly being trapped in a box?

Well that's the symbolic connect.

These fireflies can ward off the Nasha and chase it away by numbers of them flying into patterns like the seed of life, anahata yantra and other such mystical symbols and maps.

This again comes from personal experience of watching thousands of fireflies morph into patterns and glow in tune with each other.

They first come across Jasoosi in the Dark Forest.

This is what the map looks like when one traces one's fingertips along the surface of the Ipad screen.

 And this is what it would look like as one finishes each chapter. Only the first two circles are complete.

thinking of how I can add more pop ups that are personal and use location and weather detection that the ipad possesses. 

these are all WIP ofcourse :) 

The Earth Laughs in Flowers

Jasmine.

More details on her sooooon :) 

the original sketch

Here's character that's a mix of a flower and old indian actresses/dancers.

There are 5-6 such characters. Each of them is based on a different flower. 

this particular one is jasmine and I'm just about done with her. But I need + want some feedback!!

Basically I've been trying to give her a waxy-white jasmine kinda feel. Very few other colours and almost an ethereal glow. I'd like her to feel like she's fragrant almost.

The main inspiration for these have been the apsaras (in the previous post)

Old hindi actresses and Mata Hari :) 

The earth Laughs in flowers :)- references and research

The Valley of Flowers references.

this is where I need to live too :D

inside a tree, in a valley of flowers.

this research is driving me crazy!! I'm constanly finding new things that are totally awe inspiring.

ZZJANG!

wanderlust is happening. But i will not leave to the himalayas.

instead i will create an ipad app. 

WOOHOO

:D

anyway

research about the valley of flowers.

So I was seeing the Flower personification as these keywords-

beauty, abundance, romantics, giggling, flowery (hee)

feminine- bhakti.

been reading about hindu flowers.

So cyoote. 

ashok means 'one without grief'

its said to alleviate people from grief..sita cries under it to soothe herself waiting for rama.

parijita falls in love with the sun, is scorned and so becomes a flower that only blooms at nigth because she can't stand the sight of her lover.

sheds her petals like tear drops at sunrise!!

and we all know the significance of the lotus so i'm not even going to get into that!

champas adorn krishna's ears. malati adorn womens braids,

vakul blossoms only when sprinkled by nectar from the mouth of a beautiful woman,

kamadeva, the indian god of desire, uses flowers like champa and chamelis as his arrows to make people fall in love. :D

SO MUCH LOVE!!

another eenteresting local legend about the valley of flowers in the himalayas, is that people

believe it's inhabited by fairies. and that if you wander around, you can get abducted by fairies hiding amongst the flowers.

and and and! remember in the ramayan when lakshman falls ill, hanuman is sent to the himalayas from lanka to get a certain herb to heal him? And hanuman doesnt know what to do so he just picks up the whole mountain? 

Same place! its said to have the most amount of medicinal flowers and plants!! 

eeeeenteresting indeed. 

so I started to imagine the valley of flowers to be a place that's a mixes these myths

with the Lotus Eater myth. Remember that?

A space of oblivion and languor. 

of sweet nothings.

the Odyssey IX says 

"I was driven thence by foul winds for a space of 9 days upon the sea, but on the tenth day we reached the land of the Lotus-eaters, who live on a food that comes from a kind of flower. Here we landed to take in fresh water, and our crews got their mid-day meal on the shore near the ships. When they had eaten and drunk I sent two of my company to see what manner of men the people of the place might be, and they had a third man under them. They started at once, and went about among the Lotus-Eaters, who did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the lotus, which was so delicious that those who ate of it left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what had happened to them, but were for staying and munching lotus with the Lotus-eaters without thinking further of their return; nevertheless, though they wept bitterly I forced them back to the ships and made them fast under the benches. Then I told the rest to go on board at once, lest any of them should taste of the lotus and leave off wanting to get home, so they took their places and smote the grey sea with their oars."^[1]

So there we go!

the valley of flowers.

a place where maya and talisma

wander into. At first enamoured and overwhelmed by all the beauty. Giggling flower fairies totally in love with them

giving them all the abundance in the world, but so ignored post the taqseem that they don't want these two children to leave.

and they find themselves unable to escape. 

Now, for the fairy feefle.

I'm thinking, that I'm a little tired of conventional depictions of fairies.

mainly because it's a little predictable and overdone

also because it's a very victorian depiction. very western over tea and scones types.

so i started thinking...indian fairies.

and pari is a literal translation of angel.

however Parees are also depicted with like lofy white feather wings and all

too victorias secret.

an Apsara is like a nymph and also known to seduce *wiggles eyebrows *

and thats what these flowers in the valley do.

not seduce in a sexual sense though because this is a kids book and I don't want to go to jail.

So i started to look at pictures at apsaras and they are quite beautifully depicted me thinks. 

So lovely :) 

and i started to think about other such Indian elements that could bring in that feeling.

and came to - 

Old indian actresses.

Madhubala 

definitely fairy material yo!

except adorned and decked with flowers. :) 

YUMMY

Beautiful reference images!

I want to live in a house like that.

or a temple would be nice too.

This is BIG time inspiration for sarpa's environment.
old temples and trees.
perfection :)
Notice how the stone sculptures of snakes are always under trees in India?
So many connections!

snake images courtesy Priya iyer.

and this one is stolen from picasa.

INDIANS LOVE SNAKES.

YES WE DOOOO!

Inspired!

So I discovered Benjamin Lacombe the other day.
Whoosh! what a total brilliance!
check that out

totally inspired :)

SO lovely :) see more of his stuff - Here

Another inspiration this week is 

Dave Mckean

I was gifted this book by Chocka

last week and I've been tripping on this artwork.

it's line drawings,photographs painted over, textures and random type!

I love it!

he's also the genius behind MIRROR MASK

and CORALINE.

Check him out :)  

Sarpa

this is a rough character sketch

Sarpa means serpent.

So many connections. A common theme in creation myths is the symbol of the snake and the world tree

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpent_(symbolism)

This is where our world is created too.

We begin the chapter of the earth with an entry into the folds of a tree.

dark chambers. snakes curled up.

Here we meet Sarpa.

this is another interesting link to note- the connection and reoccurence of snakes and women.

Eve, Lilith, many of our Indian Goddesses, Minoan matriarchal figures,

the earth mother. A chthonic link it seems.

Lots of very intruiging feminist interpretations of the Serpent's bride.

Post genesis, both eve and the serpent are condemned but perhaps this is a patriarchal edit.

read : 

http://thequeenofheaven.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/asherah-part-ii-the-serpents-bride/

for more :) 

So there we have it. The serpent. Eternally reborn, a guardian, symbol of wisdom, secrets, intuition, 

mystical, magical and forked tongue.

this is where our story begins..

Some of the ideas I'm working with in order to create a convincing character with sarpa- Symbolism of Snakes in Indian Mythology, vishnu's coiled serpent, Nagas, ancient esoterics and some red and green. :) 

some of my references.

Snakecharmer

As the gods began one world, and man another,

So the snakecharmer begins a snaky sphere

With moon-eye, mouth-pipe. He pipes. Pipes green. Pipes water.

Pipes water green until green waters waver

With reedy lengths and necks and undulatings.

And as his notes twine green, the green river

Shapes its images around his songs.

He pipes a place to stand on, but no rocks,

No floor: a wave of flickering grass tongues

Supports his foot. He pipes a world of snakes,

Of sways and coilings, from the snake-rooted bottom

Of his mind. And now nothing but snakes

Is visible. The snake-scales have become

Leaf, become eyelid; snake-bodies, bough, breast

Of tree and human. And he within this snakedom

Rules the writhings which make manifest

His snakehood and his might with pliant tunes

From his thin pipe. Out of this green nest

As out of Eden's navel twist the lines

Of snaky generations: let there be snakes!

And snakes there were, are, will be--till yawns

Consume this piper and he tires of music

And pipes the world back to the simple fabric

Of snake-warp, snake-weft. Pipes the cloth of snakes

To a melting of green waters, till no snake

Shows its head, and those green waters back to

Water, to green, to nothing like a snake.

Puts up his pipe, and lids his moony eye.

-sylvia plath

Strangely enough...I did this snake charmer illustration randomly a few weeks before Khoya.2 began.