Folktale Week 2019... a wrap up

For the last few years, some illustrators on instagram have organised a wonderful week of sharing story-based images, called Folktale Week. I first saw people posting images with the #folktaleweek tag last year and so much wonderful work attached to it that I knew I wanted to keep an eye out for it this year.

I have only done one other instagram challenge - the Urban Jungle' challenge ran last year. So I vaguely knew how crazy it was trying to make one illustration a day for seven days - madness really - but I managed the urban jungle one and put out seven images in a row and loved the work I made (lots of them are now prints in my store… including the best selling “Plant Lady”. The pressure, combined with the online community, really helped make it something special. The hosts released the prompts this year well in advance, but, a super hectic work schedule (yay for heaps of work) - meant I started two days before the week began - and well, didn’t quite make all seven :(. But did manage the first five (yes!) and I will share the story here (and some of my goals and experiences making the pieces).

Step one is to release a badge declaring commitment to the week! I had researched folktale after folktale, and was struggling to find one that really caught my imagination. I’m not sure if it is because folktales usually have an oral legacy, so are best heard, rather than read… although I did discover this fabulous book of botanical folktales (which includes a wonderful shawl of woven flowers amongst other things). The thing that I kept loving the most were the stories of giants - but I was sad that they are often the bad ones. So I decided to try and create my own story based on a friendly giant.

Here, meet the first rendition (they evolved a bit as the week went on) of Molly and Anja (the friendly giant).

Prompt One - Home

Anja (the friendly giant) lived in a house way too tiny for her giant body, with a little boy she had found called Ali. Ali and Anja enjoyed their days together. Their home suited Ali perfectly. IT had a staircase, which he loved, an attic bedroom where he could look up at night and see the stars, and a lovely fireplace which was perfect for their cold home. It was nestled near a birch forest, and he loved the trees. However, Anja watched Ali and could see that he was lonely. So one day when she was out walking, she saw a little girl with a bright pink jumper on drawing a rabbit in the lightly fallen snow. She brought Molly home with her and introduced her to Ali, and hoped Ali would no longer be lonely.

I really loved drawing this piece. I took my time and tried to put in pieces of the world from my world. I had feedback about my illustrations from the wonderful Orange Beak Studio - and one of their suggestions was to bring more of ‘me’ into my work - pay attention to the things I love, the details and experiences of my own life and make sure I include them. So I gave it a go with this one, and added my fireplace and book ends, our rug and vase and tea cups.

Prompt Two - Secret

Every day Ali and Molly would head out and explore their neighbourhood. They walked through the birch forest and into the nearby town where they wandered past a very tall wall with a locked green door and wondered what was behind it. Molly spied a hole up high in the wall and together they worked out a way to climb and look through it. They could not believe what was hidden on the other side and didn’t know whether or not to tell Anja or whether to keep it a secret...

Another goal I had for folktale week was to create a good little boy character. A lovely agent I contacted gave me some feedback on my illustrations also, and noticed I didn’t have any boys in my folio… so I decided to make sure I used Folktale Week to create a likeable little boy. I grew to love Ali - I think he is my favourite thing I made in folktale week. I also decided to give them a rabbit. I think this was to try and keep things light and not too dark, and give a warmth to everything. At this stage I was still enjoying things. I love drawing doors!

Prompt Three - Path

When Molly and Ali peered through the hole in the wall they couldn’t believe what they saw. It was a world full of people bigger than Anja. They had both thought she was the biggest human in the entire world but here, beyond the wall, there were giant people everywhere... and it was terrifying. There was no way it was safe to stay on the path. .

This piece got me the best reception on all the social media. People loved it in the IlloStories community (which was supporting everyone doing FolkTale week with fabulous tips and a workbook and some excellent interviews and tips from some of the hosting artists) and I received lots of lovely messages and comments. I liked the drama in it, but I also think it worked well because it was again taken from a real moment in life. A couple of years ago I spent a good hour at the famous Shibuya crossing in Tokyo and took hundreds of photos at ground level of people crossing the road. I loved this angle and perspective on the world and enjoyed creating an illustration from it. I also loved Ali in this picture -and the rabbit - I was pleased with the life I had given them. Oh, and I also wanted to concentrate on light and shadows as (despite also being a photographer) I realised I tend to ignore these important elements in my drawings…

Prompt Four - Smoke

Molly and Ali ran and ran through the giant people’s legs until they got back over the wall. When they got home they told Anja that they had found a world of people even bigger then her. They asked her if that was where she came from. Anya looked sad. "Come with me" she said. Anya put Ali and Molly on her shoulders and strode off, in the opposite direction to the wall. They started to smell smoke in the air. It got stronger and stronger and the sky started to get a pink glow, the same colour as Molly’s shoes. They sat down on the edge of the cliff. Anja pointed. "That is where my people are from, through the smoke, on the other side of that huge volcano".

I quite liked this one… but not many others did which kind of threw me. It is amazing how I can still find it so nerve-wracking to share work - and how the reactions of people to the work can really impact how I feel about it. I love these challenges for the community they create and for the wonderful experience of responding alongside others to the same instructions - I learn so much. But the real difficulty (for me) of this situation is the comparison game. I started to feel super inadequate, and worried my work was awful and I don’t think I really picked up from here. It was such a good learning curve though. I realised that if I do a challenge like this again. I need to share my work and then step back from the social media and only really take the time to enjoy everyone else’s work once the week is over. It is so difficult to stay focused and keep that belief in myself sometimes.

Prompt Five - Darkness

Ali and Molly hate to see Anja sad. So when she finally fell asleep they got up in the darkness and made a plan...

I usually make really complicated and detailed illustrations so it was quite the challenge to keep it simple and refrain from adding things to the darkness. I am pleased I resisted my natural temptation though and kept it simple. I really love my two little people here and also the world I had made for them.

I haven’t yet managed to finish the last two pieces - illustrations based on the prompt of “key” and “crown”. I have ideas for them though so may find the time to do them soon. I think one of the things I learned from this challenge - in addition to trying to not compare myself to others - was that I really enjoy creating a story. Another piece of feedback I have had from agents and also from publishers, is that many are looking for illustrators who are also writers. The ‘full package’ is appealing. I don’t think I have the skills yet to fully write a story, but I certainly enjoy coming up with the concept for a story - a world for my characters to enjoy being in, and things for them to do.