The Art Of Story Telling
A title that has been used in the past and most certainly again in the future. It applies to so many aspects of art from music to photography. The focus for this moment will be storytelling through illustration.
My background is comic book illustration. Prior to entering the crypto/tech world most if not all of my work was done traditionally. Everything from character design to layouts and final rendering of the comic book pages was done to service the overall story. I learned to work from a script and take direction from my writer and editor. I’d done this for years and felt comfortable with the trappings of this world. So entering the tech world made me a bit nervous to say the least. What I learned quickly thanks to the supportive work environment and coworkers was that all I had learned over the years applied perfectly to this new endeavor.
Just like in comics so much of what is done is to serve a bigger story or narrative. From the smallest illustration to most elaborate, ultimately a story is being told. One great example is the work done to develop “UNNATURAL No.27” one of our company avatars. (Illustration shown below)
At a glance it’s a cool character in a fun environment. It’s when we start to look at the details that the storytelling begins because this avatar specifically represents the person it was created for. We get to establish the scene with the background and in the distance we see the Golden Gate Bridge. This could be anywhere but we now know it’s the city by the bay. That leads us to the alley, which lets us wonder where in the city it is. At this moment we are engaged and get to explore and look around the alley at all the art. ‘’Is the art random?” could be the next question.
Everything from the gecko to the stenciled “Nothington” on the can is from the artist who this avatar belongs to. Now the story is personal. It’s a look at and into the who the avatar really represents. A history, in this case, of past and current art developed by “UNNATURAL No.27”. In developing these avatars I’m lucky enough to get a ton of personal information that all helps to evolve and create the entirety of the scene. This is no different than interpreting a script or reading up on characters backgrounds to help inform me as an artist or a director to tell the best possible story whether in a comic book or a film.
In the end hopefully something memorable is created and enjoyed by the individual and public at large. If lucky as the artist I was able be creative and give the piece a personal touch while serving the narrative created by all the personal elements that were brought to the table.
“UNNATURAL No. 27” Illustration by Manuel Martinez