BOOK BOOK THE IDEABOOK OF BOOK KARNJANAKIT ILLUSTRATION PRACTICE MFA STUDIO FALL 2019 - SPRING 2020
TABLE OF CONTENTS
NARRATIVE-BASED THE UNTOLD STORY OF CREEPER
8
RISOGRAPH PROJECT
ROUGH DAY REMEDY
14
IMAGE HARVEST PROJECT
SUNNY DAY 24 SEWING PROJECT
GOING HOME 30 STOPMOTION PROJECT
THE SKETCHBOOK PROJECT
34
A COLLECTION OF 6-PANEL COMICS
EDITORIAL WRITERS IN BALTIMORE SCHOOLS POETRY & POSTERS
40
CLIENT-BASED PROJECT
WALK, DON’T RUN 48 INDEPENDENT PROJECT: ILLUSTRATED POEMS
MATERIAL EXPLORATION WORKING SPACE 60 PAPERCUTTING PROJECT
TAPIRS, PENGUIN AND MUSHROOMS
64
CERAMICS PROJECT
THE STRENGTH 68 DIGITAL FABRICATION PROJECT
NUTTY FAMILY PATTERNS
72
PATTERN DESIGN PROJECT
THE LEGENDARY SNAILIES / HANG ON LITTLE TOMATO / LET GO HANDLETTERING PROJECT
78
NARRATIVE BASED
The Untold Story of Creeper RISO WORKSHOP REACTION PROJECT
IDEA & CONCEPT Creepers, the shy little creatures that like to hide and curiously look at things from the dark have always been in the back of my mind and appeared in my artworks since 2017 but I always feel like there are more stories about them that can be told. So when we had Riso and narrative workshop, I knew right away that I want to make a comic about them.
PROCESS During the development period, I sketched out the idea of moment-tomoment 2-panel comics in various situations and showed them to my classmates. I did not know what to write for the end at first but with the suggestions of everyone such as “Make them do something out of their way!” really helped me come up with the ending idea which I really like. When I got the story structure laid out, I figured out how the printing and binding would be and how many pages can I make with our 11”x17” paper limitation. I also made a mock-up by cutting out the blank paper to see how I would feel holding it. Once I have everything planned, I started to draw on my iPad pro using the two-color I want to print with. It took forever to finish as I have so many pages and I did feel disheartened when I saw my friends finished theirs. But I kept pushing it through and eventually made it.
OUTCOME It felt amazing to see the pages printed out. Cutting and binding took longer than I thought but I made a total of 45 copies of the zines and I am very happy about it. The feedback in critique was also very positive as well.
Rough Day Remedy IMAGE HARVEST PROJECT
IDEA & CONCEPT The basic idea of a choose your own self-care book occurred to me when I consoled my best friend Ferrari, who was having a hard time. In our conversation, I was reminded of how tough and mean a person can be toward themselves. Since our society is more likely to define one’s value through their work and productivity, many people are spending more and more hours working to prove themselves as worthy. This leads to physical fatigue, burnout syndrome, and many mental health issues. So Rough Day Remedy is created to serve as a reminder for everyone to take better care of themselves.
PROCESS At the beginning of the Image Harvest project, we have to come up with 10 different ideas. My ideas were ranging from a park map with birds location, a deck of tarot cards, a comic that makes fun of myself, and this last-minute idea that came to me. Turned out in the pin-up, everyone loved it. I was very concerned because it seemed like such a big
project and I was so worried I would not be able to make it. After the pin-up, we had about a month or so to work on it. But at the same time, we also had the material exploration workshop reaction pieces to finish. So I did what wise people would not do: I just worked on the ones that had the closest
deadline first. That poor decision left me with 2 weeks and nothing was done, not even a script. I talked to Kim about this and I was so stressed out but Kim asked if I still liked the project or not, and my answer was yes, so she kept pushing my through with it which I am now very thankful. So in a really short period of time,
I squeezed out all of my brain juice to come up with the sequences and choose your own adventure page structure. Due to the short amount of time I have, I came up with an alpaca character that felt right for the project’s mood but also is easy enough to draw so I could finish in time. For the medium, I used something I am most familiar with: color pencil, since I did not have time to make any mistake. I caved in at the studio and drew like there was no tomorrow because there really was not. Then I wrote out the script, printed it out, and had Kyle Ellingson, a cohort who happened to be at the studio by the time I finished writing, read it to check if anything is wrong with my English. Then I poured everything together in InDesign and manufactured everything in the ILP print lab. I produced so many bad copies before I got it right. For the exhibition, I wanted everyone to be able to see the illustration and I know books are not the best form for it, so I printed and glued them on foam-core board. At the installation, I realized it looked very lonely just by that, so I drew the alpaca on the wall with color pencil.
OUTCOME The exhibition opening was very blissful and I loved standing nearby to hear people’s feedback and reactions. It seemed like it is well received by audiences of all ages. During the exhibition period, 2 of the books were missing. I replaced it with new copies and I hope the lost ones could help someone on their bad days.
Sunny Day SEWING WORKSHOP REACTION PROJECT
IDEA & CONCEPT At the beginning of the sewing workshop, I have no idea what to make out of it. I was a little worried about using sewing machines because I was slow in class and did not get any chance to try it during workshop time. So I came up with a sunfish with a very flat, pillow-like design. The idea of making a photo book came after I finished making the sunfish and I was proud of myself, holding the sunfish to take a photo. I figured I could create a storyline out of a series of photos and decided to explore the idea further.
I don’t feel like doing anything.
PROCESS At first, the sewing seemed really intimidating. Once I got a grip on it, I started to get cocky and made a lot of mistakes. The tail was especially hard to make because I had to stuff them before sewing to the body. I needed to redo it many times. Once I decided I wanted to make a photo book, I did not have much structure in mind and just walked around the studio, my neighborhood and in Baltimore taking photos wherever I thought would be funny or cute or cool. Then I looked at all my photos, came up with a story, and went out to shoot a certain shot that I needed in order to fill in the story.
OUTCOME During the critique I showed the product as a slideshow, I heard a lot of laughter from my classmates which to me was the best compliment they could give me so I was overjoyed with how it came out. It is one of my favorite works from the semester.
Going Home STOP MOTION WORKSHOP REACTION PROJECT COLLABORATION WITH KRISTINA GAUER
IDEA & CONCEPT
OUTCOME
The idea came across while I walk home from school and observe things on the way. And as the analog feel of stop-motion remind me of how they animate an 8-bit game, I figured it would be fun to make a game-like animation.
I really like how it came out even though I can make a list of what could be improved. I am not sure if I want to do stop-motion again as it is very time consuming and I do not have the patience.
PROCESS In this project, I paired up with Kristina. She is the voice of reason that pulled me back to reality. We talked about the feasibility of the resources we had and how to make the work done as smoothly as possible. We made the animation elements the day before in a simple and wonky style so
we do not have to worry about the dimension. The main character was a duck so that we did not have to worry about joints while moving. We also tried to make everything as close to final as possible while shooting to minimize the editing process.
The Sketchbook Project A COLLECTION OF 6-PANEL COMICS
IDEA & CONCEPT This project is a collaboration with the whole class. We needed to draw at least a spread in each sketchbook under the theme provided. When I first got it, I was still energetic and full of willpower, so I decided that besides the theme of each book, my personal assignment for it would be to make a comic strip. I sort of regret this by the end of the semester.
PROCESS At the beginning of the semester up until midterm, I was on schedule with the sketchbook. I would keep the theme in the back of my mind and think of how to create a comic from it. And on Friday, I would work on it. But when the Image Harvest waves hit, my schedule was wrecked and I started to push it more and more. I ended up finished them a few days before the Spring semester started.
OUTCOME There are a few earlier works that I really like and having such an abstract theme to make comic is fun when I have time to think. While other works, the ones that I am ashamed to put into this idea book, I cannot stand looking at it and I feel really ashamed that they are out there in the world.
EDITORIAL
Writers In Baltimore Schools Poetry & Posters CLIENT-BASED PROJECT
THE BLIND EYE BY DAMIRA GRANT I see you LOOKING but are you actually SEEING? In the visual graveyards I see all of my people awaiting their turn to see what once they thought they knew. We all have been tricked at birth to look at only what the government placed upon us. We were born with a heavy iron veal over our eyes distorting the image at which of eyes longed to see. Sadly we have yet found the key to unlock the iron veal from ourselves. We conformed to the restriction code because we can only get but so far before the bullets of government start to fire against. As an individual it’s easy to move faster but as a whole you can move stronger. Due so we become satisfied and comfortable with the living placements we are given. In Baltimore City there are neighborhoods right next to each other that dominate with 1 specific race. Let me give you part of the code now...Belair-Edison/ Hartford Road predominantly Black, Highlandtown/ Patterson Park predominantly Hispanic, Fells Point/ Downtown area predominantly White. These areas are close yet separated by race. As your journey through these areas the entire atmosphere changes from dark, dirty and gloomy to bright and clean. Within minutes from another. No crowbar, no wrench, no screw driver, no hammer can break the code... have you not noticed? We have been manipulated as the human race to not use the tools that were given to us at birth... OUR MINDS ...The key to breaking the iron veal is KNOWLEDGE. As simple as that. But we all don’t share the same upbringings to have and share the tools which were given to us. Some of us don’t even know the strength at which we bestow within us. They have mastered bestowing the blind eye strategy upon us to prevent a change in the hierarchy. The saying “strong minds think alike” was no false tale. But to keep that only a quote and not a revolution there is only two solutions. SEPARATE THE MINDS, and Manipulate to the ideas of “there is no longer SEGREGATION”. When I’m fact there is but the world is selfish and cruel. Sharing could be caring but it can also result in death. Sadly another strong mind put to rest and all the knowledge of breaking the iron veal permanently silenced within them.
BALTIMORE UNKNOWN BY MAKAYLA JEFFERSON Some may say the later you find out the better. While others prefer to know right away. To know about the unofficial grave sites that nobody is looking for. The bodies that rot without knowledge, Or the amber alerts that never reach our phones. What happens to the black families slowly losing hope? The mothers calling a phone that will never be answered. The men that have been missing for months before we ever know what happened. Those things we never see on the news but on Murder Ink The children waiting to be found, Wanting their Mommy or Daddy. Not knowing what is going to happen to them. Still didn’t get that Amber Alert though. Months go by, sometimes years and they’re forgotten by the world. That is until they turn up dead then everyones sad again. The unheard is always worse than the heard. The bleeding is just a side effect of the wound. The silence is only proof that they don’t care. The children suffer because of our ignorance. Fathers are lost because it seems that the world don’t care. Wounded familied the cover the city. Drowning us in blood.
IDEA & CONCEPT
PROCESS
OUTCOME
I am assigned with 2 poems: The Blind Eye and Baltimore Unknown. I had over 10 different rough sketches of each one since we were encouraged us to explore as many ideas as possible. In the last critique, my classmates gave me a feedback on which ones they thought were the most successful and I developed my final pieces accordingly. For the Blind Eye, I used the concept of everyone being a marionette that is controlled by authorities and how we do not realize it. And for Baltimore Unknown, I focused on the emotions that the family who loses their child must have felt by showing through a family photo that sits on top of a dresser.
Once I got the finalized ideas for each of them, I thought about what medium would work best for each idea. For the Blind Eye, I went to digital illustration since it has to do with scale and I knew I would probably need to adjust a lot of things so I wanted to make it as flexible to change as possible. Though in Baltimore Unknown which has less element and more emotion, I used watercolor to create texture and bring out the most feelings from it. Later when I submitted, I do need to make some cropping adjustment but it was still possible since the size of the drawing is big enough.
For the billboard and poetry book, the client has chosen Baltimore Unknown. I am happy with this decision because I also think I did a better job in this one. I think the work popped out well and the imagery is easy to understand on the billboard, the the smaller texts such as the school credit and illustrator credit might be more challenging to read. Overall, I find working with clients’ needs a good experience and I would like to work on more editorial pieces.
Walk, Don’t Run INDEPENDENT PROJECT | ILLUSTRATED POEMS
IDEA & CONCEPT With the independent project, I wanted to challenge myself by experimenting with things that I was not familiar with in terms of both content and image-making. Earlier this semester there were a few illustrators that mentioned during the lunchtime lecture that they write poems and illustrate them, plus we worked with Writers in Baltimore Schools’ poetry, so I have grown an interest in English poetry and wanted to try writing one in my own way. Since the form was new, I decided to go with familiar subjects: daily life and random thoughts. And for the illustrations, I have decided to try working with collage, both photos, and my own drawings.
PROCESS Besides the materials and forms, I also challenged myself with the working process. Unlike how I usually work, in this project, I barely planned out anything beforehand. I took long walks in the city and the woods to get ideas to write poems. I wrote the poems and doodled
alongside them without worrying if they would go well together or not as a series and I did not think about sequences at all. Then I read the poems and thought of what images came to me when I was writing and drew them out separately without screening myself by thinking about
composition. Then I scanned them and see what kind of work I could come up with all the elements I have. For the photo, I used the service of a freely usable image website like Unsplash since I do not have enough time to get all the photos I want.
OUTCOME Turned out this project has tremendously helped me cope during the COVID19 quarantine time. The long walks and the experimental quality of the project have made it a very enjoyable ride without too much pressure. I have learned to work differently and that is the most important lesson I have gotten from this project. And to be honest, I already prepared in mind and lowered my expectations that I might not like how this project would come out. But by the end of the day, I like my poems and this different new style of illustrating a lot more than I thought and that felt amazing.
MATERIAL EXPLORATION
Working Space PAPERCUTTING WORKSHOP REACTION PROJECT
IDEA & CONCEPT Since this is the first reaction piece of the year, I seriously did not know what to do. So I just simply thought that I wanted to cut out the paper as delicately as possible and came up with the working space area so I can cut many layers.
PROCESS I drew everything in my iPad Pro with a really thick brush and printed it out, glued the pattern to the colored paper, and cut with x-acto knife. Then I layered them using the board on the frame area.
OUTCOME The work got complimented on its craftsmanship but its content and concept were questioned and I did not have a good answer for it. This made me feel a little down but also understood the meaning and purpose of the reaction pieces more.
Tapirs, Penguin And Mushrooms CERAMICS WORKSHOP REACTION PROJECT
IDEA & CONCEPT
PROCESS
OUTCOME
I have never experienced working with ceramics before so I was not sure what to expect. But when I thought about it, I thought about shapes. So I think of what animals would have fun shapes and I designed a Malayan tapir and an Adelie penguin. The rest just came up while I worked on the clay. The vase design was a doodle that I came up with right at the moment.
I sketched out some designs but as I worked on the clay, I improvised a lot of things. I enjoyed sculpting the character a lot. Before firing, one of the tapir’s arms broke and it was too small to fix so I made another tapir with strong macho arms that are right next to the body. So I ended up with 2 tapir brothers. As for the vase painting, I did not enjoy the process too much since it was hard to hold and paint at the same time.
I love how the characters came out. I was so overjoyed when I saw them. The mushrooms, however, came out a lot paler than before firing that I could barely see the red color which was disappointing. And I like the vase more than I thought I would.
The Strength DIGITAL FABRICATION WORKSHOP REACTION PROJECT
IDEA & CONCEPT
PROCESS
OUTCOME
I did not want to make anything 3dimensional since I was drained from other projects at the same time. So I looked through ideas that I did not use in previous works and came across an idea of tarot cards. I chose VIII The Strength as it is a card that I have the most personal connection with.
The design was done in the iPad Pro and imported them into Adobe Illustrator, followed by Rhino. I cut with many different materials and since the design is detailed, each cut took about 30 minutes to finish. I then took them and attached them with different background papers.
I really liked how it came out and it meant a lot to me personally, but the feedback from the critique was not that great. Kim suggested that I design more cards but I am reluctant with the idea and I have not yet to do that yet.
Nutty Family Patterns PATTERN DESIGN WORKSHOP REACTION PROJECT
IDEA & CONCEPT
PROCESS & OUTCOME
I tried making patterns out of the characters I created. Somehow, I was afraid that would not be enough so I put a theme of changing seasons on top of the characters. When I did a redo piece, I removed the season theme and focused only on the alpaca character.
I struggled with not knowing what elements to put in the patterns and how to make them coordinate. And when I put them together, I was clumsy with the technical aspects of it. in the critique, I learned that the concept was not conveyed well and
that my patterns are very blocky with not much variation. So I did a redo piece which I still do not feel very satisfied with. I think I want to try to make more patterns later in the summer.
The Legendary Snailies / Hang On Little Tomato / Let Go HANDLETTERING WORKSHOP REACTION PROJECT
IDEA & PROCESS I realized I often use a lot of hand letters in my body of work, such as comics. So I think of the other way it can go with my drawing and come up with this chart about snails. After that, I felt like I did not use enough hand letters so I made the other two works. And later on, I created a handwriting type.
BOOK_THICKHANDWRITING TYPE
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG.
Sample text: “The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a giant cavy rodent native to South America. It is the largest living rodent in the world. It is a member of the genus Hydrochoerus, of which the only other extant member is the lesser capybara (Hydrochoerus isthmius). Its close relatives include guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, the chinchilla, and the coypu. The capybara inhabits savannas and dense forests and lives near bodies of water. It is a highly social species and can be found in groups as large as 100 individuals, but usually lives in groups of 10-20 individuals.� - Capybara Wikipedia Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ? ! # :-* ;) =] :-/
ABOUT BOOK (She/Her) Book Karnjanakit is an illustrator/ writer/comic artist originally from Bangkok, now living in Baltimore. Frequently use media include watercolor, pencil color and digital. Currently she is a graduate student in MICA MFA Illustration Practice program. Her free time is often spent bird watching, exploring the city and eating yummy food. www.koobta.art Instagram @koobta.art Facebook @koobta.art boonyanan.k@gmail.com