One of
our newest titles is Fly, Little Fish!,
a charming little tale by Lavanya Karthik about an intrepid little fish who
wants to explore the skies. Ashwathy P.S. took on the challenge of illustrating
this story in a unique style inspired by Indian folk art, and helped give
Little Fish her colourful, unique personality! Here’s a short interview with Ashwathy,
where she discusses her experience with illustrating for Karadi Tales.
Ashwathy
P.S. is an artist and graphic designer, who graduated from Stella Maris College
with a degree in Fine Arts.
You can find Fly, Little Fish! on our website here: https://karaditales.com/catalogue/picture-books/fly-little-fish/
And One Dark Cloud here: https://karaditales.com/catalogue/picture-books/one-dark-cloud/
And One Dark Cloud here: https://karaditales.com/catalogue/picture-books/one-dark-cloud/
KARADI TALES: When did you first realize you wanted
to be an artist and designer?
ASHWATHY P.S.: My penchant
for art developed at a very early age — as a child I would sketch random things
and find inspiration everywhere. Even in school I loved doing all sorts of arts
and crafts, much more than studying other subjects. My art teacher from school was
a great influence. He’s the one who made me realise that I could do something
in this field and create something of my own as an artist or designer.
KT: What medium do you prefer working
with?
APS: I prefer
oils any day. I love blending and mixing colours. Oil is not a very easy
medium, but once you get the hang of it, you will fall in love. My second
favourite is photo ink. The bright colours just make me happy.
KT: Is there any particular artist who
inspires you, or who has had a big influence on you?
APS: I find
inspiration in many places. Whether it’s a work by a 10-year-old or by Picasso
I find something to take back with me. As I mentioned earlier, my art teacher
has also been a big influence. Four years of art history in college also
exposed me to so many different art movements that have left an impact.
KT: You worked on the counting book One Dark Cloud for Karadi Tales. What
was this experience like?
APS: Working as
a junior graphic designer for a publishing house like Karadi is a dream come
true. One Dark Cloud was a whole new
experience and my first ever collage book. This book was made entirely by
cutting and pasting different kinds of materials, ranging from cloth to
different textured papers, depending on the feel of the elements portrayed.
Figuring out what material works where and painting the first few background
layers was time consuming. Working on this book was an exercise in learning
more about different materials and how to conceptualize different elements of
the book. It also made me think like a child, and wonder about how a child
would imagine all of these. This book was designed completely in-house with the
assistance of our intern, Anusha Sundar. Overall, it was a fun-filled
experience of learning and exploring different mediums.
We made
a tactile version of this book as well, which made it to the top 10 of the
National Tactile Book Competition, Typhlo and Tactus.
KT: Tell us about the illustrations in
your upcoming release Fly, Little Fish!
APS: Fly, Little Fish! is technically my third book for Karadi (the first
being Karadi Rhymes 3). Our publisher
asked me, quite unexpectedly, to sketch a fish in the Gond (an Indian folk art)
style. When I showed her my work, she really liked the style and the way I
conceptualized the fish. She asked me to illustrate the book using a storyboard
that had been created by the illustrator Satwik Gade.
I took
over from the story board and started my work, spread by spread. The art
from Fly, Little Fish! is inspired by
the Gond style, an ancient art form that emerged from central India. It is
characterized by fine lines, dots and dashes. The illustrations in this book
use this technique along with bright acrylic colours. Every element in this
book is hand drawn and hand painted. Little Fish is my favourite character,
and it will always be close to my heart.
