Both my parents majored in art. When my sister and I were growing up, one of our family’s favorite pastimes was checking out art galleries and cultural exhibits over the weekends.
Guess what was my favorite part of going to these exhibits?
It was pleading, nagging, and finally dragging one of my parents out of the exhibit hall so that I could run around in the open space outside the museum. My poor parents! All they wanted was some peace and quiet, some art appreciation getaway. Instead, they always inadvertently ended up dealing with a disappointedly non-cultured Tasmanian Devil.
I did end up loving art and art history, but that was not until my college years.
As a kidlit comic creator, I always remind myself what interested or bored me when I was at a particular age. I’m sure every kid is different, but, at least for me, I was nowhere near ready to appreciate the expressive brush strokes of a Van Gogh, the music-spirits of a Kandinsky, or the artistic evolution of the Dunhuang cave paintings over the course of a thousand years.
So, how do I balance making a story that thrills both the third-grader in me AND my adult-self?
Well, I make sure the story have tons of humor and actions, but I occasionally plant some art history seeds in the backgrounds.
They are little Easter eggs for readers.
When Wukong headed towards the labyrinth, he passed by the famous bull-leaping fresco (~1450BCE) on the wall of the Minoan palace on Crete.
I love this dynamic portrayal of the Minoan characters as they performed a religious ritual dance. These figures drastically contrast the more rigid artistic style from mainland Greece at the same time period.
Another scene with a dosage of my art history love is hidden within the mission scroll given to Wukong by God Venus. Upon first glance, the scroll looks like a bunch of abstract shapes, but it is later deciphered to reveal the identity of the monster.
The origin of this abstract pattern stems from patterns on black clay pots of the Erligang culture of China (approx. 1600BCE). If you look closely, you can see the clever patterns depict heads of oxen.
A thousand years later, around 1500BCE in the Shang Dynasty (Bronze Age), these ox-patterns became much more common on the three-legged bronze vessels.
Images of ox appeared on many archaeological artifacts in the early period of Chinese civilizations, all of which is a reflection of the important role oxen played for the people at the time.
I had a lot of fun and integrating all the things I learned and loved over the years. Making comics and graphic novels are time-demanding and at times strenuous, but I always find the journey easier if I can figure out ways to level up the joy in the creative process.
Thanks for hearing me nerd out a little on history and art history! Check out my fun graphic novel MONKEY KING AND THE WORLD OF MYTHS if you haven’t already!
Do you sneak in what you love passionately in your work? If so, please share in the comments below!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
If you are interested in learning how to professionally create kids comics/graphic novels, I will be doing a one-hour virtual workshop at Kids Comics Unite on September 11, 2024 from 9:30am-10:30am PST.
The cost is $29US. Get your ticket here today!
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If you live in Los Angeles, I will signing at the LA Kids Book Festival on September 8, 2024 from 12:30pm-1:30pm at the TeachAAPI booth!
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Happy September, everyone!
How neat that those details are folded in. I think they add to overall joy I (and all readers) feel when we read Monkey King, even if we don’t recognize the historical artifacts you cleverly hid in there!
Your love of history totally shines through!
I loved this Maple - and totally agree! Trying to appeal to the bored kid in you and the fascinated adult is such great material to work with. And now you get to MAKE those books! How cool it is.