A recent comic festival in Bengaluru saw participation from over 30 artists, many of whom are finding their feet in the comic world. We speak to three budding artists about the growing space for independent artists
With a need to provide space for independent comic artists, the idea of hosting an indie comic festival has been developing amongst the independent artist community for the past few years. This year, the community successfully set up a first of-its-kind festival in Bengaluru. It was organised by The Art in Transit project under Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology. City Express spoke to some of the budding comic artists who showcased their work. Excerpts from the conversations:
Art gives limitless possibilities: Jyotsna B Rao
When did you develop an interest in comic art?What made you chose this path?
Since childhood, I remember making little drawings and putting some text on it too. Being a mover in the kinaesthetic space, I felt the need to collate my ideas on a tangible medium that allowed more freedom to articulate on a universal language of grapheme and script.
How has your journey been so far?
Art gives limitless possibilities to explore and work with. I am only beginning to learn the connectedness and power that a Grapheme offers to its audience. Although my work has been appreciated, I am at a juncture of finding financial viability for my works.
What are some of your recent works?
Punch Kanyas, Anstoyj – a self-portrait series (digital) and unlike any of my other works. I am currently working on Kaligram, which is a symbol and grapheme work on goddess Kali.
Some comic artists you look up to?
Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha series shook the ground beneath me and from there I started taking drawing seriously, Amruta Patil’s Kari inspired me more and I admire her visual-text sense-making, Yusuf Sien’s artwork in ACK’s Mirabai is breathtaking, Mario Miranda’s complete works, Herge’s ‘Tintin’, and Bill Watterson’s ‘Calvin and Hobbes.
Your thoughts on the contemporary comic art scene in the country and city?
The variety of comics available now is vast, especially online. There are so many artists to be discovered and read worldwide in Bengaluru; I connect to Alicia Souza’s full-of-life and super joyous comic strips/illustrations and Appupen’s stark and satire maze-like structures.
The best stories come out of our own experiences: Jyotsna Ramesh
When did you develop an interest in comic art?
After high school, I moved to Ahmedabad to study my undergraduation at the National Institute of Design. I’ve always been fascinated by art in all its forms and comics were always around at home, be it Tintin or Asterix or the Panchatantra or Jataka tales. I started making little comics for stories and characters I’d come up with when I was four or five and it continued until my entry to NID and my picking of Animation Film Design as a specialisation, which has a comic course as part of the syllabus.
How has your journey been so far?
So far, there’s only been one comic I’ve published, despite the many I made growing up. Inspiration for me for all my storytelling is always real life, I believe the best of stories come from our own experiences, that’s when it comes from a place of truth and has what I believe is some soul/voice in it. It’s so important for us to tell our own narratives and I do believe that the world wants to hear it.
Your thoughts on the contemporary comic art scene in the country and city?
It’s lovely that the comic scene in India is really picking up. It’s important that we create and curate content for ourselves and it’s heartwarming to see how the audience are also responding to us and lapping it up.
Artist & publisher gap should be bridged:
Soumya Dham
How did you start?
After my masters in animation from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, I worked with an animation and game design studio in Mumbai. I moved to Bangalore in 2018 where I also work with Byjus Learning as a senior creative associate on their animated content. By that time I had developed a taste for more mature stories such as Maus, Persepolis and learnt to appreciate comics as a legit art form in the form of longer stories called graphic novels. As I opened up my reading venues to more material from the world over, I started to experiment with different art materials and formats of the layout as well.
How has your journey been so far?
Until now I was mostly creating comics and illustrations for academic purposes and commissioned freelance projects. This is the first time I’m self-publishing a story of mine and putting it out for sale. Hopefully, in time, I’ll be creating more stories and may get the opportunity to work with publishers as well.
How do you plan to go ahead with the art form?
I like to experiment with different materials, both digital and traditional so will be playing around with that. Also, I’ll try and expand my horizons by telling stories that matter and have a strong emotional connect. I am also looking to collaborate with someone to venture into digital storytelling such as motion comics.
What are the challenges you face?
Most readers still consider comics only for children and are not aware of serious storytelling that is possible with the help of comic books. Not to mention there is a massive distribution issue as, by every passing day, more and more bookshops are dying out. If the gap between artists/writers and publishers can be bridged, I’m sure we’ll get to see a lot more good stuff come out of India.
