I have decided to begin this process by looking into Welsh Folktales, such as the Mabinogion, Gelert, Cantre'r Gwaelod, Cadair Idris and some others. These folktales date back as early as the 12th century, having been passed by word of mouth to begin with and then written and published at the end of the 18th Century.
These stories are filled with death, war, love, affairs and heart break with fantasy creatures and people, many of the stories being quite complicated being made up of four separate tales. Some tales such as Cantre'r Gwaelod, a story about a city lost to the sea on the coast of West Wales, may be based on true events as evidence has been found to support that there was land further off the coast.
Before starting to experiment with compositions, I looked to see what illustrations already exist for these stories. Below are some examples found online. These illustrations have used traditional methods such as etchings and painting, and have an old romantic feeling, but are very outdated by todays standards. I was able to find one contemporary illustration about the story of Rhys a Meinir, which has the aesthetic of a screen print with two bright contrasting colours. The image is used as an advertisement and video for a BBC National Orchestra of Wales performance from 2016.
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The next step is to focus on one simple folktale and start experimenting with character design and compositions.
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