Adarna

I’ve been taking Electronic Illustration as part of my first batch of Illustration major classes. One of our projects was to do a book cover in a “digital collage” style. I really wanted to do a filipino book, so here’s my take on a wrap-around cover for “Ang Ibong Adarna”. I have translated it into “Adarna, the Songbird” for the sake of a more western audience.

It’s important that I went with Songbird, instead of just “bird”. The Adarna song is an important element in the book since it is what cures illnesses and petrifies people into stone. I felt that the echo would make a good visual touch. For the bird itself, I took inspiration from paintings by Imao for the shapes. My idea for an Adarna bird is less phoenix like and more of the “sarimanok variant”.

Details of the sleeping princes under the diamond tree, and the youngest prince in pursuit.

The dusty texture is something I learned from my professor and he’s so amazing at rusticating the look of his artworks. I feel that the geometric nature of some of my elements is something I’ve gotten from looking at Sir Dan Matutina’s work. My professor chimed in that my treatment of the mountains reminds him of how Mark English treats his landscapes with geometric shapes.

I really am happy with how this turned out and it feels different from what I usually do. There is always room for more improvement in some areas but in a whole, I am content. Much love for Bianca Lesaca and Sandra Dans who have helped immensely while I was working on this.