Animals and plants

I spent time creating various native birds, animals and plants of New Zealand using paint pencil and inks. After scanning and cleaning up my images digitally I began to layer them up. I used the levels tool to change the contrasts to get a better balance with the background they were on.

After some experimentation with ripped painted papers the sea started to take shape.

Peer feedback

I initially started by painting the mother earth character and found that although I liked the feeling of her, I wasn't convinced she would work without modification.

I felt as though i was getting lost with what i was trying to create. I felt i wasn't achieving my aim and after some peer support and a tutorial, i felt much more confident in myself and how i would continue with my work.

I decided to cut the image up and to start layering it with other elements.  I carried out some experimental work using different papers, pencils, ink, and paint. Then I began to make up shapes to layer on mother earth. 

I found that the layering added extra depth to the image and gave me the depth of field I was trying to achieve. By adding different coloured and texture looking papers I found this added another dimension.

Prep work for book

After researching the stories of creation and deciding on a Maori based story. I began working on images of New Zealand and its various landscapes and wildlife. 

I used various media and different types of paper and collage materials to create ideas and formats for my two main characters; Mother Earth and Father Sky. 

After working on alternative story book layouts and resolve issues with compositions and weak images 

Mock up of story based upon Maori stories.

Roughs for the creation story based on the Ideas believed by Maori.

I worked them up into a laparello style booklet.

Decision made

After lots of research over the past few weeks on the other types of Creation stories i settled on two more (Chinese Pan Ku) which i drew a small layout for. But I also found another which was very interesting but quite longwinded . It was Ethiopian based on god like beings Orishas and Obatala the the Orisha who created the earth and people out of clay. I started  to try and condense it, to put it into a rough storyboard, but it became too as it was a very long detailed story. It didn't seem to be following the path i wanted to go down. So I have chosen to stick with one of the first stories I came across of the Maori creation story of father sky and mother earth, as this fits better within my brief.


I will begin the next few weeks researching the environment and other aspects of New Zealand both the North and South Island. Making visual notes drawings, sketches etc of what i find.

Maori story as finalist

I decided to look into the Maori creation story in more depth, as i thought it was visually more interesting and felt it was a strong finalist for the picture book along with the Chinese story of creation.

I would have to simplify some parts by maybe generalising the children because of the length of the picture book. But maybe use colours to identify their differences.

The Chinese story could be simplified by colour also, but would need serious consideration over the parts where his body becomes blood, land etc..

Maori view of their natural world

Maori origins are traced back to the beginnings of creation -- Te Kore (total darkness). There was no life, only potential. Papatuanuku (the Earth Mother) and Ranginui (the Sky Father) were clasped together, stifling all growth. Their children, desperate for light, devised a plan whereby one of them, Tane Mahuta (God of the Forests) would separate his parents. Binding to his mother below, he pushed upwards with his legs with all his strength and thrust his father apart from the earth.

Into the light sprang the raging winds of Tawhirimatea (God of the Winds), the swirling seas of Tangaroa (God of the Sea), and the towering forests of Tane Mahuta. Tane Mahuta fashioned the first human, Hine-ahu-one, from the clay of his mother; and so developed the spiritual home of Maori, the home of their gods and of creation.

The Maori name for indigenous peoples is Tangata Whenua -- the peoples of the land. The Moriori people of Rekohu (Chatham Islands) claim to have sprung from the earth (no ro whenua ake). Legends tell of waka (canoes) arriving on Rekohu and Aotearoa from ancient homelands in the Pacific Islands.

Like other indigenous peoples, Maori have a unique relationship with their natural world. They view themselves as one with the natural world. The people, the land, the sea, the forest, and all living creatures are members of the same family. Maori have a direct whakapapa (genealogical) connection through their ancestors.

In order for Maori to survive and prosper from the land and sea, the reciprocity of respect and caring is central. Karakia (blessings) are spoken before cutting down a tree or taking fish from the sea. In turn, the needs of Maori are satisfied.

Article copyright Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine, Inc. December 2000

https://teara.govt.nz/en/papatuanuku-the-land/page-1 accessed 17 October 2017

Creation Myths and stories

After having researched and read various versions of world/earth creation from around the world. I have discovered that they all have similarities in their narratives. 

All cultures show that human experience seems to have a need of having an organised principle to our world. Something which we can understand and make sense of how we came into being.

First there has to be a creative force that appears, then everything else follows on. By taking opposing sides such as Heaven and Earth, day and night, male and female, good and evil etc.. all myths and stories fall into one category or another. 

The various categories are as follows.

• Creation from Chaos

• Earth Diver

• Emergence

• Ex Nihilo (out of nothing)

• World Parent

• One brother killed by the other

Having so many stories to choose from i decided to look at a number of factors:

Is it too complicated are there too many factors to the story? 

too many, too much

Is it going to be visually interesting? 

Compositions and storyboarding to work this out

Are the characters believable? 

what do they add to story?

I have only considered stories that were cohesive and relatively uncomplicated as myths go. The first choice was the Maori creation myth which comes under the World Parent category. This threw up an interesting set of visuals and a possibly muted colour palette.

Other choices considered were Pan Ku the Chinese myth of creation, which i feel came under the creation from Chaos category. Producing a slightly shorter version of creation than the Maoris but equally interesting.

The third myth chosen was.. either going to be Japanese or African.
More research to do to choose this last one.
I looked at various other artists such as Sarah Yoon and her pullout book Go to the moon.



I also spent time looking at Oskar Fischenger's Optical Poem (1938) and his other art work.

These images remind me something of a planetary formation happening.







I also like the style of Sandra Dieckman




Absolutely beautiful, i think this collage type painted imagery is something similar to my previous work on Emus last year.



I have also looked at Luke Pearsons comic storyboarding on his Hilda books for influence in page compostions.