Franz Kafka, Metamorphosis, Book Illustration
Overview
I developed a visual narrative for Franz Kafka's book, Metamorphosis. To bring this literary work to life, I chose to utilize ink as my medium of expression. Throughout the narrative, the pages of the book gradually become engulfed by a swarm of ink, symbolizing the transformative nature of the story.
Solution
Utilizing the concept of shadow, I felt like the main character was grappling with this overwhelming sense of isolation, lack of support, and self-hatred. Ink, when connected to water, is everflowing. Within seconds of contact, the water becomes a dark-grey, black. Throughout the book, this ink grows more and more, engulfing the words on the book. By the end, the page is mostly black.
Progress
I came up with three different concepts for this project. My first concept was utilizing white space to create this feeling of isolation. My second concept was to utilize shadow to display the lack of support, not feeling actually seen, etc. This concept I ended up using to final use of ink. My third concept was utilizing the room as a cage, a prison, but juxtaposing it’s space of comfort for the main character.
Result
Overall, really proud of this project. I was pushed to go outside of my comfort zone and become more hands-on. A qualm of mine is doing a lot more thinking than doing. My profressor really encouraged me to experiment and allow myself to dip into the ways this book made me feel as a reader. There was an overwhelming sense of empathy I had with the main character.
