Illustration Studio - Narrative Story

"The Black Sheep"

There once was a peaceful village, inhabited by sheep.  They were led by their kind and caring ruler, King Baaatholomew.  One day, a dragon assaulted the village. He flew over their homes and fields, spewing flames as he went.
“I have not eaten in weeks!” he roared down at the frightened villagers. “I demand you send me someone for dinner!” With a swift swipe of his powerful tail, the dragon broke into King Baaatholomew’s castle, and cornered the poor King.
“I will have you for dinner if you do not send me someone suitable!” the dragon proclaimed with a snarl. Terrified, Baaatholomew watched as the dragon ascended into a nearby mountain, and settled onto a ledge.

King Baaatholomew was distraught. He knew the dragon would not stop terrorizing his people until he sent the beast a sacrifice; But how could the benevolent ruler send out one (or many!) of his own people to appease the hungry monster.  The King and his advisors debated for weeks, and all the while, the dragon continued to massacre the village, crushing houses in his fury. Still, he had not eaten anything.  After weeks of this torment, a lone black sheep approached the King in his castle.  Baaatholomew recognized him as Staanley, the awkward, lanky pariah of his village.
“I’ll go appease the dragon,” Staanley mumbled nervously. “Might as well. Nobody will miss me.”
King Baaatholomew frowned, knowing in the back of his mind that Staanley was never close with the rest of the herd.  Reluctantly, he agreed to allow Staanley to go.

Alone as always, Staanley scaled the mountain, knowing that these were his last moments on earth. Finally, he made it to the dragon’s ledge, which reeked of charred meat and toxic gases.
“Hello?” he called out, peering through the smoke. “I’m here to satisfy your stomach, dragon.”

“At last!” The dragon emerged, a giant toothy grin plastered over his maw. “I just refuse to eat dinner alone. I am so relieved they finally sent me a guest for dinner!”  The dragon gestured behind him, revealing an elaborate table, set with the finest china and an array of delicious food.  With a friendly arm around his new dinner guest, the dragon urged Staaanley, dumbfounded and elated, into a chair.  They chatted and ate for hours, bonding over their shared stories of isolation, and when they were both full and satisfied, the two decided that their dinners should be a nightly occurrence.  After that, the dragon was never lonely or irritable enough to destroy the village again, and Staaanley became a hero in the village.

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ADN480 Illustration Studio

"End of an Era" Narrative Story

This story is about a lonely dragon whose request for “someone for dinner” is horribly misinterpreted by a village of sheep. Thankfully, an equally lonely black sheep volunteers himself to appease the dragon, and learns that he is not the newest menu item, but is instead the dragon’s newest dinner guest. The visual style is influenced by Asian shadow play, an ancient form of storytelling which uses flat, articulated, paper cut-out shadow puppets.
Created with PaintTool Sai, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe AfterEffects.