For this project, I selected an old trickster tale, and created a concertina to visually convey this story. My tale was Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby, and I digitally illustrated assets for a 9-panel, double sided concertina with 4-panel, A4 flaps that could be unfolded in the middle of each side. 'Tar Baby' is a story published by Joel Chandler Harris in 1881. It is a trickster tale that has been orally passed down in black American communities, originating in Africa. In my own concertina, I used text from a linguistically simplified version of the story written by S.E. Schlosser.
The story follows Brer Fox, who creates a tar baby to capture and kill Brer Rabbit. Brer Rabbit finds and greets the baby but to no response. Growing frustrated, he hits it, but gets stuck. Brer Fox reveals himself and thinks of ways to kill Brer Rabbit, who is begging not to be thrown in the briar patch. He then throws Brer Rabbit in, but Brer Rabbit escapes unscathed, as he was 'bred and born' in the briar patch.
My double-sided concertina features Brer Rabbit's POV on one side, and Brer Fox's POV on the other, with an A4 fold out section that makes the reader stop and unravel the main conflict point, as shown in the gifs below.
Brer Rabbit Side
I created digital watercolour and painted illustrations, reminiscent of old storybooks, while also retaining a sense of modernity. Typefaces include Kiln Sans (headings) and Calisto MT (body). Kiln Sans has a painted effect, reminiscent of 18th century publications and signage. Calisto MT is a classic typeface with strong serifs. I also created some posters to showcase the characters and plot elements of the story, as an extension of the concertina.
Brer Fox Side
