Folktale Week: Let the stories of the past inspire your future skills

Nov 11

Editors note: Today’s guest post is from Louise Anjou, aka Louve Draws. Louise is one of the original hosts and coordinators of Folktale Week and an art teacher as well. Today she shares how she connects with Folktale Week and why she encourages her students to build career skills with art challenges.

The art was co-curated by several current and former Folktale Week hosts. Please enjoy! -Jennifer

Hi, I’m Louise, one of the hosts and founders of Folktale Week. We hosts love a good story. Many of us also love history. And that’s why we made this challenge.

“I honestly look at Folktale Week, like an Art Director guiding me in the right direction. Inspiring me to "take the leap" towards a creative world I want to live in.....and the bonus is, the like-minded community that is there to support each other in whatever path they are choosing to go on.”

Art by Robin Davis

Personally, I love nerding out, doing research, digging through old smelly tomes and looking on the 15th page of Google search. It’s fun for me. Oh, I need to draw Hansel and Gretel? Let me just spend 4 hours researching historical fashion for different German regions. And let's not forget the hairstyles. Anyone else here spend as much time rabbit-holing as they do drawing?

As much fun as I have learning about Bavarian hairstyles or whatever my subject of the day is, I always come away from art challenges with pieces that have taught me something more. That’s what I love about illustration challenges—a great prompt, an awesome aesthetic, or an inspiring theme can help you build skills you might not experience with self-directed art.

“I was so pleased with the outcome of last year’s [Folktale Week] work as it got me three book jobs!”

Art by Heidi Griffiths

That’s why I encourage my students to join art challenges, too. (Did you know I teach 3D and game art?) A challenge with a deadline is great practice. Just like with professional commissions, it also comes with a brief, aka the prompt and theme.
So by joining in on an art challenge, my students learn to plan ahead. They learn their own speed, and how much they can get done within a certain timeframe. For longer challenges they also learn about motivating themselves and commitment.

Knowing your own speed is an incredible strength in the professional world. Many list reliability as one of the most important traits a professional illustrator can have. Time management is certainly part of this.

“The main thing about Folktale Week is that it was the first challenge that opened the door to the world of Instagram with a huge number of cool artists.
I have especially warm feelings talking about Folktale Week. It's like meeting every year at a festival filled with a friendly atmosphere.”

Art by Katya Reyda

For every piece of art that I made for Folktale Week I learned so much. About my personal style, process, preferred palettes etc. On top of all that, Folktale Week allows history nerds like me to connect to something deeper than a theme or a prompt.

When I read folktales, I learn about my ancestors. What were their fears? What did they celebrate? Through the centuries these folktales become cultural touchstones that we as visual storytellers rely on.

There are so many ways to approach Folktale Week. With curiosity, to explore what's out there. Maybe get to know stories from your own area. Or the opposite, from places far, far away.

“I chose the Masopust celebration because my family heritage is Czech. I wanted to explore traditions that my ancestors [hopefully] participated in. Dancing, feasting, and wild costumes? Sign me up!”

Art by Kaly Quarles

The prompts for Folktale Week allow me to dig deeper and fill them with meaning, personal and/or cultural. As a teacher I love to take the prompts and do my research, and find myths that are weird or lesser known and use the art challenge as an opportunity to teach others. I frequently pull from local legends and mythology.

But we hosts know that people have different approaches and reasons for joining in Folktale Week, so we always try to make sure that the prompts are general and open to allow for stories from around the world. We want you to be inspired and to feel comfortable participating in your own way.

While I revel in the research, others love seeing the different interpretations of the familiar stories. Or simply the different styles in art. Or just enjoy the process of creating stuff they otherwise wouldn’t. And that’s what makes it so wonderful. There's no wrong way to enjoy a challenge. Nor a wrong way to learn from it.