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Q&A with Author and Illustrator Sanjay Patel
Q: What was your inspiration to tell this story?
Patel: Well I finally read the thing. I mean I suck at reading and everything. But I came across a great adaptation of the Ramayana by an author named Ashok Banker. I actually discovered the book via Nina Paley's blog. She's the one woman force behind Sita Sings the Blues, the feature length animated work about the same subject. After reading a few pgs on Amazon I ordered the first book by Mr. Banker which weighed in at over five hundred pgs. Keep in mind that was just book one of a seven part series. I just read and read and the thing slowly unlocked. And what I found was an ancient mythology with themes and symbols that were timeless and essential. Really meaningful stuff all wrapped up in a visually rich world of epic adventure. The story was just begging to be illustrated.
Q: How did you get started working at Pixar?
Patel: The only thing I was ever good at was copying drawings from comic books. I just drew, and nothing could ever get me to stop. All throughout school I was considered "the artist," which really just meant that I could make really bad drawings for people’s letterman jackets. A friend told me about Cal-Arts and animation. The school was the key. Most of Pixar’s directors have come straight out of Cal-Arts and its character animation program. I just walked in their footsteps and they ended up recruiting me after my second year. I've been at Pixar ever since, close to thirteen years now.
Q: Describe your creative process. How do you create your illustrations?
Patel: Once I have a concrete idea of the story point that I want to communicate, which is usually nailed down in the writing, I then think of one “story telling image. For instance, it's a big story point when Hanuman, the monkey with special powers, uses his burning tail to set fire to the Ravana's capital city. Since this story has been told many times before I try and research what visual artist have done previously to communicate this moment. Here I pulled together reference from paintings and from vintage comics.
Click on the image to learn more about Patel's creative process and see more example illustrations.
Q: How long did it take you to create the scenes in the book?
At one point the illustrations were getting churned out at about one every two and half days. I was at a good clip till I decided to redo the entire book three times. I kept fighting with trying to make the art light hearted and cute, but the story was anything but that. The Ramayana is pretty dramatic and graphic, and I eventually found a style and voice that captured those things. It only took me four years.
Q: Which characters in the Ramayana did you have the most fun illustrating?
Patel: I can doodle Ravana the ten-headed demon king in my sleep at this point. I also love sketching Hanuman and Rama. They both have really fun shapes to fiddle with. The cover of the book was actually a blast, it was probably the last illustration I did.
Some of Sanjay's Favorites:
Favorites Illustrator(s)
Marc Boutavant
J Otto Seibold
Saul Steinberg
William Steig
Ronald Searle
Richard Scarry
Martin & Alice Provenson
Mary Blair
Charley Harper
M. Sasek
T. Biskup
Lewis Trondheim
Favorite movie(s)
Back to the Future
Amelie
The Wrong Trousers
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Mission
Raising Arizona
Princess Mononoke
Dumbo
Abyss
Bottle Rocket
Favorite band(s)
That's a toss up between M83 and Sigur Ros
Favorite restaurant(s)
Usually places that serve french fries and hot sauce.
Favorite book(s)
Phoenix Karma by Osamu Tezuka:
Calvin & Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book by Bill Watterson
Angry Youth Comix by Johnny Ryan
About the Author
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Refreshing, engaging and epic,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Ramayana: Divine Loophole (Hardcover)
Sanjay Patel's take on the classic Sanskrit epic is refreshing and engaging. Adapted and written in a lighter prose, the book is inviting to any readers who want learn more about the tale. The story is fascinating and gets increasingly so towards the end, with lots of nice surprises. For someone like me who knows nothing about any Hindu stories, I felt like I know a lot more after reading this book. The story is well paced and laden with beautiful illustrations. Each page is filled with scenes of glorious colours -- nothing less for this colourful tale. The characters are also nicely designed. The vector style drawings (known for straight lines and smooth curves) are unique, especially when used to tell mythical tales, and work very well in this case. Sanjay Patel also talked a bit about the making of this book. It took four years in the making, or 7 days per page. Vector drawings are very time consuming because it involves plotting and joining points using a graphic software to form (countless) lines. Basically you have to draw the draft and redraw everything again in vector with the scanned draft. Hats off to him for this tremendous piece of effort. Also included at the back are some sketches of the preliminary ideas. Pretty fun to look at. The cartoon style interpretation of some scenes will give you an idea what the book could have turned out to be if not done in vector style. This is a fun and nice read. I don't know if this book is intended for kids but it's certainly a book anyone can like. (More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptionally Beautiful, Utterly Fun, Wonderful Retelling of the Epic,
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This review is from: Ramayana: Divine Loophole (Hardcover)
Wow! If you've ever read the Ramayana, you know it's one meaty tale - epic is the least of terms. The challenge of retelling the story alone is phenomenal, much less reinventing 2,000 years of artistic interpretation, and Mr. Patel does both exquisitely. I'd almost say he makes it look easy, but we are lucky enough to have him share his process and appreciate just how much work, grace and dedication went into the creation of this beautiful book. If you haven't read the Ramayana, it may have been because reading it alone can be an intimidating undertaking, yet Mr. Patel makes the story accessible, visually stunning and exceptionally relatable. I have read several versions, ranging from 200 to 2000 pages (the 2000 one was better, and every one is different) but found new things to appreciate in this version, which says a lot. Part of it again relates to Mr. Patel's personality coming through in his interpretation. You feel like you're hearing the story from an engaging friend who clearly has deep love for the epic and the grace therein. But then! The imagery! It's jam-packed with meaning, but you'd have to know the whole story to appreciate the fullness of Mr. Patel's efforts in that regard. You don't have to know the story to fall in love with them. They are fresh, simple, rich, and beautifully fun. You can take in the panels in a breath or an hour, they are that expressive and that captivating. Like in his "Little Book of Hindu Deities" Mr. Patel's work has a light heart but clearly honors the deep import of the subject matter - a wonderful combination of reverent and refreshing. I wish I could imbue this review with the same simplicity, the same ease, the same humility, and a better sense of just how stunning this book is. Nope, you've got to pick up a copy, hold it in your hands, enjoy it for yourself. It is said that simply reading that Ramayana showers blessings upon you. I certainly feel blessed adding this book to my collection. Well done, Mr. Patel!
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eye candy....but intellectually lazy,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Ramayana: Divine Loophole (Hardcover)
I grew up loving the Epic story of Ramayana from my Amar Chitra Katha comic collection. Now it's the 20th century, I have kids of my own, and I figured it's time to step up the game a little bit. Patel has no doubt created visually stunning rendition of the great mythology and for that I can only give the highest praise. His dealing with the prose however leaves a bit to be desired. Don't get me wrong...the story is as true to any version I have read (or heard) but he can be rather inconsistent in certain parts where he takes literary license to add personal commentary. I have also noticed a number of typographical errors (which are just a pet peeve of mine).My kids like it and so do I. Strongly recommended.
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