The Art Of Brush: Abhishek Singh
The young artist talks about his artworks, his yet-to-be released comic and why he thinks Krishna is a blend of Sigmund Freud and Steve Jobs.
Meet Abhishek Singh – an artist from Gwalior and the original brain behind Shekhar Kapur and Deepak Chopra's comic Ramayana 3392 A.D. He believes when you want to achieve something you have to put in the effort for it. That’s why he worked patiently for three years to create his first comic, Krishna – A Journey Within, now in its final stages to be released in July in the US. "It chronicles Krishna’s life. He’s on his death bed and happily narrates his journey," Singh tells us.
The 300-pager is a modern take with Singh's (slightly) futuristic sketches. “You’ll see a lot of Pink Floyd in my Krishna,” he chuckles.
"Every character comes from an idea. If you’re sketching Draupadi, her strength, angst and power must be shown. But there are also questions like can she be dark-skinned with sharp features or does she have to be fair and beautiful. Herein I borrow from my memories of people," he elaborates.
From using chalk on walls to painting on the back of notebooks, his journey’s been quite eventful. "During my last years of school, I would travel to Delhi to intern as a designer at Raj Comics (makers of Nagraj) and at times even replaced their designers work with my own," Singh rewinds.
Later he studied Animation from NID, but was always interested in Indian epics and mythology. Indian artists, temples and sculptures of South India inspired him. "The amount of mythology I’ve read, I could be preaching on Aastha channel," he laughs.
His work was recognised in Ramayana where he re-interpreted the story in a contemporary manner. "It’s a departure from the epic, like Star Wars meets Lord of the Rings. We mixed ancient elements with newer ones – Gods wore armours (traditional), which had neon lights (futuristic)," he explains. But the comic didn't release in India, as it wouldn’t have been accepted here
He’s contributed to other comics like Kali, Durga and Amar Chitrakatha for Virgin Comics, was as an animator on UTV’s Arjun: The Warrior Prince and did non-mythical work for Cartoon Network before quitting to work for himself. In between, he exhibited in LA where he met Arjun Nirula of The Nirula Family with whom he now hosts his exhibitions.
What next? “Well, lots. There are non-mythological works too, but all at a nascent stage and will take a few years.”
To give his characters a personality, he sketches whatever fascinates him. “I always keep a sketchbook handy. I remember once there was a boy selling bhutta with the most peculiar look in his eyes, which I immediately sketched. Later I used it in a comic,” he reminisces.
Apart from work, martial art and travel keep him hooked. “I love travelling. I was in Ladakh for two months where I made initial drawings and did all the donkey work once I was back in Mumbai,” he laughs.
Before we finish, he tells us he’s learnt Indian classical and plays the guitar. “When I was learning Indian classical, I would ask so many questions that my Guruji got irritated and asked me to choose another career,” he ends.
From the January 2012 issue of FHM India.
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