Budak Pahatu Lalis (The Orphans): Sundanese Folklore

Budak Pahatu Lalis (The Orphans) is a folklore from Sunda, one of the many sub-cultures in Indonesia. The story tells about two sibling orphans; an older brother and a younger sister. One day, the two siblings went to the forest to collect some fruits. As the brother climbed a tree and pick the fruits, the sister waited and collect them on the ground. Unknowingly, the sister was eaten by a giant snake. The brother then saved his sister by slaying the snake’s stomach with a thorn, as told by a bird. However, the sister was already dead. But the brother saved her again by fanning her with a “hihid” (Sundanese bamboo fan) seven times while singing a song to her corpse. His actions then resurrected the little sister.

These are the first three illustrations out of six I made for this story. In this personal project, I wanted to depict a darker theme for children’s illustration. Made with traditional art, I used poster color as my medium. I also used a different art style that was inspired by wayang kulit, a traditional puppet theatre show from Indonesia. #illustrator #childrensillustration #bookillustration