The Art of ‘The Storyteller’: Influences

The style of the artwork in The Storyteller evolved over a long time, incorporating many different influences along the way. In this post, I’ll focus on a few of these influences and how they are reflected in the art throughout the book.

Gustav Klimt

Paintings by Gustav Klimt

Since Moroccan art is full of pattern, I thought I’d look at another artist who loved pattern: Gustav Klimt. I liked the way he combined and organized intricate patterns with large flat shapes,  I thought it would be an interesting way to reflect the Moroccan aesthetic.

Moroccan Carpets

Two of the “inner stories” are about carpets and weaving, so I used a more geometric and heavily patterned style to reference the design of Moroccan carpets.

As the stories are nested deeper and deeper, the artwork becomes more and more geometric and carpet-like, reflecting the incredible storytelling heritage of Moroccan carpet designs that has been passed down through generations.

Arabic Calligraphy

Calligraphy by Hassan Massoudy: View more of his work here

The overarching story about the boy, the storyteller, and the sandstorm is predominantly yellow and blue, to highlight the contrast of water and the desert. One of the influences in the depiction of the water was the beautiful, large-scale Arabic calligraphy of Hassan Massoudy. His big swooping shapes felt like water to me.