INDUSTRY: Publishing
OBJECTIVE: Design an illustrative interpretation of the non-fiction book “Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice” by Mark Plotkin.
OBJECTIVE: Design an illustrative interpretation of the non-fiction book “Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice” by Mark Plotkin.
Mark Plotkin is an ethnobotanist. He studies how plants are used by various cultures around the world. In this account, he focuses his study on shamans in the South American rain forests and quickly realizes that these shamans possess knowledge of the curative power of plants that may hold the cure to some of today's most devastating diseases.
Inspired by Mark's story, I created a graphical interpretation of the book, which follows the tonal variations in the story as well as visual representations of details combined with excerpts of his account.
"Every time a shaman dies, it is as if a library has burned down..."
The story follows a unique apprenticeship and anthropological adventures that illuminates what elimination of the region's plant species may ultimately cost humanity.
The cultures affected hold clues to ancient though invaluable knowledge of flora and fauna which can likely be the cure to many of our modern diseases and ailments.
SELECTED PAGES
Design detail – an outline of South America on the left pages slowly morphs into the face of our story's main shaman by the end of the book.
A CLOSER LOOK
