culture rewritten / culture réinventé
Curio is a narrative vaguely inspired by Beauty and the Beast, at least, if Beauty (Charlisse) were the crown princess of Hell, and The Beast (Merlot) was a restless spirit who haunted an old antiques warehouse. The story follows their misadventures as Charlisse attempts to put Merlot to rest, and Merlot makes the most of his time with his new frenemy.
This is a story created by Joelle Lino-Wiseman and Mishka Coulthard, with all art and writing created by Joelle Lino-Wiseman. If you like this, check out Curio’s Pitch Book.
Having trouble reading the character bios? Try the PDF version.
© Joelle Lino-Wiseman/ Mishka Coulthard 2016
A portrait of Charlisse from Curio. It was created during her concept development.
A portrait of Merlot from Curio. It was created during his concept development.
A quick warm-up design showcasing curio's two main characters, Merlot and Charlisse.
An early character bio page for Charlisse. Her sculpt was created out of sculptie, tin foil, and wire, with fibre for the hair. it was created to get a better sense of her form.
An early character bio page for Merlot. His sculpt was created out of sculptie, tin foil, and wire. it was created to get a better sense of his form.
Merlot amuses himself by making shadow puppets on the wall. The image was an exploration of his shape-shifting abilities, the consistency of his body, and lighting.
An illustration depicting Merlot's murder. This piece takes place before the main narrative, showing what he looked like when he was alive, and before his spirit became corrupted.
Merlot and Charlisse enter Ruby's castle for the yearly demon's Masquerade ball. Ruby is less than enthused on Merlot's being here, but the ball is the one day she can't execute anyone. This illustration mimics a screenshot from a cartoon, and could be considered a style frame.
Slight of Hand is a collection of mini-comics exploring the bridge between reality and fantasy. Follow it's main characters Luc, Slihte, Mr. Bear, and yuki as they explore the unexpected in their daily lives.
If you like this, make sure to check out Slight of Hand’s Concept sketches.
Having trouble reading the back cover? Try the PDF version.
© Joelle Lino-Wiseman 2016
The Well is an older comic from the Slight of Hand series, and therefore doesn't share the same colours with the pages above.
Blackfoot Animal Stories is a proposed book that would highlight animal-based stories from Blackfoot culture in a children's book format. The book contains spreads showcasing an important moment from each story, and would be accompanied by a booklet of the full stories for parents to read to their children. These stories would be written in both English and Blackfoot, and would serve as a tool for preserving aboriginal language. Moving forward, similar books on different cultures and topics could be added to the series.
If you like this, make sure to check out the Blackfoot Animal Stories concept art.
© Joelle Lino-Wiseman 2016
