This is a personal project for my portfolio. The story explores the adventure of a little girl who finds a key that opens a portal to a mystical realm. I am still developing these illustrations, scene by scene. Come back to see the progress every once in a while 😉.

Act I: We Meet Our Protagonist

These are some exploratory sketches I made of the main character. Her name is Atupele (Uh-To-Peh-Leh). It means "Blessings", and derives from the Yao Language. The Yao are a tribe in Malawi and some parts of Tanzania. The story is loosely based on the folk lore from their culture, which is my culture.

Designs of the key. You will notice I was fixated on using the chameleon so much... The chameleon is a central character in the lore. We shall see why very soon.

This is the opening sequence. In the junkyard where Atupele frequents to pick play, she stumbles on an unusual object: A golden key crafted with the utmost attention to details. She is enamored here, and picks it up.

This is the second sequence in the story. After finding the key, Atupele takes it to her room. In there, she starts perusing some of the books she has on her culture's lore, to investigate what this key can do. It is here that she finds out the key has a rich history and possibly mystical powers.

This is the next sequence in my illustrated story. After she reads through some of the ancient folk lore of the Yao culture, Atupele discovers that the key was forged by the earliest Yaos, the most astute of whom were iron smiths and stewards of a now suppressed and forgotten spiritual tradition. Now she won't stop talking about it!...

Her parents, however, know this all too well, and know the attitudes of the contemporary society towards these traditions. They also know this marks a turning point in our little girl. Eventually, she will set out to find... the portal.