The UK-based illustrator Abigail Rai has moved around a lot in her life, always taking her varied surroundings – from Nepal to the Himalayas – in as inspiration. Creating comics and tarot cards indebted to rural settings, wilderness, Buddhism and Hinduism, these fantastical illustrations span horrific imagery of gore and death, serene landscapes, moments of contemplation and sometimes humorous scenes that play on the rich mythology of the places Abigail has lived.
Abigail’s tarot cards and comics are intertwined, her 30-card deck and guidebook The Wandering World draws from themes and symbols in her ongoing comic The Devourer, both influenced by artists who pushed comics as a storytelling device (like George Herriman, Milt Gross and Machiko Hasegawa) whilst also being inspired by folk art, emulating the craftiness and limitations of traditional art in India and Tibet, which incorporate pictorial narratives and characters. “Mostly I’m drawn to traditional crafts and activities made with natural materials and done by hand,” says Abigail. “For this reason, I am often most interested in projects that centre nature, community and ethical consumption.”
Abigail draws and paints everything as separate assets then collages them together digitally, utilising a limited colour palette that works well with screen and Risograph. Her colour schemes lean towards the simple palettes of landscapes – vast green fields, large blue skies, titanic white mountains, all of which draw more focus to the alluring characters. “One of my characters in The Devourer is inspired by the mythical Yeti as well as my childhood dog called Yeti, who my mum found wandering in the mountains,” says Abigail, whose comic nods to Monty Python’s murderous Rabbit of Caerbannog in the form of a little dog attacking Roman soldiers. “In this way I combine existing myths and symbols with my personal interpretations and experiences,” ends the illustrator.