AI-Assisted Animal Fables in a Walter Crane-Inspired StyleAI-Assisted Animal Fables in a Walter Crane-Inspired Style
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
The Curious Case of Humans As Observed by Those Who Know Better
What if animals observed humans and tried to make sense of our peculiar modern habits?
I found the visual inspiration in Walter Crane's illustrations for The Baby's Own Aesop (1887), preserved in the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives digital collection.
Using archival illustrations from that book, I developed a custom Recraft Style and created eight original contemporary fables, each told through an animal's bewildered perspective.
The illustrations borrow the historical book's engraved linework, decorative borders and restrained colour palette while introducing modern habits, objects and environments.
I brought the finished plates to life with subtle AI-assisted animation and presented them as a page-turning illustrated book.
Created for the Recraft × Contra Archive Style Challenge
Custom Recraft Style: Crane 1887 — The Curious Case of Humans https://www.recraft.ai/styles/c49bfd7e-b22d-4dc4-876f-9bbe74dec8c8
Published archival comparison post https://www.instagram.com/p/DfKtmvZgTCr/
Supporting animated book Reel https://www.instagram.com/reel/DfKt6uGBYBE/
Archival source: Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, CC0 edition https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/babyquotsownaes00cran
Historical visual inspiration: Walter Crane, The Baby’s Own Aesop (1887) Historical colour engraving/printing: Edmund Evans
#recraftstyleschallenge #Recraft #AIArt #Illustration #Animation #MotionDesign #EditorialDesign #ArtDirection #VisualDesign #Typography #GraphicDesign #VisualStorytelling #BookCoverDesign #iexperimentwithai
AI-assisted artwork and animation · Independent competition entry
Post image
Post image
Post image
Jay's avatar
The eight fable plates, in their original left-to-right canvas order — 1/2: Owl · Peacock · Squirrel · Bee.
Post image
Post image
Post image
Post image
Jay's avatar
The eight fable plates, in their original left-to-right canvas order — 2/2: Bird · Spider · Dog · Cat.
Post image
Post image
Post image
Post image
Akh's avatar
Victorian fable animals, recast for today. Crane's flat storybook line was made for this.
Jay's avatar
Thanks @Akh Aseif
Is there anyone in particular that you like?
Back to feed
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started