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
Public Recraft project
https://www.recraft.ai/project/3c63880f-3dad-4194-8b5c-b499b9902391
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
