Journal

Illustrations for "The Corn Seed"

· Updated

Le grain de maïs (The Corn Seed) is a folktale from the Ivory Coast. It is a classic fable about integrity: a childless king appoints three boys from his kingdom as potential heirs and gives each of them a corn seed. The one who returns with the greatest harvest will inherit the throne.

The boys try to grow their seeds, but nothing sprouts. Desperate, they seek advice from their elders. The first two are told by their uncles to replace the king’s seed with another one, and they do. The third, advised by his grandmother, is told to return empty-handed and simply tell the king the truth. On the day of the harvest, the first two boys proudly present flourishing crops, while the third arrives with nothing. The king reveals that the seeds had been sterile all along: it was a test, and the honest boy alone proves worthy of the throne.

The illustrations

The illustrations on this page depict three key moments from the tale and were conceived to accompany its reading. They were developed during my illustration training at École Estienne.

The reception of the seeds. The beginning of the quest: the three boys examine the seeds in their hands, doubtful and apprehensive, before parting ways.

The third boy’s despair. After many unsuccessful attempts to make the seed grow, the boy is shown at different moments watering the field and sitting among the crops. At the center, a close-up captures him in tears, just before giving up and seeking his grandmother’s advice.

The king’s anger. The resolution of the story: the king, bent with rage, confronts the first two boys as they stand among their abundant harvests, now forced to face the consequences of their deceit.

A colorful illustration of three boys, each one holding a cornseed in their hands, looking worried.A colorful illustration of three boys, each one holding a cornseed in their hands, looking worried.A colorful illustration of three boys, each one holding a cornseed in their hands, looking worried.

A glimpse into some of the process and thoughts behind the illustrations

The following process drawings show explorations of composition, perspective, contrast, and colour. The final illustrations were created on A4 brown paper using mixed media, including gouache, water-soluble wax sticks, and coloured pencil. Stylewise, I chose to set the illustrations in medieval Europe, although I later learned that the story originates from the Ivory Coast, as the tale itself contains no explicit references to time or place.

A colorful illustration of three boys, each one holding a cornseed in their hands, looking worried.A colorful illustration of three boys, each one holding a cornseed in their hands, looking worried.A colorful illustration of three boys, each one holding a cornseed in their hands, looking worried.

For those who would like to read the full story, and see it illustrated in a very different way from mine shown here, a French edition of Le grain de maïs was published by the editor Seuil Jeunesse, authored by Manfeï Obin and with beautiful illustrations by Olivier Charpentier.