Jihyun Park & Nikolaos Trepkas | Greece
This story < The Gift > is written and illustrated by two golden apples: Mrs.Jihyun Park & Mr.Nikolaos Trepkas. We are currently based in London, writing and drawing stories together.
Nikolaos Trepkas (Greek) was born in Germany, raised in Greece and studied Multimedia Design in Denmark.
He is also working as an actor/director/script writer and painter as well.
Jihyun Park was born in South Korea, studied for a Master degree in Illustration at Kingston University. Recently her first picture book < the child of the earth, Nod> has been published by the publisher, Hyunbooks in South Korea.
About < The Gift >
_What is this story about?
The story focuses on the life of a poor painter, who encounters the legendary Dokkaebi who gives him the life he always wanted but never appreciates it.
_What is the Dokkaebi*?
The Dokkaebi* is a mythological mischievous creature who possess extraordinary powers and abilities that are used to interact with humans, at times playing tricks on them and at times helping them, quite similar with Greek Satyrs.
In this picture book, The Dokkaebi represents the gift which is ultimately life itself, unfolding every day and presenting positiveness or obstacles and it is about how we filter it through our eyes.
_About illustration style
Due to the story having a hint of elements of Korean/Greek mythology, we tried to combine the Korean traditional painting style which is called Minhwa and pop art style lightly together.
_What is the message of this picture book?
We truly believe that the importance of being grateful is one of the important keys in life. So this story is all about this; Being grateful.
In our real lives, me and Niko start every morning with writing in our notebooks about what we are grateful for in our lives. This little habit always allows us to experience positive energy, makes us truly happy and calm all the time. We felt Gratitude is the most powerful tool in our lives, therefore we strongly wanted to share this life experience through this picture book in a delightful and aesthetic way.
Education:
Kingston University, London, UK
MA in Illustration
Graduation: 2011
Published titles: 1