The Cryptid Journal
Session Title
Design
College
College of Visual and Performing Arts
Department
Design
Faculty Mentor
Jason Tselentis, M.F.A.; G. David Brown, M.A.; Seth Rouser, M.F.A.; and Laura Gardner, Ph.D.
Abstract
For my project, I have constructed a faux field journal for my senior thesis. The journal depicts the journey of a fictional cultural anthropologist as he travels through East Asia; however, he encounters eight cryptids – mythological and unsubstantiated beings – that corrupt his sanity. The story begins in the Philippines and continues through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and China, ending in Mongolia. The purpose of the project was to promote my interest in originality by creating a horror story using cryptids. My research centered on cryptids that inhabited or were witnessed in Southeast and Northeast Asia. The cryptids were selected based on the environment in order to prevent a sub-theme of similarity in their habitats. For the building process, I constructed the book from a modern, leather-bound journal that I made to appear old and worn by bathing it in a large jar containing concentrated coffee and mud. I used an oven and lighter to apply burn marks and crisp edges to the journal’s covers and pages; blades to produce deep cuts and touch-ups; and standard loose ink and pencil for writing and illustrating. For the story, the deterioration of the character’s mentality was shown through word crowding, displacement, and the darkening of the illustrations as the story progressed.
Course Assignment
VCOM 486, 487 – Tselentis
Start Date
12-4-2019 4:05 PM
The Cryptid Journal
DIGS 221
For my project, I have constructed a faux field journal for my senior thesis. The journal depicts the journey of a fictional cultural anthropologist as he travels through East Asia; however, he encounters eight cryptids – mythological and unsubstantiated beings – that corrupt his sanity. The story begins in the Philippines and continues through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and China, ending in Mongolia. The purpose of the project was to promote my interest in originality by creating a horror story using cryptids. My research centered on cryptids that inhabited or were witnessed in Southeast and Northeast Asia. The cryptids were selected based on the environment in order to prevent a sub-theme of similarity in their habitats. For the building process, I constructed the book from a modern, leather-bound journal that I made to appear old and worn by bathing it in a large jar containing concentrated coffee and mud. I used an oven and lighter to apply burn marks and crisp edges to the journal’s covers and pages; blades to produce deep cuts and touch-ups; and standard loose ink and pencil for writing and illustrating. For the story, the deterioration of the character’s mentality was shown through word crowding, displacement, and the darkening of the illustrations as the story progressed.
