Comic fans exhibit artworks created as part of 30-day challenge

Last month, two comic fans Shikhant Sablania and Kshounish Palit set themselves a fun challenge. For the next one month, the duo, part of the Mumbai Comic Creators Club, decided to churn a three-panel comic strip every day. The idea was to generate more homegrown comic content, says 25-year-old Sablania. "And also promote comics as a medium of telling stories," he adds.

Every strip created was published on the group's Facebook page, before the end of day. The result was astounding, says Palit. By August 15, Sablania and Palit had made 60 strips.

Shikhant Sablania

Their creative effort has now been given a platform with The Hive translating their "30-day challenge" into a 30-day exhibition at its premises in Bandra. While Sablania, who goes with the pseudonym Choorma, experimented with a wide array of media for his comic strips, Palit kept it simple with pen and paper.

The challenge emerged out of an idea discussed at one of the meetings of the comic club, recalls Sablania, a freelance graphic designer and artist. "We always organise different kinds of exercises to encourage people to create comics. While initially, many of us decided to join the challenge, only two of us managed to see it through," he adds.

"Working on these strips wasn't easy. In fact, after the first week I would have almost given up. But, I was too ashamed to back out," says 39-year-old Palit, a broadcast director with a sports channel, who published his debut graphic novel The Missman last year. "While executing the idea and creating the sketches takes around two hours, the problem is the ideation process, which would often begin right from the moment I woke up," he adds.

Maar Saale Ko by Kshounish Palit

Palit's strip, which runs with the title ‘Maar Saale Ko' are a social commentary on everything that is going wrong with the world. "When deciding on my theme, I chose violence because honestly, it is the most glaring problem around us. And unlike my 30-day challenge, violence is not something that will end tomorrow," he says.

Sablania's works revolved around more diverse subjects, many of which were loosely based on his experiences of living in the city. He also played around with the material for his cartoons, using mixed media, like clay models, digital art and water colours, to make his three-panel strips. "I did not want to stick to the same kind of medium, or be repetitive. This comic challenge was not only about telling something new daily, it was also a personal exercise for us to evolve our own style," says Sablania. "It helped us push the envelope of comic art," Palit adds.

Where: The Hive, Huma Mansion, Next To Ahmed Bakery, Chuim Village Road, Off Union Park, Khar (W)
When: Till September 15, 9 AM to 11 PM
Free
Call: 9619962969