An empty stomach is a good source of inspiration, noh?
Fine arts student Basil Nacionales got hungry while working on a proposal for an illustration book study for a class. As a result, she came up with adorable drawings of kids inspired by native Filipino dishes.
Basil came up with 15 characters inspired by pancit, adobo, ensaimada, balut, bangus, lumpia and other staples on a typical Filipino dining table. The kids she illustrated were shown wearing a variety of Filipino outfits such as the famous barong Tagalog, kimona dress, Ifugao outfit, and Muslim attire.
“While I was brainstorming, I thought about food, then the rest is history,” Basil told Coconuts Manila.
Basil’s analogies are very imaginative.
“Adobo” is depicted as the “leader of the group” and the “embodiment of a young Jose Rizal”. Perhaps this illustrates how adobo is fast becoming the unofficial national dish of the Philippines.
“Pancit” is illustrated as a conservative Filipina with curly hair. She’s wearing the traditional baro’t saya and is described as “shy and soft-spoken.”
“Halo-halo” is described as the rich mestiza of the group. She has milk-white skin and a collection of hair accessories.
Check out the rest of her illustrations here.
Basil said that she spent about an hour illustrating the draft of each character, but she spent more time researching and improving the design of her work.
Her future plans? The young artist wants to write a children’s book about these kids.
She said that they live in a place called “Bahay Kusina”, which is half-house, half-restaurant.
She is still finalizing the details but her newfound fans are excited to know more about her work.
Her illustrations have now gone viral on Facebook with nearly 2,000 like and 2,500 shares.
Good job, Basil!
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