Un-commissioned | Professional

Why did you make this work:
These 4 images illustrate a short comic story written by Nuno F. Cancelinha, featured in Portuguese comics anthology Dithyrambs Vol. 2, themed ABYSS. We wanted to use the artifice of mise en abyme – visual and narrative – to explore the idea of memory as a space of abyssal vertigo. What is memory if not a series of stories within the story we tell ourselves and others?

How was the illustration used:
These illustrations for the story "Mise En Abyme" were published in the comics anthology Dithyrambs Vol. 2 - ABYSS, in 2021 (in a limited edition of 200 numbered copies).

How did you make this work:
The pages for “Mise En Abyme” were sketched, inked, colored and digitally subtitled, using Procreate for Ipad Pro. The limited color palette – using the contrasting harmony between cold blue tones and warm magenta and orange – seeks to establish an emotional and evocative atmosphere, with notes of melancholy and surrealism.


Social Media:
twitter.com/lbsillustration
facebook.com/littleblackspotstudio
instagram.com/littleblackspot
behance.net/raquelfcosta

Personal Website:
littleblackspot.com/


Currently Based:
Portugal

Biography:
Raquel Costa is an artist and illustrator with a degree in Fine Arts and a Masters Degree in Art Education. She’s a teacher at IPCA Design School, in Portugal, and a co-founder of Little Black Spot Creative Studio, where she manages multiple projects, ranging from editorial illustration, concept art and design, to branding and advertising, having also illustrated several children’s books.