The zine is based on Philippine folklore, the Aswang. It is an umbrella term for various shape-shifting evil spirits in Filipino folklore, such as vampires, ghouls, witches, and were beasts. The Aswang is the subject of a wide variety of myths, stories, arts, and films, as it is well-known throughout the Philippines.
I'm an avid horror fan and consumed this type of content since childhood. The Aswang has been interpreted in various ways in TV shows or movies, I remember my relatives in the Philippines speak of it as well. This zine was the perfect opportunity to explore that and have fun with it!
I had a lot of printed inspirations for my zine. Especially the duotones, I love the layering between two images/text and there's something unsettling about it too. I also went a lot more experimental with my typography to compliment the visuals. The images above with the stamp like illustrations, I tried to replicate a similar style but I didn't know how so I went and did that to my photographs instead.
The typed body text did not sit right with the overall look of the zine and I replaced it with a hand written one instead.
These started out as sketches and manipulated in Illustrator.
