Searching Roots Through a Graphic Novel

Pinot's Palette Artist, M. Korkut Akacik, started a new visual journey where Captain Joseph Naper settled in.

Finally she was on the train to Chicago. What an adventurous start for a new day it was... She silenced her phone, not to get distracted when she was reading the Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner. It was the First Friday of October. She was excited to see a couple shows with friends downtown. “Wow!” she said when she finished the story called A Rose for Emily. They had a delicious Turkish breakfast in the morning; her mom Leila, dad Theo, and her younger brother Alex. But that American Indian on a Mustang that she saw by the Riverwalk, she couldn’t get him out from her mind. She asked Mr. Naper about that guy when she met him on the intersection of Mill Street and Jefferson Avenue. Mr. Naper pondered. Who knows, maybe he had no idea, or maybe he doesn’t enjoy high fives that Daphne gives every time she passes by his sculpture.

Daphne is a soccer fan and a junior Communications student at North Central College. A talkative and smart girl who loves outdoor sports. She is also very talented in art. Her father Theo is a second generation of his Greek ancestry. Her mom Leila has come from Istanbul to Chicago for college. Her name is actually Leyla, but because English speakers having hard time to pronounce it correctly, she prefers to use the English version of her it. She met Theo when she came from Istanbul to New York for her college education. Alex, Daphne’s brother is a Science major at the University of Illinois Chicago. He is an ice hockey player since he was 8 years old.

M. Korkut Akacik, created these characters and working on a new graphic novel of Daphne’s story. Akacik was fascinated by the story of Joseph Naper; the person gave his name to Naperville, and decided to dig in more. Captain Joseph Naper came from Ohio to Old Chicago and settled by the DuPage River. As an artist from Istanbul, Turkey, Akacik is trying to find connections between countries and cultures using Naperville as an anchor of his story. He says that the Riverwalk is so inspirational, not only because of its nature, but also with its diverse visitors. Within the story on his graphic novel he wants to celebrate the richness of the cultures and diversity. Even though there are some names and places that exist in reality, he emphasizes that this graphic novel will not be a documentary. He mentions that creating a graphic novel is like shooting a movie; the placement of camera and characters on the scene, movement, time, and size of panels. “You need to know how to tell a story visually.” In the past 25 years, Akacik created thousands of storyboards for advertising agencies and shooting boards for production companies, including a feature-length film. Every other thing affects the emotion of the scene and the story in total. Akacik says that everybody reads the story in their own voices. “We create our personal voice casts when we are reading! No matter what the character’s gender. We can hear voices and sound effects only with some letters and shapes.”

Akacik mentions that the human connection at the studio gave him a lot about people’s lives and perspectives. “It is amazing to see how every person has a different approach to our paintings, artists, and situations.” He finds that very helpful to build convincing characters with deeper backgrounds. “If characters have not enough information about their life, your story will be wandering in shallow waters. You wouldn’t pull your reader, your audience into your story.”

Creating a graphic novel also needs some investments. “It is a long term process. There is a lot of planning and craft; sketches, lettering, inking, and editing. It is the marathon of the comic bookmaking, patience and dedication.” says Akacik. Since this is going to be his first graphic novel, he says that the next step is to take his work to a publisher.

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Learn more about Pinot's Palette - Naperville here: https://www....om/naperville

We hope to see you soon for some of the upcoming classes on our calendar!

In addition to our public classes on the calendar, we also offer private events! It’s all the fun of our regular classes but with the painting and guest list of your choice! From fun with friends to team-building creativity with your co-workers, kids’ parties, and more, we’ve got it all!

Celebrations: https://www....ivate-parties
Team Building Events: https://www....porate-events
Kids Painting Parties: https://www....ainting-party
Mobile Events: https://www....ainting-party

Follow Korkut on Facebook: https://www....m/korkunchabi
Follow us on Facebook: https://www....teNaperville/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www....ttenaperville

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