My client for this project is from Trinidad, so I got to do a deep dive into Trinidadian carnival culture. One of the most iconic characters is the Blue Devil, or Jab Molassie. This ‘Devil Mas’ character dates back to the time of the enslavement of black Africans on the sugar plantations. It was a celebration of the emancipation of Ex-slaves. Jab Molassie translates to “Devil Molasses.” Traditionally the character would smear molasses from the sugar plantations on the bodies of masqueraders. The ‘Jabs’ would be smeared with molasses, tar, oil, lard, grease, body paints, or dyes. They were traditionally painted black or blue. The Jab is the most energetic of the carnival characters, which I tried my best to portray in the characters I illustrated. Originally I created a much more sedate looking devil, and then the client requested “more playful!” So I landed on these two cheeky devils. I love the movement they create, and pulled the brand colour palette and additional brand graphics from carnival costumes. The abstract shapes are meant to represent feathers from carnival costumes.
