ShakthiDass facts for kids

Shakthi Dass is a famous Indian artist. For over 40 years, he has drawn amazing pictures for children's magazines, comics, and newspapers. He is also known as ShakthiDass or Shakthi Das.

He has worked for many popular Indian magazines like Bommarillu and Chandamama. He has also created thousands of paintings for books and places all around the world. Shakthi Dass even started his own publishing company, Chandrabala Publications. He created Aayurveda Sanjeevini and Chandrabala magazines, which come out in both English and Telugu languages. Shakthi Dass is so fast at drawing that he can create 100 pictures in just six hours! Because of this, he is being considered for the Guinness World Records.

His beautiful paintings use many different styles and materials. He works with oil paints, watercolors, acrylics, and even glass. He can draw cartoons, realistic pictures, and abstract art. A special skill he has is drawing directly with a brush without first sketching with a pencil. He is known for his unique and expressive art.

Early Life and Learning

Shakthi Dass Goud was born on January 9, 1948. He grew up in a village called Aratlakatta, near Palakol in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. His family was the Goud family. His grandfather, Sri. Pastula Sagaram, was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi.

His Art Career

Shakthi Dass loved painting from a young age. When he was 14, he earned his first money, 74 Indian rupees, by painting a picture of Mary for a church in his village. He later shared in an interview that this painting is now in a church in Italy.

In 1968, he moved to Chennai (which was then called Madras) to find work as a painter. He joined Ketha Cini Publicity studios. There, he designed sketches for movie sets. He got this job with help from his relative, the famous actor Chalam, and film producers like Karri Apparao Babji. Later, he joined M.V.S Publishers to draw covers for their novels.

Drawing for Children's Magazines

Before Disney World comics became popular in the 1980s and 1990s, many Indian children loved the magazine Chandamama. Shakthi Dass drew many of the cover paintings for Chandamama. These covers showed kings, queens, and magical scenes from old Indian stories and myths. He drew for Chandamama in many languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Oriya.

He improved his skills while working at Chandamama with another famous painter, Late Vaddadi Pappayya. Shakthi Dass's work was so popular that some movie makers and publishers in Tamil Nadu even used his name, "ShakthiDass," in their advertisements.

He has drawn countless covers, story illustrations, and sketches for many magazines and novels. These include Bommarillu, Balamitra, Nandanam, Bujjayi, Balabharati, Kumkuma, Dinakaran, Vasuki, Rishi Petam, Rotary News, Vijaya Publications, Oriya News, Chinnari, and Kannada Chokkalingam.

In an interview, he said that drawing covers for the well-known children's magazine Bommarillu helped him become famous. Some magazines and films in Tamil Nadu would even wait to release their work until Shakthi Dass finished his drawings! He also creates many paintings for international books and businesses. He also writes short stories and tells them through his art. Shakthi Dass runs a training school in Hyderabad. There, he teaches the special drawing techniques he has learned over his long career. His goal is to use his Chandrabala platform to help many new artists grow.

Chandrabala Magazine

Shakthi Dass started his own children's magazine called Chandrabala in August 2009. It is published in both Telugu and English. Chandrabala aims to help children learn and imagine through stories and pictures. It covers topics like mythology, comics, history, culture, current events, and science fiction. This helps kids feel excited, wonder, laugh, and understand different emotions.

Aayurveda Sanjeevini Magazine

Aayurveda Sanjeevini is a monthly magazine about Ayurveda. Ayurveda is an ancient Indian system of medicine. The magazine has articles about health, cleanliness, yoga, and natural home remedies for common problems.

The Name ShakthiDass

The name "ShakthiDass" has a special meaning. "Shakthi" means "Power" in Hindu stories, and "Dass" means "Dedication." He started signing his paintings with "ShakthiDass," and it became his well-known brand name.