“Sankar (Gnani’s given name) should be 10 years old, he shall always be drawing something sitting in the spandrel. He used to draw whatever comes to his mind, animals, things or humans. When I was studying in college, he is the one who used to draw pictures for my science record”. – Subhadra, Sister of Gnani

At the age of 17, When Gnani was studying at the Madras Christian College, the handwritten magazine ‘Vampan’ came out in his handwriting. He also drew the necessary sketches for the magazine. In the early years, he improved his drawing skills by practicing the paintings that appear in the magazines and then subsequently created a style of his own.

For Every Pongal eve, he drew a large picture of ‘Sun parading in a Chariot’ using a chalk piece in the atrium of his house.

He designed the title blocks and the logo for the magazine ‘Dheemtharikida’ when it was launched in 1982. On the occasion of Bharathi’s birth centenary celebrations, Gnani wanted to draw him in a way that would depict his Fury and Surge of emotions. The resulting painting is the one that is being used till date as the symbol or face of most of Gnani’s movements.

Before the launch of the magazine ‘Dheemtharikida’, the Common public wondered what was the advertising all about, when they saw the posters carrying Gnani’s painting of Bharathi all throughout Chennai without any other details. Only later, the launch of ‘Dheemtharikida’ along with the logo was released. He nationalized his ‘Bharathi’ painting a few years back. Similarly, one of his favorite paintings is the line drawing of Periyar he painted.

The posters which Gnani drew for the drama and magazines in the eighties were noteworthy. They are mostly black & white posters. His distinctive handwritings turned to those posters to be sure head-turners. He had pasted those posters himself along with his friends in the walls throughout the city of Chennai. While his theatre troupe ‘Pareeksha’ celebrated silver ceremony in 2003, he once again made black & white posters in the old style. He had also designed the posters for various organizations such as the Democratic Women’s Association, the Feminist Movement etc.

His title letters in magazines are unique. In addition, he eagerly did the layouts for his magazine himself. He has also designed the wrapper for many books. He had made the title blocks for various small magazines and even created logos for his friends companies.

When Gnani worked for Dinamani, Some of his cartoons were Published in Dinamani as well, Dinamani special editions also had his designs in their title blocks.

In August 1983 (17.7.1983), Gnani designed the wrapper of the Independence Day edition of the magazine with a picture of ‘a boy with flag to his chest and blood oozing through it’ to compliment the poem with verses “You gave me a flag to pin, but not a shirt to pin it”. When he made this design and went home, his sick mother died. He wrote sadly in Anantha Vikatan stating 'It was the day when my personal tragedy blended with the tragedy of the nation in that wrapper’.

Gnani also wrote the titles of all his video productions in his own handwriting.