ALBA AND THE THERAPLUM FRUIT
WHAT’S UP: In a dystopian future, the traveling botanist explores a dangerous abandoned city in search for the mysterious plant that bears fruit that cures every illness.
MEET THE CHARACTERS: Preliminary sketches of the fictional characters in this adventurous story. The first being Alba, the main protagonist with a kind heart and a itch for a new discovery. Next is Virgil, a hot headed friend of Albas that resides in the abandoned city. And finally the antagonist, the Kako. A mysterious flower that haunts the city and protects the Theraplum fruit.
Final development of the character designs and playing with the color.
WORLD BUILDING: Developing the tone and the look of where the story takes place.
INITIAL DRAFTS: The start of the page spread in the middle of the story!
Throughout multiple drafts, it was decided that the first panel of the page would have its own separate spread, leaving the rest of the panels to have more room to allow for a more dynamic orgainization.
FINAL SPREAD: Here it is in colored as well as black and white!
THE COVER: Cant have a good story without a cover.
CLAY MODEL: I wanted to create a clay model of Alba! A model that captures the art of the comic and the adventurous character!
I started off using a wire frame for the general proportions for her body! I played with a bunch of air dry clay to give her a good shape. I ended up having to alter some of her appearance to make the model more balanced and simple.
I then added the additional details like Alba’s nifty hat, the straps for her backpack, and a attention grabbing bow-tie!
After sanding the model to make smoother surfaces, I tried painting Alba! Throughout the painting process, I wasn’t really satisfied with the colors and thought “Why not make it black and white just like the comic?!”
FINAL CLAY MODEL: And after coating the model with another layer of gesso, that’s what I did! I ended up using greyscale markers and a black ink pen. I feel like it’s really fitting and matches the comic a lot more! The marker on the dry clay also looks child-like! Giving it a greater sense of play and adventure.
