Back in 2019, while attending Bluegrass Community and Technical College, I decided to fully commit to writing my own graphic novel. Friends made throughout high school and while employed at Hobby Lobby were a huge artistic inspiration. Characters featured in the unfolding graphic novel were even directly inspired by them. Unfortunately, with the lockdown, my motivation to continue the story fell off and stayed that way until 2023. When I came across this unfinished work, the fondness for it resurfaced and it made sense to give it a fresh start. Now officially titled Arcane Light, a fantasy adventure about a group of four friends caught in the turmoil of war, both trying to find their place and making the world a better place.
The world of Arcane Light is split into multiple countries, the three focal ones being Wilushia, a heavily forested kingdom, Aulurria, a kingdom of shimmering snow and crystals, and Cratorus, a volcanic steampunk kingdom. For centuries these three kingdoms knew only peace, but when the prince of Aulurria goes missing and Cratorus is framed, war breaks out and shatters the peace. When it came to designing the characters of Arcane Light, and their species, I found myself coming back to fantasy media such as Spirited Away, Dungeons & Dragons, Xenoblade, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, and Monster Hunter. I wanted to create a cast of characters with the ability to shapeshift into beasts and categorize them into races. The decision to make them shapeshifters stems from a love of animals and one thought in my head: “how weird can I make this?”
While working on Arcane Light, I had the opportunity to meet a local graphic novelist named Ray Coffman at a small convention, where I got to ask questions about his process. One thing that stuck with me was that he didn’t feel his story was his until he connected it to events that happened in his life. I began to realize that each character reflected different parts of me and even certain plot threads I had planned held experiences from my life. Even the places showcased carry inspiration from memorable places that I’ve been to. Coffman’s words were an insightful reminder of why I love storytelling so much; no one else will be able to tell my story the way I can.
Research/Sketches
