neat

[ ArtFight 2026 ] [2] Demise of Our Own Design

if we’re talking strictly about concepting comics… i suppose it all comes down to me having a particular idea i want to get across. like, the ways in which noelle rationalizes what happens to her in the WR, why she may or may not think of kris as a romantic option, how kris feels about themself in relation to noelle, etc… all of these stem from my own interpretations of the source material, and then usually as i think of these things, there are particular images that pop in my head that accompany it all, like this character makes this face when the other character says this, or ill have this kind of symbolism at this part that will evolve as the story goes on, and that kind of stuff.

a lot of it could just go back to me being a visual person above all else LOL. i like to write, but if im trying to write something with only text, i have to switch gears and internalize that i just wont be able to convey a specific thing or image as well as if i were to just draw it. there are certain emotions that i can only visualize rather than put into words — and a lot of those end up being pages that i treat as like, the centerpiece of my comic so to speak. theyre usually not even the most impressive pages to me or anything, just ones that pop into my head from the moment i get the comic idea in the first place. and its things like expressions or interesting body language or really vivid imagery, like these…

i even sometimes think of it as like, “i made this comic just so i could draw this page,” lol.

i dont know if that’s particularly interesting or unique of me, but what i mean to say is that my entire comic stories usually stem from one single idea that pops into my head, something that i feel the need to convey to everyone with imagery thats really powerful, or unsettling, or moving so that they Understand better… its all my unending quest to make everyone think critically about noelle holiday as a character

all of that sounds really conceptual but its a big part my process early on… before i sit down to write the script, i try to stretch my idea out to find a starting place, and also The Point to it all, and a dramatic end that could leave the reader Thinking… structurally, a lot of my comics can be broken down like this:

1. a stark, mysterious or intriguing opening line on the first page, something a character might say aloud while another character reacts to it. (it could also be a character narrating something to the viewer, something that’s still maybe unconventional, blunt, or even frightening & immediately puts a pit in your stomach)

2. the conversation/narration escalates, reaching levels that start to become more dramatic or uncomfortable — sometimes i think of this as like a “secondary hook” or sorts… where, if i were going to post it online, id have the first 3-4 pages be large and readable, because something on that 3rd or 4th page might be interesting enough to urge the reader to continue. (although this usually doesnt actually end up being the 3rd or 4th page lmao... basically its just shit starting to get real)

3. there's a sudden shift in atmosphere, kind of subverting the reader’s expectations and catching them off guard, maybe warranting the thought “this was Not where i thought this was going when i first started reading this” … usually almost always accompanied by some kind of visual change, something surprising or nerve-wracking (and can arguably be read as the climax of the whole comic)

4. ending on an introspective image or line, something chilling or comforting depending on the subject matter, but most importantly making an impression of some kind. something to get the reader thinking, if only a little bit. or maybe its that moment that ties the whole idea together, stretching everything out until it’s that final page that puts all the pieces together in the reader’s head. like this was where it was all going the whole time

though most of that is in the context of my more serious comics, you could probably apply it to some of my more lighthearted ones too. its not so much of a conscious formula as it is like, a flow that’s interesting and makes sense to me. i make the comics i want to read lol

everything beyond this part of the process is pretty typical and other people could probably instruct you better than i could, i just go through the usual script writing -> thumbnailing pages -> sketch pages properly -> line color typeset etc etc…

there some some extra things you can keep in mind while laying out your pages, like if you want something to be a sudden surprise, you can open with it with a lot of emphasis on it on the very next page like unwrapping a present to get a cartoonish boxing glove on a spring in your face…

or, if you want to hint that something is about to go horribly wrong, sometimes it’s more unsettling to have that Scary Thing be on the very same page, in the way where its intriguing enough to get the reader to continue.

(i never finished this comic lol)