my final project for my visual storytelling class! a few months old now, but wanted to sit on it before posting.
Process and Behind the Scenes under the cut!
I had to do several passes of line, shape, tone, colour, and more that got integrated into other passes. It was a ton of fun but also a ton of work.
For those unfamiliar with visual storytelling principles/elements, different lines/shapes/etc. have different "intensities", all of which are used in relation to one another to increase intensity towards the climax of a story.
From least intense to most intense:
horizontal -> vertical -> diagonal
circle -> square -> triangle
high key tone -> mid range tone -> low key tone -> high contrast tone
analogous colours -> complimentary colours
Line was one of the most fun things to work with! Especially in the second page's last panel. The characters are separated by a line (couch) in the middle of the frame, showing distance.
I worked in tandem with space as the panel before is zoomed in and overlayed on top of another panel to show overstimulation, and then zoomed out as the character asks for space by showing literal space.
Shape is also used to contrast with the 4th page's last panel. The characters hugging and the blanket form a circle, connecting them together as well as signaling the resolution/denouement.
The red and green contrast is most easily seen in the last page, but each page's undertone gets more green instead of blue as it progresses as well, to contrast with the red even more.
Finally, my favourite! Tone!
This was definitely the most fun to work with, especially in the climax/nightmare portion. The chiaroscuro with the defibrillator and large panel is my absolute favourite.
There was a lot of other stuff going on in here, but I'm not about to repeat the whole essay I had to hand in with this. So I'll leave it here <3
Thanks to Icee @impawsiblecat for all of the deathduo aus we've made that inspired this, and to CDYTPanda for letting me cameo her character Corvid!
I didn't have time to write a chapter today because it is my birthday so I have posted one I wrote a while ago! It also is split up into two in case I needed another chapter so ignore the a rupt ish ending <3
There is a mirror in the living room of Clover’s house, one passed down through the generations until it had ended up above her mantel, a decoration way fancier than anything else she owns. The border is silver, twisted into whirling snowflakes and vines, emanating the image of a cold, snowy land. It is beautiful, and Clover uses it to check her reflection as she walks by, although something about it feels… strange. Otherworldly, perhaps, but Clover just chalks it up to her imagination.
Sometimes, Clover could swear frost gathered on the edge of the mirror, but whenever she looks, there is nothing there. She chalks it up to the reflection of the silver border, a figment of her imagination. Other times, she sees someone in the mirror in her peripheral vision, only for it to b a pile of laundry. And yet, Clover is used to the strangeness, used to the aura of mystery surrounding it. Old furniture usually has that effect, right?
When her younger cousins come over to visit, they claim the mirror is haunted, and take turns saying the name Bloody Mary into it, chickening out before saying it three times in a row and running away screaming when they finally do. Nothing happens, of course, and the cousins end up laughing after their shenanigans. And yet, when Clover looks up, she could swear she sees a faint, silver hair figure in the glass. She laughs too, amused that her cousins have infected her brain with the ghost stories.
The mirror isn’t the only thing left from her descendants. Her great great grandmother, or aunt, perhaps, was a writer, famous for a story. Although Clover doubts anyone other than her family knows about her works, Clover still enjoys them, reading yellowed pages of reprinted books. She struggles with some of the language used, but she loves the books nonetheless. Her favorite is the one about a cursed individual, who disappeared out of guilt and was never seen again. The ending is tragic, her favorite kind, and everytime, Clover is left to think of the possibilities of what could have happened now.
Her cousins tease her in their silly, childish ways, wondering why she would choose the one story that ends in despair, but Clover lightly sends them back to their parents in order to reread the book. There is something captivating about it, about the characters and sadness and tragedy depicted.
The mirror watches her as she reads, and she looks up when she feels eyes on her, although she once again doesn’t see anything. The feeling disappears as soon as she stops reading, and continues when she turns back to the book. The room seems a bit chillier than normal, but Clover can’t be bothered to get up and fix it. She ignores the feeling of being watched, and continues to read, getting to the buildup, the climax, and the end. The cliffhanger that will never be resolved, the sad ending that can’t even count for bittersweet.
As she reaches the last line, the mirror falls.
It startles Clover, and she snaps the book shut, staring at the mirror. Her cousins must have played near it again before they left, and Clover takes a few seconds to calm her racing heart before she goes to mount the mirror again.
When she touches the sliver, she pulls her hands back at the sudden cold. It feels like the border is made out of ice, although Clover is not sure how that is possible, and she can only stare at the mirror again. She grabs it again, gritting her teeth at the shocking cold as she mounts the mirror in its rightful place. Clover once again stares at the mirror.
“Hello?” She says, feeling silly as soon as she says the word. She is too old for that type of silly, childish game, and after a couple of seconds, Clover shakes her head and turns back to the book so she can put it away.
“Hello.” A faint voice says, so quiet Clover almost believes it's in her imagination, or perhaps an echo of her own voice. It sounds muffled, like it came from a closed room. She freezes, and then slowly turning around and looking at the mirror. A figure of a person disappears when she focuses on it, turning into a chair, and Clover laughs unbelievably. Those kids must have spooked her more than she thought with their ghost stories.
She turns back around, perhaps a little too quickly, grabbing the book and starting to hurry out of the room, when that same voice speaks again. “Wait.” It is once again quiet. Clover almost continues to leave, but her curiosity gets the better of her and she slowly turns around once again. This time, she focuses her vision on the edges of the mirror, and, as suspected, she sees a silvery figure in the corner of her eye.
Clover bolts out of the room and into her own bedroom, trying to calm her racing heart. Her mirror is haunted. That is probably not a good thing. She opens her phone and looks up craigslist. Does anyone even use craigslist anymore? Clover decides it doesn’t matter, and she quickly fills out information about the mirror. And then she stops, because she can’t get rid of the mirror. It’s an heirloom.
Which means there is only one option. To exorcize the ghost haunting it. Clover opens a new tab, and quickly buys a bottle of water off of Amazon. She reads the Wikihow article “Three Ways to Exorcize your House or Dwelling.” She skims through it, ignoring most of the information, until she gets to one step. Kindly ask the spirit or ghost to leave, avoiding anger or fear. Clover can do that, right? It shouldn’t be that hard to just go up and ask a random person in a mirror to get out, right? Who is she kidding, if the fear of the ghost doesn’t kill her the awkwardness of talking to them will.
It’s up! I’m new to running a server so PLEASE BE GENTLE.
Idea is posting wips/updates/interacting with followers. Anyone is free to join, but ask if you’re looking to invite people personally! (or just show them my blog and link kek)
There will be a PATREON specific channel for EARLY WIP AND POLLS. Every Patreon $1 and up gets access. Just let me know if your name is different there? So I can mark yah.
