Cinders Fall (2021-2022)
Thesis project wherein concept art, a cover, and a short comic were produced.
Cinders Fall: A Year Long Thesis
In July of 2021 I was accepted into Texas A&M University's University Research Scholar program under the branch The Aggie Creative Collective. Our goal was to answer a research question with a thesis and a creative work that culminated our research. My question that I sought to answer: What are the characteristics of compelling female protagonists vs. the portrayal of underdeveloped female characters.
​
My creative work culminated in concept art for two characters: Nox the main protagonist and Apolleos her enemy turned love interest as well as a four page webcomic introducing the world of Cinders Fall and Nox as a character.
Concept Art
I began my creative work with creating concept art for Nox, the main protagonist of Cinders Fall, and the prince she is meant to assassinate, Apolleos. For Nox, I wanted her to be visually coherent as a moon assassin, using blacks, whites, and blues to portray her affinity to the night. I also wanted her to have a casual appearance for when she wasn't doing her assassin work. She has animal ears because in the world of Cinders Fall, those who possess great magical energy or "Anima" sometimes have animal-like appearances. This can range from having wings or looking like a minotaur. Nox possesses great Anima so she has cat ears.
​
Apolleos is the prince of the sun kingdom, and Nox's sworn enemy. He is the target of her assassination attempt at the beginning of Cinders Fall. He uses yellows, golds, and tans to give him the appearance of a sun prince and is a visual contrast to Nox. The marking on his hand is a Glyph, a symbol of one's Anima. Each Anima user has their own glyph, and glows when in use. As for where Nox's Glyphs are in her concept art, that was kept secret for storytelling purposes. In truth, she was cursed to have two Glyphs, so whenever she uses her Anima, she is burning the candle at both ends. This proves to be a key plot point for Cinders Fall.
Webcomic
My final creative work for Cinders Fall was a four-chapter long introduction to the world of Cinders Fall and setting up the plot for Cinders Fall. I had originally written thirteen chapters, but I narrowed my scope down to four complete chapters due to the time frame given for my thesis.