The wrap-around cover page for my comic, Bright and Bolde.
Completed: April 2018
[Image description: A magenta mountainside rises up the right side, with the crevice-covered planet visible behind it. A turquoise planet with a golden ring hovers in the corner over dark violet space filled with stars and an aurora. There are three figures on the right, where the cover would be folded over to the front: on the left is Bunny Bright, clad in a green space suit with vest and helmet bubble, their arms raised defensively. In the middle is Sparks Bolde, who is wearing a blue jacket with pink and yellow stripes. He is glaring out at the viewer and his fists are raised. On the right is Beryl Maddox, eir braid thrown over eir shoulder, staring into the distance. Below them in a digital font is the title: Bright and Bolde.]
The first four pages of my comic, Bright and Bolde. Here we are first introduced to the Lion’s Mane Galaxy and to the major conflict. Strange things are brewing…
Completed: April 2019
[Image description: The first page is split into three panels. The first panel shows a scientist, Dr. Sriastava, pointing to a particularly bright star in the night sky. She is wearing a lab coat and has her fluffy brown hair tied back. Her right hand rests on a turquoise telescope. The text reads: “The year is 2386. Humanity has taken to the stars, settling on planets across the Lion’s Mane Galaxy.”
The second panel shows a human man in a purple uniform clutching a laser rifle and cowering behind a low wall. Three horned silhouettes loom in the light of a doorway. Text: “The human race is more prosperous than ever, but not all is well. The closest neighboring aliens, the Yurgles, began attacking remote human settlements.”
The third panel shows a chaotic space battle. Pink human ships in the foreground attack the purple cuttlefish-like ships of the Yurgles. More human ships emerge from an ambush behind a red-violet planet on the left side of the panel. Laser fire flies everywhere, and there are four visible explosions. Text: “In the wake of devastating fighting, both sides have sustained an uneasy truce. But recent attacks on Core Planets have almost escalated the conflict to a breaking point.”
The second page has one big panel in the middle, with two smaller panels on top and bottom. The top panel shows the head and shoulders of four humans with a sunburst effect behind them. One has short blue-black hair with tanned skin and freckles; the one beside them has her dark purple hair pulled back into a fluffy ponytail, with her warm dark skin concealing most of her freckles. Beside her is a person with bright bubblegum-pink hair, green eyes, and a dark complexion. The final is a man with pale skin and glossy chestnut hair. He has a port wine birthmark on his right cheek. The text: “In response, the Human Alliance created the Intergalactic Ranger Force to respond to threats. Their training bases are scattered across Alliance territory.”
The big panel shows a wide shot of the surface of the dwarf planet Kali. The Alliance base is visible embedded into the magenta mountain in the foreground. There are three tiers of hallway visible— all of them teal glass framed in gold which wrap around the curves of the slope. Two rows of pale yellow skylights also show, as well as a maintenance hatch near the top and an observation deck poking out the bottom left. The deck overlooks the fissured surface of the planet far below, as well as the greenish illusion field and the pastel aurora in the sky. Text: “This particular base is located on the very edge of human territory. It relies on its illusion field to remain hidden.”
The bottom panel zooms in on the observation deck. It’s shaped like the left half of a dome, made of pale mint green dura-glass and ringed by safety rails that resemble cardboard tubes. A set of observation binoculars are visible next to a silhouette leaning on the rail. Text: “But that might not be the case for much longer…”
The third page has four rows of panels. The first panel focuses on the wall of the observation deck, where the binoculars are, as well as a clearly marked emergency hatch. There is a blurry figure in the foreground.
The second panel focuses on the figure, from chin to waist. They are wearing an all-green uniform that includes a flight vest with collar and a pair of gloves. There is a non-regulation patch on their shoulder that depicts a constellation. They are texting on their hard light pager:
“[you sent]: hey
[sparkles sent]: hey yourself. U ok?”
The third panel reveals the character from the knees up. The name tag overlay informs us that their name is Bunny Bright and they use they/them/their. They have medium brown skin with chin-length messy dark brown hair, very dark brown eyes, and a small scar across the bridge of their nose. Their outfit also includes an inactive space helm collar. They are leaning against the dura-glass and the pink cliffs, magenta planet surface, and the aurora are all visible out the window. The conversation continues:
“[Bunny]: maybe hiding from the commander
[sparkles]: ouch. Thought she wouldn’t be so mad.
[Bunny]: she wasn’t. just “disappointed”
[sparkles]: double ouch.”
In the fourth panel, Bunny flops to the ground, still texting. They have bright green boots on. The conversation:
“[sparkles]: hiding out in ur usual place?
[Bunny]: yeah
[sparkles]: in ur defense u had no idea the sim would react like that… They’re making way too big a deal—
[sparkles has been disconnected]
The next panel shows the pager: “Connection Severed. Try again?” There is a faint “beep beep beep”
In panel six, Bunny’s head whips around in horror as the beeping grows stronger.
In the final panel, a very pale green silhouette of Bunny against a mulberry-red background races towards the hatch on the left as the beeping grows to a crescendo.
The fourth page has three panels. In the first, we cut to Sparks Bolde, who uses he/him/his, jolting upright from his bunk. He has spiky blue hair, fair skin, and bright blue eyes. He wears a sky-blue bodysuit with yellow piping and pink collar and cuffs. His boots rest on the chest behind him and his jacket hangs on the side of the bunk. He’s trying to reach Bunny on his pager:
[Sparks]: bunny? bunny, u there? BUNNY?!?
[bunbun has been disconnected]
The next panel shows him looking out over the dorm room. The dorm is busy, with folks playing cards on the rug, chatting with their friends, or making plans for the weekend. The door to the hallway is open and we can see the hydroponics tubes that run the length of the walls, each with their own type of plant. There are plants all over the dorm room.
In the third panel, a massive rumbling starts up. Sparks clutches at his navy blue bedsheets as the disturbance knocks his boots over, his jacket to the floor, and a teddy bear off the bunk above him. His hair stands on end.]
Here are the next four pages of Bright and Bolde. Sparks knows not everything is as it seems, but what can he do when no one believes him? And what has happened to his best friend?
Completed April 2019
[Image description: Page five has three small panels in a row, then two larger ones. The first panel is a close-up shot of Sparks’ face as he stares at the ceiling in shock.
The second panel is completely black as the lights cut out.
In the third small panel, the dimmer orange emergency lighting illuminates Sparks’ determined face.
The fourth panel is a zoomed-out shot from outside the doorway. A soft green plant hangs on the left side. Inside the dorm, everyone has abruptly stopped what they were doing and are now staring at the ceiling as well. The two closest figures are a pale blonde girl in a reddish dress on one side of the doorway and a person with dark purple hair and a silvery suit on the other side. In the background, Sparks pulls on his boots while one of the card players peeks at their neighbor’s cards.
The fifth panel is the same view though the doorway. Everyone is freaking out and talking over each other, which is illustrated by a swarm of empty speech bubbles. The blonde girl is pointing up, leaning out so far that someone has to keep a grip on her shoulder. The other person is gesturing wildly, clearly alarmed. In the background, Sparks leaps down from his bunk while the card cheater is being shoved back by their neighbor.
Page six introduces us to our third major character: Beryl Maddox. Ey uses ey/em/eir pronouns, and they have dark skin, a neatly trimmed beard, and long dark hair coiled up around eir head in a braid. Ey has a small scar on eir chin. Ey wears a long gray and white dress with red accents, a space helm collar of eir own, and long white gloves. Ey claps eir hands to get everyone’s attention.
Beryl: OKAY! ENOUGH! You need to settle down, please! I am sure there will be an announcement any moment.
There’s a reaction shot in the bottom corner of the panel as Sparks pulls on a blue jacket with pink and yellow stripes. He has an idea!
Panel two shows Sparks grabbing Beryl by the upper arm. Ey has eir hands up to ward him off.
Sparks: “BERYL! Something’s wrong!”
Beryl: “Yes, the shaking was something of a give-away… Bolde, what is it this time?”
In the third panel, Sparks brandishes his pager with the lost connection warning.
Sparks: “The comms cut out right before it hit!”
The fourth panel has eir reply, as ey raises eir hands up over eir shoulders.
Beryl: “…As they frequently do. That does not mean a disaster. Unless there is something else?”
The next panel shows Sparks hiding his pager behind his back. The screen reads: “Caution: Connection not authorized”
Sparks: “um…”
The sixth panel shows Beryl pinching the bridge of eir nose. Ey is clearly exasperated.
Beryl: “Never mind… I need to speak with the other dorm captains. Please go back to your bunk.”
Page seven begins with a panel of Beryl talking with two other dorm captains. All of them are startled as an announcement comes on: “Attention, cadets and captains: an unexpected seismic event has just ocurred.”
Panel two shows Sparks’ hands as he rifles through his trunk, which holds folded clothes, a pair of binoculars, and his own space helm collar. The announcement continues: “All personnel are to remain calm and in their quarters as we work to assess structural damage to the station.”
The third panel shows the dorm door slowly sliding down. There is another shot of hallway and the hydroponics tubes. The announcement concludes: “To ensure cooperation, the base will be placed in temporary lockdown.”
The next panel is a simplified shot of Sparks leaping from his bunk. His silhouette is deep blue, save for his hair and the accents on his outfit.
The final panel shows Beryl twice; first in monochrome as ey exclaims “Bolde wait—” Their left hand is upraised.
And then in full color as ey grabs Sparks’ collar as he rushes by towards the door and is pulled off eir feet. Eir braid pops loose into a long strand.
Sparks: “Sorry! No time!”
Beryl: “HEY!”
Page eight begins with a long, narrow panel that shows the dorm door hissing shut. The overhead announces “Lockdown complete.”
In panel two, Beryl pushes Sparks to the hydroponics wall, looming over him. Ey is almost a full head taller. The wall curves, showing four layers of tubes, the closest ones revealing tiny fish swimming in them.
Beryl: “BOLDE.”
Sparks: “I can explain?”
Beryl: “Do tell.”
The third panel shows Sparks twirling his fingers nervously. He is deliberately looking off to one side. Sparks: “Uh… So…”
Panel four is mostly dark green. A slightly-illuminated Bunny lurks on the right, and white and bright green circuit patterns cover the rest of the space.
Sparks, explaining: “Our signal doesn’t use official channels so it shouldn’t have gone down unless something took it down. [In a small and rushed voice] And Bunny likes to hang out in the old observation deck.”
Panel five shows Beryl thumping eir head into one of the tubes.
Beryl: “So. To clarify.”
Panel six is a close shot of Beryl facepalming.
Beryl: “You were using an illicit connection to talk with a friend in a condemned section of the base. And now you broke out of lockdown to go check on them.”
The final panel shows the hallway to the right. The opposite wall are the arched windows seen in page two, with periodic support beams between them. A clear tube filled with water and fish runs above it. Sparks makes finger guns at Beryl.
Sparks: “Exactly! You coming?”
Beryl, sighing to emself: “…I signed up for this. I actually signed up for this.”
[Ey’s smiling a little bit despite emself]
“Well, someone must keep you out of (more) trouble…”]
The final four pages of the initial run of Bright and Bolde. Sparks has found someone willing to help him, but now they need a plan. Will his ingenuity be enough to get them all out of this?
Completed: April 2019
{Image description: Page nine starts with an irregular panel in the shape of a row of the window arches. A tiny Beryl is staring out the window while a tiny Sparks kneels over an open floorboard, fiddling with a bag stored there.
Beryl: “You know the deck is in the other direction, right?”
Sparks: “Plan A is wait for them at our meet-up point.”
Beryl: “And if they do not appear?”
The second panel shows Sparks swinging the blue and pink bag up over his shoulder.
Sparks: “Well, plan B is go find—”
Panel three shows a familiar green glove knocking against the skylight.
Panel four shows Sparks from the shoulders up, as well as the skylight that runs the length of the hallway ceiling. In the distance is a blast door. Bunny is kneeling on the outside of the skylight, a turquoise planet visible behind them. Their space helm is activated.
Sparks: “—Bunny!”
Bunny, using sign language: <Surprise! Not dead! The deck sure is, though>
The next panel zooms in on Bunny outside. Their hair is ruffled and they look frantic.
Bunny: <We need to go. Right now. This wasn’t an accident. It was an explosion.>
The sixth panel swings back down to Sparks, though the point of view is tilted to show Bunny too.
Sparks, also signing: <Can’t.>
Bunny: <???>
Sparks: <Lockdown. Everyone’s trapped.>
The seventh panel is another shot of Bunny, from the waist up. They’re getting frustrated.
Bunny: <Like that stops you.>
The final panel shows Sparks shaking his head vehemently while he signs.
Sparks: <I’m done running. And I’m not abandoning the others.>
Page ten opens on Bunny’s exasperated face. They throw their hands up.
Bunny: <FINE. What do we do?>
Panel two shows Beryl from the shoulders up.
Beryl, joining in on the signing: <If I may suggest…?>
Two quick panels, the first Bunny signing <Safe?> to Sparks. The next shot is Sparks replying <Safe.">
The fifth panel shows Beryl’s torso and hands as ey signs.
Beryl: <Communications are critical, correct?>
Bunny, from offscreen: <…yes>
Beryl: <Then our first step is to find a way to restore them.>
Panel six shows the top of the mountain that holds the base. A tower with a wire frame is visible at the top.
Beryl, offscreen: <The Comms Tower. We meet up there and figure out how to fix this!>
Panel seven is from the floor behind where Beryl and Sparks are standing, looking upward. The lighting flashes red and the base computer announces: “Dust storm inbound. Shutters engaging.”
The eighth panel shows Bunny desperately signing as the shutters slide closed.
Bunny: <Be safe. Please.>
The final panel shows the shutters completely closed.
Page eleven starts with a smaller panel inside a larger one. In the first, Sparks stares up wordlessly at the space where his best friend just was. An aura of doom and gloom hangs around him as Beryl awkwardly tries to comfort him.
In the second, larger panel, Sparks tosses the bag he retrieved to Beryl, knocking the wind out of em as ey doubles over to catch it. Behind them, the words “Main Hub” are partially obscured.
Sparks: “Could you find the plasma cutter for me? I’m gonna go override the door.”
The next four panels show a blurry Sparks in the foreground as he fiddles with the locked door. In the background, Beryl digs deeper and deeper into the bag, eventually crawling in halfway.
The next small panel shows Beryl dramatically emerging from the depths of the bag with the plasma cutter, which looks like a lightsaber shaped like a pizza cutter. An over-exaggerated halo of light beams from it.
The small panel after that shows Sparks screaming WHAT?! and Beryl looks on in confusion.
The last, large panel, shows Sparks in profile as he interacts with the door panel. It’s been pushed up to display the keypad. He has one hand raking through his hair and his other hand around his pager.
Sparks, very dramatically: “This. Isn’t. POSSIBLE!”
The pager readout: “Access Denied. Codes Insufficient.”
The twelfth and final pages begins with two octagonal panels from the perspective of the security camera in the keypad. The film is a monochrome green and there is a red dot in the top left corner that says “rec”
The first panel shows Sparks looking quizzically at his pager. One eyebrow is raised.
Sparks: “The override should work even on lockdown! It’s like it’s being blocked…”
Beryl stands behind him, arms folded and deeply unimpressed: “…and why do you have codes like that…?”
The second panel shows Sparks turned to face Beryl, who is holding the plasma cutter aloft. Ey gestures at it.
Beryl: “This cutter is insufficient. It cannot overcome grade-3 plating.”
Panel three has Sparks staring at em in shock, jaw dropped and eyebrows to his hairline.
Beryl, leaning against the wall, arms crossed but clearly amused: “Do you really think this is my first time making an …impromptu exit, Sparks?”
Panel four zooms out. The words “Main Hub” are clearly visible on the wall. The corner of a door is visible in the foreground. Both Sparks and Beryl are sitting on the floor with their backs to the door.
Beryl: “So what now?”
Panel five zooms back in. Sparks has his knees drawn up to his face and his hands are clenching his hair.
Sparks: “I don’t know. Our plans relied on access to the main hub.”
Beryl, shifting so ey’s halfway to eir feet: “Actually…”
The final panel shows the door seen in the corner of the earlier panel. A big sign on it reads “Maintenance Only”
Beryl, offscreen: “…I may have a solution.”
A text box at the bottom reads: “To be continued…”]
Character poster for the four main characters of Bright and Bolde. Each sheet gives their name, pronouns, and a short version of their backstory. The bar chart alongside their portraits shows the results from the aptitude test administered by the Academy.
Created: March 2019
[Image description: Four posters, one for character.
The first poster has dark blue text on a light blue background. The picture in it shows a young man with sky blue hair, fair skin, and a slightly bemused expression making a peace sign at the camera. His other had is tucked in his jacket, which is a deep blue with a wide sky-blue collar and pink and yellow stripes.
The second poster has deep ocher text on a pale yellow background. The young woman in the photo had long purple-black hair pulled into a ponytail, tanned skin with freckles, and a small yellow device above the curve of her ear. She’s wearing yellow overalls over a black bodysuit with orange and turquoise accents. She’s wearing matching yellow gloves and waving shyly at the camera.
The third poster is vivid green over spring green. The person in the photo has their fists raised and a startled, defensive posture. They have a medium complexion, dark brown hair, and a scar over the bridge of their nose. They’re wearing a green flight suit with black sleeves, black sides, and a white midsection. Their gloves are also green.
The fourth and final poster is burgundy over a washed-out red. Unlike the other characters, ey is not making eye contact with the camera. One hand grips awkwardly at eir other arm. Ey have long, long inky black hair in a braid draped over eir shoulder, dark skin, and a neat beard. Ey are wearing a white dress with red piping and maroon shoulder pads. Eir white gloves reach to eir shoulders.]
This star map depicts the Lion’s Mane, the fictional galaxy home to the comic Bright and Bolde. It shows the major star systems and notable locations found in the comics.
Created November 2018
A timeline documenting the major women’s professional hockey teams in Canada and the United States between 1998 and 2018. This timeline shows how teams have moved leagues as the years progress.
Created September 2018
This infographic illustrates the highest-ranked monsters in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition by type and challenge rating. The four tiers are arranged in descending order by the highest challenge rating per category. This graphic was created in partnership with Luca Carmack.
Created October 2018
A polygonal picture of a Golden Retriever named Jack.
An piece done for my digital illustration class depicting my original character, Mercy Tallpines.
A series of three logo exercises for my digital typography class. All of them depict potential logos for the fictional coffee company “Death Before Decaf”
Created October 2016
Created September 2018
