BRIEF

“What if all art was illegal?”

“Achroma” is a graphic novel that expresses thoughts about censorship, freedom and art in the context of a dystopian fiction.

By using the power of graphic novel as a medium, I wanted to give out a meaningful message and make the audience think about the issues surrounding censorship of art, restrictions of liberty and intolerance through the setting and the characters.

RESEARCH

First, I did research on censorship and art, proving to myself how global and relevant this problem really is. I also looked into many comic books and resources regarding working on comic books, such as Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics”. Then I wrote an outline and a full script for my story. In doing so, I studied how comic book writers like Neil Gaiman have scripted their ideas. Afterwards, I researched different illustration styles. In the end, I decided on a style in which I used digital and handmade techniques together. I got inspired by the works of illustrators such as Ashley Wood, Eleanor Davis, and Dave McKean.

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FUNCTION

In this project, while wanting to share a story that I am passionate about, I also wanted to bring out social problems. I tried to push the audience towards feeling empathy towards artists, and to create awareness on their struggles. So I wanted the audience to enjoy what they are absorbing, while also reflecting on the thought-provoking problems about censorship and art.

CONCEPT

This graphic novel opens the door to a dystopian reality that is not so far from our own. My aim was to take the problem of censorship one step further, and reveal how ridiculous it would get if there was no line to draw. I wanted to achieve this goal by creating a graphic novel. Next to being very suitable for making criticism, comics are also a perfect combination of image and text in which the style, colors, layout etc. can convey meanings in a specific way that wouldn’t be possible in any other medium.