Artist Statement
Snapshots of Proswell is an illustrative series showcasing the inhabitants of Proswell, East Caroline- a city I have been developing since mid-2020. What began as solitary characters existing in a contextless void has now shaped up to be a full city over the course of a couple of years; I've continued developing Proswell to this day and intend to keep up in the future.
Creating an original world is an undertaking, as not everyone will click with the core concepts and flavor. Proswell is heavily influenced by urban fantasy and magical realism and wears that influence on its sleeves. Magic affects people who live there, and they are changed by it and by each other. Some have a better control of it than others, and some are just along for the ride. People make the best of their situations despite these changes, and sometimes the changes are for the better.
While being fantastical, "Perfect" Proswell still has its problems: a biker gang terrorizes the streets at night, a cult has been deep-seated in the heart of the city for decades, and an influential institution seems to have a bad case of nepotism when it comes to their choice in CEOs.
With this series, I aim to both establish Proswell as an environment ripe for storytelling as well as introduce major characters, groups, and themes that I will explore further post-graduation. Each piece centers on one of these groups or themes: 7:27 AM / Main & Rye, for example, focuses on how the following pieces are just small peeks at only some of the stories that Proswell has to tell; like a real city, it has abundant stories and happenings with each of its residents every day.
Gallery
Why do some of the people look weird?
In the world Proswell inhabits, people can be changed by unpredictable magic that exists. Sometimes it happens before they are born, sometimes it happens when they've mostly gotten life figured out. These changes serve to reflect a truth about the individual. Someone with dog traits might be loyal or ferocious; someone who is green might have issues with envy; someone who looks very far from human probably feels very far from human, deep down. This is one of the aspects of Proswell that is influenced by Magical Realism.
Explain more about how magic works...
As we've covered above, there is unpredictable magic that changes people. But, like a wild animal can be tamed, people can study and learn how to better harness this magic. There are many different disciplines that mostly focus on the results desired from harnessing it. Some that are displayed in the show are Oitercraft (water-related, tied to fortune and healing), Lumoturgy (light-related, one half of Wavecraft), and Sigilcraft (emphasis on the power of words and markmaking, an obvious choice for an artist).
Where do you plan to take Proswell in the future?
After graduating, I plan on developing some of the stories in Proswell further. I already have a great idea for one centering on Fern, Bonaflaxagon, and Glenn. These stories will most likely take the form comics, and --when I have a larger story to tell-- perhaps a graphic novel.
