Creating characters and worlds

James Cravens, a senior at Alexander-Smith Academy, discovered a passion for creating comics his freshman year of high school.

I have always been interested in art. There was something about how artists were able to create entire worlds that fascinated me. I remember as a child looking forward to art class, not for projects or assignments, but for the rare occasion in which we would be able to grab our sketchbooks and draw whatever we wanted. I remember drawing strange scenarios of war and peace and then going home to envision stories based off of them. I guess that was another passion of mine: writing. I always loved reading books, and the idea of writing one came along with that love.

Yet, as time passed, I slowly lost sight of my passion for art and writing, that is, until my freshman year when I rediscovered that love in the form of a new medium: comics. I became engrossed in reading online comics and decided I would write my own. Shadow of the Sky follows two protagonists and their struggles as they make their way through the devastated remains of the world. What started out as a small idea has grown into a major part of my life.

The time I have spent working on this project has gone as far as to influence my college choices. Last summer I attended a pre-college program at Savannah College of Art and Design to improve my abilities as an artist. I enjoyed my time at the program so much I decided to apply to SCAD to major in sequential arts.

I am constantly taking inspiration from the world around me in order to make my comic as fantastic as I possibly can. This four-year-long journey has created what I consider to be a great comic idea that I will continue to work on. If you keep working at your passions and what you love, given time, no matter what, you will create something wonderful.

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