Particulates Web Comic
Summary
I began a web comic in 2007 to vent pent-up creativity. It took on a life of its own as I made more strips and eventually evolved into a story-driven comedy about a handful of lovable characters. I worked on Particulates off and on between 2007 and 2011, ultimately creating 100 individual strips. I would love to pick it back up in the near future and create a few hundred more, because I love the comic dearly. Here's a good one to start with.
Musings
Particulates gave me a wonderful opportunity to create diverse, detailed scenes, and it's interesting to compare the level of detail and complexity in the first strip to the more recent strips. As a side bonus, I ended up learning basically everything there is to know about Adobe Illustrator.
The strips on the left are part of a story arc in which the main character gets a new job. Story arcs like this were one of the most enjoyable parts of creating Particulates, as I had the opportunity to create little scenes from the characters' lives and slowly build out their universe.
Another great benefit from my time doing Particulates was the freedom to push into other areas of design and illustration. I created various infographics and designs like the panels to the right, which gave me the opportunity to add my graphic design knowledge into the comic.
As I progressed with the comic, I took on a more illustrative and cinematic approach. Shallow depth of field, abstractly-framed shots, and the use of light sources and detailed shading pushed the comic into a higher level of illustrative detail. The library to the lower left was particularly fun to develop, especially given the dismal state of the rest of the rooms in the characters' house.
After a few dozen strips, I feel like Particulates really came into its own. Strips really began to take on character and complexity as I fleshed out a defined art style for the comic. Having an outlet for all of the little story and design ideas always floating around in my head was a great way to relax while pushing my art and story skillset.
