Pygmalion | How I turned my old short story into a published comic
Is it weird to take a story idea from 12 years ago and rework it to be finally seen by someone else than just you? I hear a lot of artists feeling awkward about reposting and reworking old ideas, talking about always needing to create something fresh, as if ideas and stories have an unspoken expiration date.
Do they?
When I was preparing a comic pitch for the issue #2 of the Boxes magazine announced by Third Bear Press, my thoughts went to a short story draft I wrote up as a teenager. I might have sent it to my friend or posted it somewhere in the depths of tumblr, but otherwise the text file was comfortably hibernating in a folder together with other snippets of stories, poems and notes.
See, I’m a bit of an idea hoarder.
I tend to store all of of the notes and sketches, even the ones from a long time ago. It’s partially for nostalgia’s sake, of course, but any time I want to erase one of these ideas there’s a voice in my head saying: “but what if you like it later?”. I enjoy having this ever-growing idea bank of sorts, a place where I can dip in and out in moments when I find myself a bit stuck in the creative process - or simply curious whether the story which years ago seemed like a flop would suddenly click in my mind.
This is exactly what happened with Pygmalion.
The idea I wrote down all these years ago, still as a high school student, went something like this:
A young girl is being led down a dark, twisted staircase by an eccentric old woman, who’s chatting away about the girl’s purpose. The girl is quiet, so the Crone fills in the silence. The steps are cold stone and the walls are build out of thousands of tiny bones. When they arrive at the bottom of the staircase, the Crone instructs the girl to undress and sit still at the podium surrounded by easels and stone sculptures. The girl freezes in fear, as a crowd of hooded creatures arrives in the room and it turns out that she is meant as a model for them, and eventually will become one of the sculptures herself.
Fast forward 12 years…
So I found the file again last year. The text was moody, short, not very well written. Back then I named the hooded creatures “pygmalions” to reference the Greek myth of a sculptor who fell in love with his creation, which then came to life. I liked the sinister twist of Pygmalion forming the female shape to his own fantasy. Reading it over, the setting struck my imagination again. Could it make an interesting short horror comic?
Characters
The first bit of artwork I did for the comic pitch was a design for Ava (the Girl) and Gran (the Crone). They started off as simple cloaked figures, but I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t play more with the character design. Both of these characters represent an archetype. The Girl is energetic, pure, full of hope and passion. The Crone is wise, confident, slightly patronising, and guarding the set order of this world.
They needed to be opposites both in personality and shape. Tall, delicate Ava with gentle features and loose, curly hair. Short, hunched over Gran with sharp features. Ava’s clothing and silhouette was inspired by art nouveau. Gran is more angular, designed from exaggerated geometric shapes, and wearing an archaic gown. Once I saw these two in all detail, their dynamic and interactions became much more natural. So I moved on to draft a comic script.
Concept art for Ava and Gran
Early sketches of Ava
Comic Pitch
First step after working out the concept is the comic pitch. They can be a bit tricky to put together - they need to be short and communicative, while also presenting the story idea in an intriguing way. The pitch is often sent out to a publisher or an agent before any serious work on the comic starts. I wanted to submit this story for the upcoming Boxes magazine, and so I put together a short PDF pitch and sent it to the Third Bear Press editor Steven Ingram.
This digital package ended up being very simple:
A synopsis of the story, which reveals all the events
Three examples of my existent artwork to show the visual style the comic will be created in
An artist bio with all the relevant links
This was sent out before I knew all the details and nuances of the story, as is often the case in publishing if you’re anticipating working with an art director who will offer some editorial insight as you develop the project. Luckily, Pygmalion was accepted and from that moment onwards I’ve been working with Steven Ingram’s editorial support.
Story Development
Developing Pygmalion followed the usual steps:
Script
Rough sketches / Page layouts
Digital linework
Adding colour & detail
I was checking in with Steven in between each of these steps to make sure that the project is going smoothly.
The early sketches are rough and messy - their purpose is planning out the pages, considering the layout, composition and the flow of the story:
It was planned as an 8-page comic, but we agreed that the ending was a bit too abrupt, and we added page 9 to let it breathe…However, I’m not going to reveal it here to leave something for your curiosity!
Once all the sketches got accepted, I moved onto digital inking and creating clear, rendered linework for all the panels.
Page 4 is one of my favourites, as it features this huge gallery wall by the staircase Ava and Gran are descending. I’m a massive nerd so I had to put in some references - I wanted them to be famous paintings of women painted by the old masters, which would highlight both Ava’s passion for fine art and the gaze upon the female figure. While getting more editorial feedback, Steven brought up Flaming June, which next to my pick of Ophelia added an interesting aspect: models for these paintings (Dorothy Dene and Elizabeth Siddal) were both artists in their own right, but they’re remembered mostly as the depiction through the brushwork of male painters.
Evolution of a comic page, from rough sketch to the lettered final!
Details and vibes:
I rarely work in just black and white (it’s much more likely that I end up with a limited colour palette), so this one was an interesting change. I digitally painted all the pages monochrome, using textured brushes and making sure that there is some sharp contrast and shadows to make the setting more dramatic:
Lastly, I added lettering - which I always feel is my weakest point, but the elegant font found for Pygmalion seems to be doing the job!
Final page 4
Seeing Pygmalion revitalised and published in print is such a great feeling.
It appeared in Boxes published by Third Bear Press alongside an array of fantastic indie comics voices. I was also asked to design a front cover of the anthology, so I jumped onto the opportunity to portray Ava in colour in a moody, gothic setting!
Artwork for the front cover
Thanks for joining me for this deep dive into Pygmalion!