A5 comic for school
Theme: Metamorphosis
Title: Artificial Metamorphosis
To be read from left to right
Sketch - planned out panels, character position, and horror aspects I wanted to stand out (pink & green)
Poem:
In the mirror I catch glimpses
of scars at various stages.
From scratching and pulling
to grabbing and stitching.
A myriad of stolen pieces
a cheap replica of growth.
I can't seem to recall
how I looked like before.
But the one that remains unchanged
are my eyes green with envy.
"I want to become you."
I say, smiling sweetly.
Description & Explanation:
The comic shows how a girl forces 'metamorphosis' on herself. The first panel indicates that she has been forcibly changing herself for a long time. "scars at various stages" imply that some changes has been done long ago while some are recent, referring to the imagery of healed and fresh scars.
The third stanza states that the girl is made up of various parts that she 'stole' from other people. This is related to the 5th stanza where the poem explains her motives for changing herself. The girl is jealous of others and is not satisfied with her appearance.
"a cheap replica of growth" states the superficial change the girl is forcing upon herself. In a literal sense, instead of changing her appearance through hard work, she steals physical qualities of others and unnaturally puts it on her through the act of 'stitching'.
Furthermore, when the word 'metamorphosis' is used to describe a process, it usually refers to a physical change or the growth of one's character. The girl in the comic desires to be other people, have their qualities, perhaps their personality or even how they are perceived by others. This line thus highlights how the girl does not grow as person as she achieves her goal through force and unnatural means. Her character can be seen as immature as she is overcome by envy.
The 4th stanza supports the 1st stanza on how the girl has been changing herself for a long time. This is due to the consequences stated 'I can't seem to recall how I looked like before.' implying she has been changing herself for a long time and has not seen herself in her 'original form' to the point of forgetting.
Other details:
The girl's eyebrows and eyelashes in the first panel are a dark blue. This shows that her natural hair does not match her pigtails. The close-up drawing of her hair and mask also shows stitches along her hairline indicating the hair forcibly put on.
The colour blue of her dress was to match her 'monster' form.
The shape of the mask is 'friendlier' version of the monster's face but still creepy.
