Erutan
The task was to create a story and 3 characters for a Manga pitch.
Synopsis
Welcome to Erutan, a land inhabited by anthropomorphous plant forms who call themselves “Eruians”. Each one is driven by a unique seed planted at their core that determines their appearance, personality traits and skills. Every spring, the Festival of Blooms is held in celebration of the life of Eruians and their land. Every spring, an Eruian is chosen to be brought to “Ec:neics”, a laboratory not too far from Erutan. Eruians who were chosen, return even more beautiful, some return the same and some, never returned. But nobody ever says a word and nobody ever asks.
The story follows Calla, an Eruian slightly different from the rest. Unlike the rest who sport bright and colourful petals, Calla’s petals are a deep purple and almost black. Unlike the rest, Calla was never interested in going to Ec:neics. And unlike the rest, Calla was never a candidate for the Selections.
Due to a mistake made by one of the escort robots from Ec:neics, Calla was taken into Ec:neics against her will. There, Calla finds out that Ec:neics was gathering data and samples from Eruians to genetically create a Beauty that is unrivalled. Calla meets Petunia and Cotton who were both held captive at the lab. Together they try to find a way to escape and bring their discovery back to Erutan’s ruler, Rose. But escaping proves to be more than a challenge. Along the way, they learn more about Ec:neics’ research and thought about ways to save their captured sisters.
They make it back to Erutan and come to realise there were deep secrets about their home they never knew. Rose explains she was Ec:neics’ first test subject and ‘Beauty’ was originally meant for her. But things did not go as planned and Rose was sent to Erutan to nurture suitable Eruians under the watch of Ec:neics. Upon knowing this truth, Calla and her friends set out to stop Ec:neics from furthering their research and eventually release Erutan from the clutches of Ec:neics.
Calla - Character Design
Cotton - Character Design
Petunia - Character Design
Final Illustration
Inked traditionally, screentoned digitally.
Physical Zine
