Some amazing process work by VCFA MFA candidate Christopher Previte, highlighting his micro-stories and accompanying illustration/sequential narrative work.

Story 1:

“Carefree Dog and perpetually-nervous Rhino starting their day together. Another micro-story illustration, this is straight pencil (Staedtler Mars Lumograph) on board (Bienfang 146lb. Bristol). The process was to plan, sketch, and draw the entire illustration in one sitting, with no reference”.

A dog and a rhino lingered in bed together as the sun rose, each wondering what the day would bring them. The dog imagined a face to lick, all salt and possibility. She loved faces best because that’s where the person lived. From the face, you could tell everything about them. The rhino hoped to be taken seriously. He was stuffed after all, not living and breathing like the dog. More like “panting”, thought the rhino. He too had a lot to offer. It wasn’t just about the horn. Most people couldn’t get past the horn. “Today, I’ll use my full name”, thought the Rhino, certain that “ceros” would help them see past the horn and into his brain. Into who he really was. And with that, the dog licked his face, settling for plush over flesh. Less salty, but just as sweet.

Story 2:

“Two characters in my favorite place in the world, Venice, Italy. Specifically, Piazza San Marco. A digital collage illustration created for my micro-story, “Ursula’s Boots”. It is a collage of five different photographs created using Photoshop (compositing and effects), SketchBook Pro for iPad with a Wacom Creative Stylus (digital painting), and Illustrator (for the word balloons)”.

Unger urgently ushered Ursula under the umbrella. The rain came in sheets, deafening against the umbrella. “Let’s go!,” he yelled as they moved toward the vestibule. The pigeons too had scattered, leaving soggy piles of seed behind. Soon, the rain would wash the seed into the canal where the gondolas rocked and bumped with the waves. “Where is it?,” asked Unger, placing the umbrella upside-down on the tiled floor.

“I have it, I have it. Be patient.”
“Like the rain?!”
“Yes, Unger – ‘like the rain’.”

Ursula, pulled a cherry-red box from her jacket. The lacquered wood shined under the gas lamps. “Twenty-thousand Euros,” she said.
“Twen… That’s double,” Unger said, surprised.
“Yes, well, I was not expecting rain and these boots are expensive.”

Unger stepped from the safety of the vestibule into the rain. Piazza di San Marco was blue-grey as the sun slipped from the sky, leaving only the clouds. Glass tables puddled with water throughout the square and Unger noticed the top of a piano had been left open in haste. Unger’s hands glowed orange. Only the veins and edges of his fingers at first, like placing a flashlight to the palm to see it glow. Strings of light grew from his finger tips next and Ursula reached for the umbrella.

“We are not children anymore Ursula,” Unger said, raising his hands, “and I no longer appreciate your games.”
Ursula’s eyes grew wide and the air around her crackled and hummed. “Unger! Unger, no… plea…”

The sound of the rain stopped and Unger, arms out, as if crucified, released a ball of orange and white energy toward the vestibule. Ursula’s pleas silenced along with the rain and, in a flash, she was no more. Unger’s hands returned to his side, no longer glowing as the rain returned, harder than before. Soaked, Unger knelt by Ursula’s pile of lifeless clothes and retrieved the red box from her jacket. “Ah Ursula. It really is a shame about the boots.”trace affiliate link | spike shoes nike running shoe size chart boys