Production notes

Every story starts as a cast and a setting. Those are drawn once, then used as reference for every picture in the story, so the characters stay themselves from beginning to end.

The cast

Model sheet for Mira — **Mira** the wise elder wizard

an elderly human woman with long white hair tied back in a braid, wearing a deep blue robe decorated with silver stars and crescent moons, holding a wooden staff topped with a crystal orb

Sounds calm and measured.

Model sheet for Finn — **Finn** a young apprentice wizard

a young human male with short curly brown hair, wearing a bright green tunic with leather patches, carrying a small satchel of scrolls and herbs

Sounds eager and light.

Model sheet for Thorn — **Thorn** a mysterious forest wizard

a tall elf with dark green skin and sharp features, wearing a cloak made of leaves and bark, with piercing amber eyes and long black hair braided with feathers

Sounds soft and mysterious.

The setting

Background painting of Misty ancient castle with shadowed halls and whispering woods outside. — **Misty ancient castle with shadowed halls and whispering woods outside.**

A sprawling ancient stone castle shrouded in mist and twilight, towering turrets silhouetted against a deepening indigo sky. Worn cobblestone courtyards glisten with dampness, faded tapestries hang in shadowed great halls, flickering candlelight casting long, uneasy shadows down narrow corridors. The atmosphere is heavy with secrets, the air cool and damp, while the surrounding forest's dark, tangled branches brush against the high stone walls, whispering eerie murmurs.

deep indigo stone grey flickering candlelight amber forest green

The plan

Mira and Finn find Thorn's magic staff lying on the cold stone floor in a shadowed hall.

tense and curious medium shot Mira, Finn
Mira senses a strange magic nearby, and Finn hears whispers coming from the woods outside the castle.

worried and alert close-up Mira, Finn
They follow the soft whispers to a secret door hidden behind a heavy curtain in the hall.

quiet and tense long shot Mira, Finn
The door opens to a small room full of old books, but Thorn is nowhere to be found.

confused and uneasy medium shot Mira, Finn
They hear the whispers again and decide to search the woods at twilight, hoping to find Thorn's trail.

hopeful but uncertain wide establishing shot Mira, Finn

How it was made

Pictures drawn: 10
Words written: 1129
Generation steps: 18
Time to make: 5 min

Drawn in watercolour. Written in English at level B1, for adult readers.

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