This is a comic about young Leonardo da Vinci and his struggle to create a flying machine and fly. The story is based on an earlier short novel which was divided into two parts: one with an interior monologue (the thoughts of Leonardo) and one with a more “objective” narrative technique completing the story. The comic is also divided into two parts, separated by color (green and blues against grey colors), space (outside vs inside) and text placement (boxes for thoughts in the first part and bubbles for dialogues in the latter one). The last page differs as it symbolizes a cyclic return to first part through Leonardo’s dream.

The story is completely fictional and has no historical accuracy. Leonardo didn’t live with his mother since he was 5 years old (instead, he was living with his uncle in Vinci). It was a deliberate change, because I thought that a scene with his mother’s fear in front of her injured son would be a strong one, and because countryside was a more suited place for the story to take place (as it would be much more difficult for someone to make secretly a flying machine in the city and carry it all the way to the hills without anyone taking notice).

Sketches were made by hand while color and text were added afterwards digitally. There was a struggle for realistic coloring (textures, lights and shadows etc). However, I think that the most important thing I had in mind while creating the comic was its layout and how it connects with narration and its rhythm.