Chroma: An Illustrated Adventure

When Rin wakes up with amnesia, all she has of her old life is her field journal. She befriends members of a traveling circus and attempts to unravel the mystery of how she lost her memories in a world built upon color magic and mystery.

Chroma: An Illustrated Adventure is a project

by Southern Utah University’s students in the visual development studio class for fall of 2017.

Passport No.

AA 012345678

Name

Height

Midori, Rin

5’-06”

Sex

Weight

Female

160 lbs

DOB

Issued

06/22

LOTIA

Yesterday, I was found on the side of a river by a circus troupe. I can’t remember anything before I was found. This journal is one of the only things in my possession, and I can only surmise that I am its owner. The name on the cover, Rin Midori, belongs to me.

This journal has a lot of writing in it. It describing rocks and crystals. I think I might have been doing a job, but I can’t understand the terminology. There are shorthand phrases here that don’t mean anything to me anymore. I’ve decided to write down as much as I can now, to make sure that I remember new things I’m encountering. I’ll try to be specific this time. Hopefully, documenting my thoughts will help me recall the feeling of writing the earlier parts of this book. Honestly, I’m grateful I can still read and write. It gives me a fighting chance to find out who I was.

One satchel Two water bottles One empty.

One ID book mine. It says my name and has a picture of me. Apparently I’ll be 26 in three months.

One knife interesting handle. I can’t imagine using it.

Two Tissues Clean.

One compass I can tell this is a compass, but it seems different to me. I asked the people who found me and they say it looks like it has extra parts on it. I don’t know what they do yet. Probably had to do with the work I was documenting.

One journal Well used, has a decorative design.

Three pencils and One pen

-

supposedly for the journal.

One rock Why would I be carrying this? I have to assume it’s in my bag for a reason.

Two pieces of cloth they look like what my shoes are wrapped in.

Spare ties?

This is everything I have to my name.

And I barely have that . .

The wagon shook and Rin’s pencil jostled out of her hand. They came to a stop. Rin stayed still on the couch, afraid that any movement would stop the wagon from starting again. The vehicle was dangerously large, three floors and house-like in its bulk. Rin worried if anything went wrong, it would topple over. She looked at the photos on the walls. They weren’t steady, but they were still hanging somehow.

She heard people shuffling around and doors opening to the outside. Taking that as an invitation to move, she picked up her pencil before walking out the front door and onto the balcony.

On the floor below her, a large man called Bayar was climbing off of the beast that pulled the wagon.

The first person out of the wagon was Keah, the youngest member of their troupe. When Bayar pointed, the child stomped up the stairs to Hiroko’s room.

Hiroko descended the stairs. Seeing that Rin was watching, she offered a smile.

“Dinner time?” Hiroko asked.

Bayar nodded. “And something for the animals.”

Gen rode a horse up next to the driving beast. The other unsaddled horse followed behind.

I was found by a woman named Hiroko and her troupe. They travel and perform in different cities around the country. She offered to take me to the nearest one, Cadmium, and help me find a healer. They don’t know much about medicine but they suspect some kind of chroma can help. Hiroko is sweet and does everything she can to make me feel comfortable. I am not comfortable. But it’s good that she tries.

12

Here are the other members of the troupe : Bayar Jonquil The leader of the circus. He approves performances and teaches members new things. He’s also the only one who has given a last name.

Gen An acrobat. She loves to talk about the places she’s been and the shows she’s done.

She does duo performances with her brother.

Chen Gen’s brother. Acrobat. He’s been telling me about the other troupe members. Some things I feel like maybe he shouldn’t have told me because they’re personal, so I won’t write them down.

Keahi Keah for short. He ran away from home and the troupe took him in. I don’t know why they would allow a child to stay with them without asking his parents, but them taking in strays is what allowed me to be here. I can’t complain.

Rin considered joining the group, but hesitated. It wasn’t her place. They offered to take her to the next city to find a healer for her memory, but that was hardly an invitation to join them. Anyway, Rin didn’t feel the need to stretch her legs.

She was perfectly fine with watching little Keah play fight with Chen.

Then a fur ball appeared on her leg. Rin jumped and dropped her stuff. The little creature was round and covered in tiny spines and its face came out to a point on its little dark nose. When she moved, it hopped off and ran after her rolling pencil. Rin quickly grabbed her journal and jumped up.

“Umm, excuse me?” She called down. When Gen and Chen looked up she continued, “I think you have mice or something.”

“He’s a pet!” Keah shouted. “My packrat!”

Gen called up. “Sorry if it scared you. Little scamp gets in everywhere.” She glared at Keah.

Rin felt a tickle on her ankle and looked down to see the packrat, its tail resting on her foot. In its mouth was a small leaf. It placed the leaf at her feet and scampered off again.

She picked up the leaf and rubbed it between her fingers, feeling the little veins in it. She turned and went inside to get a new pencil. After a few minutes, Gen came inside and told her they decided to stop for the night so Bayar and the driving beast could rest.

“You can go down to the kitchen for dinner. I’m gonna go tell Leo.” Gen said, and then skipped through a door to another room.

Rin had forgotten about Leo. Unlike the rest of the troupe, he was quiet and mostly kept to himself. Rin wasn’t sure she would notice him at all if Gen didn’t repeatedly bring up how talented he was. She would have to write him down in her journal so she wouldn’t forget again. The kitchen was on the bottom floor. It had a large window that opened out so Rin could see Chen was still outside, attempting to teach Keah how to stand on his head. Inside, Hiroko was at the stove, tending to a pot of liquid full of unidentifiable chunks.

“Remembered anything yet?” Hiroko asked, looking up from the pot.

“No. I’ve been attempting to decipher my journal. Nothing seems familiar though.”

“No problem. You can’t push a bear into a river. It’ll never get wet.” Hiroko said sagely.

Rin scrunched up her face. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Sure it does. Can you come here and stir this for me? I need to set the table.”

Rin nodded and took the spoon from her, stirring the bubbling concoction. Hiroko started pulling plates down when one slipped and fell, splitting in half when it made contact with the floor. “Whoops.” Hiroko said with a laugh. She stepped over the broken ceramic and set the table with the plates in her arms. When her hands were free, she leaned down and picked up the two severed pieces of plate. She fit them together and hummed quietly under her breath. Rin wasn’t sure what she was doing until she saw a faint blue light emit from the crack and then dim to show the plate was whole once again.

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“There we go,” Hiroko said, and placed it at the final spot on the table. She turned to Rin and chuckled. “I almost wish it hadn’t broken so cleanly. I have a drawer full of splinters I’m collecting. I almost have enough to make a new mug.”

Rin knew blue chroma was often used for repairs, in the same way she knew the liquid she was stirring was soup, but the sight of them in front of her was too alien to seem real.

Hiroko shooed her away. “That should be done now. Take a seat.” She flipped a switch on the stove to turn it off and called through the window, “Dinner! Inside!”

Keah groaned. “Why can’t I eat out here?”

“Because we have a guest and that would be rude!”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Rin tried to say from her seat, but Hiroko shook her head.

Under her breath she said, “If I let that boy outside for too long there’s not enough water in this thing to get him clean.” Then louder, “If you want to eat, the time is now.”

Gen bounded in with heavy steps, followed by Leo who was silent in every possible way.

“We’ll be in Cadmium tomorrow, right?” Gen asked. “My plant died. I need a new one.”

“We should be there before lunch,” Hiroko answered, ladling soup into bowls.

Leo sat down and Gen sat at the place across from him and next to Rin. Chen and Keah came in, the latter holding the packrat in his arms.

“Don’t put your rodent on the table.” Gen said, eyeing it suspiciously. “It’s gross and has beady eyes; I just know it’s going to swim in my food.”

“That was one time!” Keah said and dropped it on the table.

Gen gave a frustrated, snarling shriek as it started padding around the table. Chen laughed.

In front of Rin, a large hand reached past her and lifted the creature by the scruff of its neck. Rin looked up and saw Bayar, bald head shining.

“If you’re going to be careless,” he said to Keah, “we can always leave him on the side of the road.”

Keah whined as Bayar gave the packrat a gentle toss to the floor.

“Keahi.” Hiroko said. “Why don’t you pass out the bread rolls to everyone, huh?”

Keah scrunched up his face but didn’t say anything else as he walked over to the cupboard for the bread. Chen and Bayar sat down, watching Keah with protective eyes.

“So,” Gen said and smiled at Leo, happy to get her way. “You spent all day in your room. Were you reading or something?”

Leo nodded.

Gen wasn’t deterred by his nonresponse, but if Chen’s gossip was true, she never was.

“Did you like the book? Was it funny or an adventure story or a love story?”

Again Leo only nodded. Gen’s smile only grew.

“Great. That sounds great.” Gen tapped her fingers on the table as Hiroko handed out the bowls of soup.

After dinner, they went outside to practice their routines. Bayar said Rin could watch and give feedback as an audience member.

If they had practiced the day before, Rin didn’t know. She had been too tired and shocked to leave the couch they had put her in. Now her eyes were wide watching their movements.

15

For some reason, she hadn’t thought Hiroko was part of the show. She cooked, cleaned and fixed things. That was enough reason for her to be around. Rin didn’t realize the real reason was her dancing. She swayed gently to the music Leo made, using ribbons to keep the eye interested, and then sharp, rapid movements.

Then there was Gen and Chen. They started facing each other, and every motion after was a mirror image. They flipped and spun up stairs of hard light created by their matching yellow chroma, climbing higher until they were as high as the wagon.

Gen had been right. Leo sang beautifully. There were no words really, just melancholy sounds, but they blended with the cello like they were made for each other. The harmony was made more mesmerizing by the sparks of light that came every time he strummed the strings, a different color for every one.

When the song was done, Leo looked up at Bayar for feedback.

“Lost the rhythm a little on the coda. Keep your focus.”

Rin hadn’t noticed, but Leo just nodded. Bayar sat down next to her while everyone did their cool down stretches.

“What did you think?”

“I think it was amazing. It’s the best thing I’ve ever seen. I think.”

Bayar didn’t laugh like Rin thought he might. He just said, “I appreciate you saying that.”

They sat side by side, watching the others in companionable silence.

At breakfast the next day, Gen gave Rin some new clothes for the trip into Cadmium.

“I’m fittin’ to buy some new ones anyway. You can just keep it.”

“I don’t think they fit right.” Rin said uncertainly. The clothes had looked great on Gen, but now that Rin was wearing them, she realized that they were a bit snug in places.

“Oh you look darlin’,” Gen waved her words off. “Don’t worry about it, they’ll stretch just fine while you wear ‘em.”

Rin tugged at the edges a bit more before finally moving away from Gen’s bedroom mirror.

“Are you girls done yet?” Chen called from outside the door. He’d been banished from the bedroom while Rin tried on clothes.

“Yes, you’re safe,” said Gen. Chen came in, looked at Rin, then looked at Gen, then back at Rin. “Now Rin,” Gen said, putting a hand on her shoulder, “don’t be surprised if my brother can’t tell us apart. He really only recognizes me as the one who shares a room with him and where’s that jacket. We’re basically the same person now.”

“Well whichever one of you is Rin,” Chen said, “Bayar wants you outside. He’s going to introduce you to Humphrey.”

“Oh, okay.” Rin didn’t realize there was someone she hadn’t met yet.

They went outside to the front of the wagon where Bayar was feeding an enormous beast from the previous night’s stew pot. The siblings had to go off and tend to their pack animals, so Rin approached the beast for the first time alone.

16

“Hey there, Rin, I wondered when you’d make it out,” said Bayar. “This here is Humphrey.

Would you like a turn feeding him?”

“I think I’m good, thanks,” said Rin, eyeing the beast uncertainly.

Its enormous jaws were large enough to snap up half of her in one bite. The thing didn’t seem ferocious in nature, however, and looked at her with lazy eyes. The only sign that it cared about anything beyond the stew pot was its tiny ears twitching at the sound of static screeching out of the radio in Keah’s lap.

“Turn that thing off, Keah,” Gen called to him. She stood over by the smaller pack animals, brushing down their coats to prepare them for their pack saddles.

“Turn it off yourself,” Keah called back, and he cranked up the volume and white noise filled the air. Gen ground her teeth, though Keah only turned the radio off when Bayar gave him a look.

Rin circled Humphrey, fascinated and wary at the same time. She studied him from a fair distance of several feet, watched how he shifted his weight between his four legs, noted how his long claws dug into the earth beneath him, and took particular notice of his massive canines and molars.

I’m close to the driving beast now. Bayar called him Humphrey. From what I can tell, he eats plants and animals. I’m not sure how I came to that conclusion, it’s just something that makes sense to me.

We’re on our way to the trading hub Cadmium now. I don’t know what I’ll do once we get there. The troupe has been welcoming but who knows if they really have the resources for me to stay with them? I hope the healer has some sort of remedy to help me get my memories back so I can get back to where I’m supposed to be. I’m sure I had a family or some people who cared about me. I wonder where they think I am right now?

“Hey Rin,” Bayar called.

She was snapped from her thoughts and looked up to see that while she’d been writing the others had saddled and yolked the animals.

“We’re moving out again. If you want to get inside before we start, you’d better do it now.”

Rin looked around at the grass, the trees, and the brilliant, clear blue sky above them.

“I think I’ll walk out here for a bit,” she said, “just to stretch my legs.”

“Great, you can walk with us,” said Chen with a grin.

He passed by her on his way to take the reigns of the smaller pack animal that Gen had been saddling. As the group started walking and Humphry pulled the wagon forward, Rin settled back to walking a little ways behind Chen, though ahead of the slow but steady Humphrey. She still had some thoughts to write in her journal while she had the clear, fresh air to inspire her.

“Rin, keep your eye on the horizon,” Gen called from the front of the precession. “Once we’re over this hill, you’ll get to see the coast by the city.”

“Alright!”

Kea cheered from where he was now perched on the wagon rooftop excitement lifting his voice and head higher.

“Next stop, Cadmium!”

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Commentary Keliana Tayler Production Lead “I took this class last year, so I felt like I knew what I was doing when the class started this semester. I didn’t. There were a lot of things that I learned as I fulfilled my role as Studio Lead, foremost being that every studio will be different. You can always be surprised, no matter how much experience you have.”

Design & Production

Fonts

Fofer The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

League Spartan The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

Fanwood

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

Logo 22

25

Letterhead

USED FOR: PRESS RELEASE CREATIVE BRIEF SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

Social Graphics

27

Website

Projectbleak.com HOME

NEWS

ABOUT

TEAM

29

Mar. Comm Project Bleak Studio SUU Visual Development Studio ART 4510 - 01 projectbleak@gmail.com

Cedar City, Utah—In September, Southern Utah University’s Project Bleak Studio announced their new publication. Chroma: an Illustrated Adventure is set to publish in December as an illustrated novel about an archaeologist on a whirlwind adventure.

The Project Bleak Studio team is part of a senior level illustration course, Visual Development Studio, which allows students to work in a studio-like environment to complete a project from start to finish. The students in the studio plan to finish and print the book by the end of this year’s fall semester.

The book follows Rin, an archaeologist, who wakes up with amnesia. With only her field journal to help her, she must unravel the mystery of how she lost her memories. Featuring pages from Rin’s journal, the book switches between first and third person to give a unique look into this color-based world.

In order to tackle this project in a matter of weeks, the students have taken on many different roles. From art lead to production lead, each student has an important role to play in the completion of the project.

Studio lead Keliana Tayler, a senior studio arts major from Orem Utah, said the purpose of Chroma is to expose students to what a real-world studio might be like.

“It’s a big, messy, symphony rolling disaster that we are managing to make work because we are using real world structures and systems,” Tayler said. “The hope is by having this completed project on our resumes we will be better prepared and stand out when it comes to finding jobs and careers after graduation.”

For more information on Chroma and Project Bleak Studio, you can follow the team at projectbleak.com.

PRESS RELEASE 30

Project Bleak Studio SUU Visual Development Studio ART 4510 - 01 projectbleak@gmail.com

What differentiates you?

Chroma: An Illustrated Adventure is a Project Bleak Studio Production. The book is written, illustrated, designed and marketed by SouthBackground ernProject Utah University students.

When Rin Midori up with Adventure amnesia, all she of her old life isStudio her fieldProduction. journal. She befriends a traveling circus and attempts to Chroma: Anwakes Illustrated is ahasProject Bleak The book is written, uncover the mystery of how she lost her memories.

illustrated, designed and marketed by Southern Utah University students.

Project Bleak Studio was developed in SUU’s Visual Development Studio class. The class is managed and run by students under the direction Professor of Illustration Sowards.

WhenofRin Midori wakes upBen with amnesia, all she has of her old life is her field journal. She

befriends a traveling circus and attempts to uncover the mystery of how she lost her memories.

With Chroma, Project Bleak is creating an open, involved and welcoming environment for creative students. We are created by students and eager to have students from a large breadths of disciplines involved in our process outside of the illustration program. We strive to Project Bleak Studio was in SUU’s Development The class is and growing into be transparent and open about ourdeveloped process and hope those Visual who follow along the wayStudio enjoy theclass. journey of us learning valuable members a production pipeline. managed andofrun by students under the direction of Professor of Illustration Ben Sowards.

We benefit readers of our book by providing a rich story from a multitude of narrative techniques and perspectives. The wide range of Target Audience narratio, from graphic novel introductions to first person journal entries, creates a wide scope to discover the world we are building.

Who is your customer?

Chroma is targeted towards young adult readers ranging from 16-25. Our readership would

include those who enjoy fantasy adventures and worlds of magic, mystery and exploration.

Our target audience is young adults, ranging from age 16-25, who enjoy exploring and learning about fantasy worlds of magic, mystery whoThen are interested or find nostalgia the wholesome of the Dinotopia andThose exploration. unique color based world lends us within to connect with other artists adventures and our background specifically connects us with other student are also targeting Southern Utah University studentstarget who have an interest in exploration series byartists.

JamesWe Gurney.

Being a other student project, we will mainly towards fellow SUU and discovery of fictional lands. students that also have a love for exploration and discovery of fictional lands.

Where is your audience?

Our Goal

Our primary audience is located in Cedar City, Utah at Southern Utah University. However with the use of social media we hope to expand ourprimary reach online to find outside Cedar City fall page, into ourillustrated target audience, I.E.before artist in the the actual field, Our goal is toothers create the of product ofwho a 100 book end of fallstudios.

semester of 2017. Our secondary goal is to build an interest for a product that each member of What are your goals? our studio class is proud of. We plan to develop interest using social media and student outlets

Ourenough primary goal for the social media is to increase the interest andoffollowing of the project. We also hope to show the process and to justify monetizing the finished product Chroma. work that the studio is putting into the project to allow viewers to get a better understanding of the project and the work put into it.

Consumer Benefit When will you communicate?

Project Bleak Studio SUU Visual Development Studio ART 4510 - 01 projectbleak@gmail.com

WeWith will have at least three postsBleak a week. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Additional posts will be made for throughout the week Chroma, Project is One creating an open, involved and welcoming environment to fill in the information that does not fit into the Monday, Wednesday and Friday posts. Max three posts a day with at least three hours creative students. We are created by students and eager to have students from a large breadths in between each post. Ideal would be one post around 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and another between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. At least one post of disciplines involved in our process outside of the illustration program.

We strive to be every 2 days. Will use work in progress and finished images of illustrations and 3-D prints. As well as photos of the studio members working. transparent and open about our process and hope those who follow along the way enjoy the

journey of us learning and growing into valuable members of a production pipeline.

How will you Execute?

benefit readers of ourtobook providing a rich traffic storytofrom a multitude of narrative WeWe will use Instagram and Twitter grow aby following and increase our website.

Followers, likes, and website traffic will be used to measure the success of the social media.

Project Background Chroma: An Illustrated Adventure is a Project Bleak Studio Production. The book is written, illustrated, designed and marketed by Southern Utah University students.

When Rin Midori wakes up with amnesia, all she has of her old life is her field journal. She befriends a traveling circus and attempts to uncover the mystery of how she lost her memories.

Project Bleak Studio was developed in SUU’s Visual Development Studio class. The class is managed and run by students under the direction of Professor of Illustration Ben Sowards.

Target Audience Chroma is targeted towards young adult readers ranging from 16-25. Our readership would include those who enjoy fantasy adventures and worlds of magic, mystery and exploration.

Those who are interested or find nostalgia within the wholesome adventures of the Dinotopia series by James Gurney. Being a student project, we will mainly target towards fellow SUU students that also have a love for exploration and discovery of fictional lands.

Our Goal Our primary goal is to create the product of a 100 page, illustrated book before the end of fall semester of 2017. Our secondary goal is to build an interest for a product that each member of our studio class is proud of. We plan to develop interest using social media and student outlets enough to justify monetizing the finished product of Chroma.

Consumer Benefit With Chroma, Project Bleak is creating an open, involved and welcoming environment for creative students. We are created by students and eager to have students from a large breadths of disciplines involved in our process outside of the illustration program. We strive to be transparent and open about our process and hope those who follow along the way enjoy the journey of us learning and growing into valuable members of a production pipeline.

We benefit readers of our book by providing a rich story from a multitude of narrative

STRATEGY 31

Layout

Commentary Sam Sherrill Design Lead “Art is usually thought of as a very singular and personal work, but in a studio, you are throwing out ideas to others and working on paintings that are going to be handed off to others to finish. It’s teaching us a lot of those soft skills like communication, organization and leadership that we might not get experience in within our other classes.”

34

Grayson Ekman Marketing Lead “I never thought I could learn about marketing in an art field.

There is so much more to it than I expected. From nut graphs, to social media planning, to creative briefs, there is so much you can do for art than just drawing. ”

Samantha Burfiend Production Contributor Graduate Assistant “I loved working with Grayson and Sam to bring out their marketing and design skills.

The two not only learned about studio illustration, but the necessary skills to market for a studio.”

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Environment & Character Art

Character Design Rin Designed by Jacob Jones

Character Design Bayer - Ring Leader Designed by Jacob Jones

Hiroko Designed by Jacob Jones & Grayson Ekman

Character Design Mountain Guide and his beast Designed by Jacob Jones

Character Design Keah and Mechanical Mouse Designed by Sharilyn Shumway

Packrat Designed by Sharilyn Shumway & Emily Hadlock

Character Design Leo Designed by Dennis de Guia

Deleted Character Designed by Sam Sherrill

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Environment Design Myrtle Grove Designed by Aaron Lewis Myrtle Groves Introduction Myrtle Groves was a canopy of branches, trees stretching high, positioned so close to each other it was as if they were one. The leaves were packed together, but sunlight shone through the branches, illuminating the city’s immense beauty.

Rin Journal at Mrytle Grove Designed by Hannah Holloway

Environment Design Cadmium Street Designed by Emily Hadlock

Cadmium Introduction Rin looked up at towering buildings of brick, stone, and glass that lined the cobbled streets. Large signs hung in the windows of shops, marketing season sales on food, clothes, and brightly colored ribbons tied to polished handles for children. There was almost constant movement from the churning masses, children darting about nearly underfoot, couples standing in the middle of walkways, oblivious to the traffic around them, and wagons were driven by engine or beast, or possibly a combination, moving easily down the streets

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Object Design Rin Journal Objects Designed by Sharilyn Shumway, Keliana Tayler, Emily Hadlock

Object Design

3-D Design Designed by Matt Oftedahl

Designed by Keliana Tayler

Designed by Matt Oftedahl & Jaitee Pitts

Deleted Design “Rin: Visit to the Healer” Designed by Jacob Jones

“Rin Running in Wagon” Designed by Jacob Jones & Luke Wells

“Rin & Leo Meditating” Designed by Sierra Stien & Grayson Eckman

Commentary Sharilyn Shumway Art Lead “As the Art Lead, I had to give constant feedback and directions, which was stressful and exhilarating, but a great learning experience. It was fun to work with a group of creative people who all have the same goals and interests as me.”

Jacob Jones Character Lead “Being part of a studio, with defined roles and challenges different from assignments I usually get, pushed my problem-solving and time management skills, and I feel stronger for it.”

Matt Oftedahl 3-D Lead “Most of my work isn’t directly seen in the book, but I’ve made some 3-D models that others could use for reference, such as the wagon the group travels in. I’ve also worked on making crystals that we could sell along with the book.”

Aaron Lewis Environment Lead “Working in a group that is structured like a studio is an experience that you can never prepare yourself for. The time and energy spent working and collaborating towards the same goal is something that everybody should experience in an artistic structure.”

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Story

What is Chroma?

Chroma, or color based magic, is a force of nature. People have the ability to bend that form of nature. You can see it in everything: rivers, animals, plants, etc. Animals can use color magic in a simple way, more instinctual and protection based. Chroma can also come in the form of Prism Shards.

They’re a kind of mineral that can be used like a battery for bringing chroma to the surface or just an energy source.

Characters Rin Rin is a scholar, always curious, observant and willing to take a risk for knowledge. Before she lost her memory she was the chroma equivalent of an archaeologist with emphasis in geology. She and her team scoped landscapes, made maps, looked for artifacts, etc. Before the events of our story, she was working with a large company called Prismatech. It specializes in making technology powered by Prism Shards, a kind of crystal that stores chroma as energy. While on the job, Rin became more curious about the accidents happening at the Prismatech mines, and that’s when she lost her memory.

Hiroko A woman, who has chosen the theatre life, joins the troupe to express her love of dance and the beauty of visual art. She acts as the motherly figure of the group who spreads wisdom and valuable lessons even if it doesn’t make sense all the time. She organizes the caravan and keeps everything in order. She lends her ear to anyone feeling troubled and would often practice her dance routines, when she’s not diffusing tension between certain members of the troupe. She welcomes Rin into the troupe as if she was already one of them and encourages Rin that the lost memories will return. She seems to be the only who can keep Keah in check.

Design by Dennis de Guia

Bayar A man who has traveled and experienced the world, his adventures gave him vast knowledge about the different kinds of performance. He had an extended family troupe before taking in more people.

Eventually the other members of his family Design by Dennis de Guia left and now the group is made of a kind of family not related by blood. He takes pride in his group and makes sure that every performance is spectacular. Under his strict, strong nature there is a sense of compassion for the members and he treats everyone like family. He helps Rin by giving her information about the areas they travel to and warning her about the dangers of the world.

Chen A young man with a very hearty outlook on life and is always eager to go on more adventures with his adoptive family. He does come off as an airhead at times, but he is quite informed about the world around him. He tells Rin about the lives of his troupe members and little random facts about others, different cultures, and the items they collected. The room is never silent when Chen begins to talk about the many things he knows about or humorous stories of the past. He acts as a protective older brother to the youngest member of the troupe, Keah.

Gen Chen’s sister; full of humor and knows how to make a man fall at her knees. She may not directly say it, but she knows that she looks gorgeous and is never afraid to flaunt her looks. She gives Rin great advice about being confident and living life to the fullest. She adds a bit of flare to her acts and her outfits, but she can be a little emotional. However, that doesn’t stop her from getting what she wants. She covers up her grief at losing her parents at a young age with callous humor. She has quite the crush on Leo, but isn’t so successful at telling him her true feelings.

Leo A man of a few words and interacts with Design by Dennis de Guia the others with nods and gestures. He lost his hearing at a young age and wears a customized hearing aid. He may not have much to say, but his expressiveness comes out on stage as he amazes the crowd with his musical talent and strong voice. He is a master of Color Harmony, as he plays his instruments color appears and dances around creating beautiful tones. He teaches Rin about Color Magic and tries to help her find her true color. He can be found meditating or daydreaming a lot and can be oblivious to the world around him. He doesn’t know that Gen has a crush on him and may never know.

Keah A transgender boy who is red-green colorblind. In a world where color is such an important part of their lives, he is treated cruely because of his disability and runs away from home. Keah is able to survive in the wild by having great knowledge about survival and creatures that roam the land. He helps with setting up stages and tending to animals. He is not afraid to speak about what’s on his mind and is very blunt. Keah comes from a metal-working culture that is influenced by Polynesian designs. Sharilyn Shumway used this as inspiration, giving him multiple layers to wrap around his waist as well as a headdress. The large jacket was given to him while traveling and he always goes barefoot. All children have a mechanical toy in his culture, and his flying mouse toy became his traveling companion when he ran away.

Packrat (Hazel) When researching the life of a working archaeologist, Barbra Frank, we learned that sometimes the wildlife would interact with you, specifically packrats. Frank mentioned that Packrats would take things like their pencils and would replace it with something the animal had, like a pine cone. We loved the idea of a small animal trading valuable items for whatever things it could find so we decided to give the troupe a pet. The “packrat� is a combination of a hedgehog and a lemur; it has soft fur, and opposable thumbs. We named it Hazel. Hazel is small about the size of a small Hedgehog. She builds a nest of all the trinkets she steals from the troupe and from wherever they go. She is mostly Keahs pet and lives in the walls of the caravan.

Excerpts Although our energy was focused on perfecting the origin story you just saw, we planned for much more.

Commentary: Part 2 begins with entering the trading hub of Cadmium. When looking up color names to incorporate into the world, we saw that there was a Cadmium Red and a Cadmium Yellow. When it came to naming the place where people from multiple colors would come together, it seemed like the perfect name.

In Cadmium, Rin meets a Healer who attempts to use a purple Prism Shard to restore her memory, but it doesn’t work. This is the first introduction that Rin’s amnesia isn’t typical and begins to cement in Rin’s mind that if she’s going to solve what happened to her, she has to do it herself.

Commentary: Rin goes to an appraiser who gives her more information on her strange compass.

She reached in her bag and pulled out the compass.

The shopkeeper gave a little squeak when she held it in her hands.

“This looks very nice. I believe this is a Liotus. Yes, it’s a very specialized piece of equipment.” The shopkeeper pulled the bottom section of it off and looked at the wires inside. “It locates the natural chroma energies in an area.

Definitely Prismatech. See here?” She pointed to a divot in the compass.

“That’s where the shard would go. Whatever chroma it has would be the color you are detecting. It provides the data and the energy. Quite clever.”

Prismatech. That was mentioned in her journal. Rin thought maybe she worked for them or lived near them. “What do you mean by shard?” she asked.

“A Prism Shard.” The woman chuckled. “Or a Chroma Hedron. That name’s been going around but I don’t think it’ll stick.”

Rin pulled the rock out of her bag and placed it on the counter. “Do they look like this?”

The shopkeeper looked at the rock, inspecting it with her eyes, but didn’t pick it up. “One moment.” She said and walked to the back, closing a curtain that separated the area.

Commentary: After Cadmium, we follow the troupe going through their travels and Rin’s feeling of being misplaced. She spends a lot of time rereading her old journal entries. Her attempts at helping the troupe set up or perform fail and she’s depressed. Leo comes to her and asks her to meditate with him, speaking to her for the first time.

After two weeks with no change in her memory Rin was frustrated.

She knew there was some other version of her, a more complete version, just beyond the horizon. Every new city, every new song on the radio, every new, unfamiliar thing grated again her hope like sandpaper.

She was alone in the main room, still wrapped in the blankets she slept in.

The siblings were out tending to the equines. Hiroko had to tend to Keah. Bayar had to tend to the driving beast. Leo usually tended to himself,

but as Rin was sighing into her blankets he walked into the room and sat in the middle of the floor. Legs crossed. Facing away. Silent as ever.

Rin hadn’t heard Leo speak the whole time she’s been there and she wondered if there was a reason for it. Some tragedy linked coping mechanism like it seemed the other young members had. But Chen had never gossiped about Leo, only Gens crush on him. Had he never spoken to anyone? How could he join the troupe without asking?

A mild voice broke the silence of the room.

“Sit with me Rin.”

Rin’s thoughts halted. Was that Leo’s voice? Was he speaking to her?

Now of all times? Could he read her mind?

“Um, hi Leo.” Rin said to his back. Leo nodded.

Tentatively, Rin left her blankets and knelt on the floor next to him. He said nothing. Maybe she needed to follow him. Rin shifted her position to sit cross legged and back straight.

“Your energy is tense.” Leo spoke again. His voice was really nice.

“I’m… sorry?” She wasn’t sure how to respond, but if anyone could understand how someone was feeling without words, it would be Leo.

Rin tried to stop giving off tense energy. She imagined something light and airy, first a feather and then Chen. He was the opposite of tense.

Maybe she could be like Chen.

Rin puffed out her cheeks and tapped them to release air for her pursed lips, the way she’d seen Chen do with Keah.

“Rin.” Leo said. Rin stopped her air blowing and looked at him. He was still straight backed with his eyes closed. “Sit Rin.”

She put her hands in her lap and straightened again, matching Leo’s posture. “I don’t know what you want me to do.”

“What do you want to do?”

Rin shrugged even though Leo couldn’t see it. “I don’t know.”

“What do you want to do?”

Rin sighed. “I want to do what I did before. I want to know what that is. I want to know why I don’t know anything anymore!”

“You want your true self back.”

Rin nodded.

“Who you are now. Is that not your true self?”

Rin said nothing. Maybe Leo was just curious. Maybe he was trying to help. Either way, Rin still felt lost, but she knew she had this permission to be silent.

She put her hands on her knees. She closed her eyes. She was no one right now.

Commentary: This excerpt takes place when Rin finds the mines she was working at before she lost her memory.

She hires a guide to take her up the mountain and about halfway up, there’s a rockslide. I love this part because it really emphasizes the connection Rin has built with her journal. It’s her connection to her old life as well as her tool to learn about her new one. She’s ready to risk everything for it.

Debris and dirt continued to rain and when Rin reached for her journal, a falling rock knocked it off the ledge.

“No!” Rin shouted and lunged forward, but was pulled back by the rope connecting her to Elcor.

“Get back!” He yelled to her, but Rin didn’t listen. She started to untie the knot around her. “Leave it! That book isn’t worth your life!”

“It is my life!” Rin threw the rope off her and leaned over the precipice. Her journal had landed on the path below. Rin put her foot on the rock below her. She coughed as the dirt hit her face. She turned to face the cliff and continued down, feeling the rocks cut into her skin and rip her clothes. Her chroma was creating light above her but it wasn’t very strong and flickered in and out of a solid state.

Rin slowly descended, hands aching from trying to hold onto the ledge while her feet found a stable resting place. When her feet were steady, she looked down at her journal. Thankfully her body was blocking the falling debris, so it hadn’t moved anymore. Still, it was three times as far down as she was tall.

Commentary: Myrtle Groves is a village that uses green chroma and is surrounded by nature. The troupe is invited there to perform for their twelve hour Summer Solstice Festival. Rin now knows she has green chroma and wants to feel like she has a place there, but her lack of memories leaves her without the connection craves.

Myrtle Grove (right) Canopy Staircase Designed by Aaron Lewis

Commentary Emily Hadlock Story Lead “I’m glad I could have this experience of working on Chroma. Working together on a collaborated project has taught me a lot about visual development, and how to structure a group project.

Everyone worked very hard, and it was fun to see the fruits of that labor. I enjoyed talking through story concepts and ideas, there were many parts to this project, and it evolved over time. Also, another aspect I really enjoyed was illustrating and designing Hazel the Hedgehog-Lemur, as well as a few other illustrations.”

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Jaitee Pitts Story Development Executive “This project changed a lot over the course of the semester. The changes gave me a lot of practice in different ways to develop and structure a story. The amount of work, researching, and writing, gave me a greater understanding and respect for the creative process. I am excited to use this learning experience in my future projects.”

Dennis de Guia Character Lore Lead “It was fun planning out each character in writing and creating their stories, personalities, and special abilities. It was also great to see the characters come to life after they have been taken from writing to the character design process.”

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Contributions and Thank You’s

Commentary Ben Sowards

Associate Professor of Illustration “While the students of Project Bleak focused on the Visual Development of a world of color-based magic, I observed a magical development of a different type.

What began as a “studio” of structures, materials and tools, transformed into a studio of creatives collaborating to conceive and produce Chroma: An Illustrated Adventure, and this Design & Process book.

The story is theirs. The look and form of the deliverable is their own. They defined the specialized leadership and creative rolls required and were selected by their peers to fill each roll while simultaneously contributing to the work product of other teams as needed.

It was a pleasure to facilitate this studio experience and an honor to mentor such an incredible group of creative individuals. Throughout the course of this semester-long collaboration, a range of challenges presented unique opportunities for growth and discovery. When the task felt overwhelming, they recruited students from outside the studio to collaborate. I am grateful to those that volunteers that contributed for no compensation beyond the joys of creation and association with this excellent group of seniors. I look forward to working with many of them in the years ahead.”

Photo Courtesy of SUU & Ben Sowards