GALLERY (incomplete)

Some artwork I have created for Berkembang over the years, back when it wasn’t even named Berkembang. These artworks will have my thoughts  and context provided, however, you are free to interpret and see the artworks however you see fit. Below are the names the story used to go by, and I will be categorizing the art as such. I will also likely go on about how the story used to be written, how the characters and world were, etc.

Warning: Some of these works may feature blood and/or gore.

AFTERMATH COMPLEX (2018-22)

I likely have the most art from this time period, as it was the longest the story had stood, but also, I was drawing like crazy on the daily. However, I can’t imagine the story being like this now. Most of the cast were white Americans living in California, if you need that context. Only near the very end of development did I begin changing their designs up more, including the age and world. 

(2022) Viktoria’s Lament (now known as Zakariah Guywei!) was a piece that I created to express the way that he would have to deal with Rafael’s death. In the context of this comic, had he not accepted Rafael’s death he would have died shortly after. This was a trial for his character, and he still faces this challenge in Berkembang, but not so bluntly. There no longer exists a “trial” and it’s never really said that he needs to come to acceptance or he will die, moreso implied. And Guywei’s memories are much more repressed in the current timeline.

BAKSO (2022-2024)

This is when I had shifted my story to take place in Southeast Asia, but I was still working out the kinks and rough shift. I honestly am very proud of a lot of this artwork, as it provided a great groundwork, even though some of it is shakey if implemented now. Very grateful for the experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

During this time I was doing a lot to make the characters really interact with their environment, and be a part of it. At the time I was unsatisfied, maybe I put too much pressure on myself but now that I'm kind of past this phase, I'm grateful for it, it really set a strong foundation for the tone of the characters and their world.

These are quite violent pieces, drawing interactions between my characters was always super fun though difficult. Writing it down and drawing it is both an art yet a separate craft, because both are so interpretable you need to find a balance that won't enforce too strict an idea, yet also something that you can tell has a core.

If not obvious, the Rafael and Efren piece are matching! I should redraw it sometime soon (as of March 4th, 2025) because they both have changed a lot, so by association their relationship has too.

Above, I had painted the corpse flower as it used to be an extremely important symbol in the story, but now it is not... Though the imagery and uniqueness is too good to be thrown, maybe you may catch a hint of its current role!

(2023) These were original pages of BAKSO, I still have ambitions to make this a comic, but I have now realized this is an extremely tedious process. However, all the flowers to myself for making a full chapter.  I absolutely love them, even though they are now non-canon. (Translation on the last page is thanks to @koidoomz)

Berkembang (2024-)

Everything you have read correlates highly with these pieces of artwork. I hope this is the final iteration because I am incredibly proud of myself for grinding almost 6-7 years on this story at time of typing this. 

Got REALLY into drawing these big character pieces, wanting to ground them more, I think you can also tell I became less afraid of change when creating these. The Rafael one is also full of easter eggs if you'd like to gander at that.

A set of posters I created, I'm not quite satisfied with them yet, but I  love the dark tones.

Concept colors and design for Guywei. I want his young version to have this kind of feminine softness, like a baby deer or something. But after he's kind of forced to become rough, all of that irreversibly changes and his design becomes less round and flowy.