REVIVAL
REVIVAL
Elizabeth Aram
The Graphic Novel
Revival is a visual narrative based on my experiences navigating the UK job market as a young creative. It blends personal truth with symbolic storytelling to explore frustration, ambition and identity. Each chapter reflects a stage of that journey — from silence, to resistance, to transformation.
Chapter 1
The Departure
No matter how hard I tried, and no matter how many times I put myself out there, I was always met with
The world was a cruel and unforgiving place.
Silence.
Everything felt like a lie or a cruel joke, one with a punchline waiting in the shadows for 16 years.
It didn’t matter what I wanted to achieve with my life or my ambitions.
For the sake of the system, I had to be placed into a box society approved of.
But I resisted and fought with whatever I had just to reach the point I’m at now.
Being pushed down and discarded lit a flame of ambition and rage within me.
One they wish they had never ignited.
This is my story.
Symbolism
Revival uses symbolic creatures to represent emotional and societal forces. The Keeper is one of the central figures in the story, embodying the pressure, surveillance and expectations placed on young creatives.
Giant eyes that pierce light directly into your soul with their deep amber glow like a raging inferno.
Its form is unknown and the shadows its domain. The three eyes know all and see all, they control the threads of fate.
Concept Sketches
The Keeper
The Keeper design is one that is meant to symbolise many things throughout the traveller's journey. At first, it is the representation of the unknown, its full form hidden in shadow except for the three eyes. These are to showcase control and caution, as it is always watching the protagonist and is also impossible to bypass.
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It also symbolises power, higher position and fear; with the monster always looking down on the traveller and being much larger in appearance, it creates a hierarchy, and the fear slowly builds up throughout as the monster is revealed bit by bit till its final form is shown.
Below is a breakdown of how I created the first page of Revival, showing the visual development and artistic decisions behind the narrative.
Process Breakdown
When creating a panel for my graphic novel, I begin by gathering references — mainly from my own photographs. Once collected, I sketch a rough storyboard timeline to get a feel for the flow and layout of the page.
After that, I sketch the elements I want to draw traditionally in my sketchbook and photograph them once complete. I then paint these images digitally and place them onto the canvas that will become the final scene for the panel artwork.
For panel placement, I export the finished artwork and bring it into Figma to plan the visual layout of the pages. Some pieces may require filters, colour adjustments, or scaling during this stage, so I make sure all artwork is high quality. Figma is excellent for scaling images without losing detail, which helps maintain consistency across the graphic novel.
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About Me
I am a Digital Designer whose main focus and expertise lie in Graphic Design, Web Design, and UI/UX. Having a First-Class Degree in Games Art and Design has shaped my digital skill set for modern workflows.
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REVIVAL is a graphic novel I am currently creating from my personal experience of navigating the job market and the benefit system, translated through symbolism. It allows me to process my journey, and I am only able to do this because of my current situation working freelance.
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Systems like Universal Credit and Restart (Fedcap, etc.) are supposed to support those who need them, yet they struggle to keep up with today’s job market. Opportunities and connections between the creative industry and these systems are not being made — and in a creative city like Brighton, that should not be the case. They shouldn’t focus only on easier sectors like hospitality or retail, as it only prolongs the problem.
Your Voice
Bringing more awareness to this increasingly concerning situation is important. It has always been difficult to enter the creative industry, but the challenges are only getting worse — and they are rarely seen as something that can be changed. Young creatives are often criticised or corrected into viewing the creative industry as a distant long‑term goal, something you can only hope to achieve one day rather than actively pursue now.
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There should be more support and opportunities for young creatives instead of being pushed down for wanting to be one. If you would like to help make this a reality, and you feel comfortable sharing your own experiences anonymously, you can do so through the Google Form linked below. Your voice can help bring more awareness to this issue.
Thank you for taking the time to read this website.
