Brielle & Bear - Graphic Novel (Coming out in 2024)!
MG/YA Graphic Novel concept art + story development.
DISCLAIMER: This is my original concept for the story circa 2021.
The story, character profiles, and the plot have since developed significantly.
Concepts & artwork © Salomey Doku.
The first instalment of Brielle & Bear will be published by HarperCollins Children's Books in Autumn 2024!
Original Concept & Plot
"Brielle and Bear" is a modern day fairytale originally inspired by Beauty and the Beast. It's a story about fighting for what you love (in more ways than one).
The story is based in a whimsical version of England and told over an academic year (Oct-July).
Set at "Once Upon a Time University", it follows 3 main characters and their struggles with
love, jealousy, forgiveness, fear, faith and identity.
Character Design
Original Storyline
First year student Brielle Da Rosa returns to Rosebridge 3 years after moving to the small English village of Honeydale-Upon-Foresting with her father.
She runs into an old flame (Pavão Castello) at OUAT Bookshop, and also meets Atohi 'Bear' Yona, a dyslexic, shy final-year Native American student abroad on a sport scholarship, whom she befriends and steadily falls in love with over the year.
As time goes on, the love-triangle between the three becomes progressively hazardous as Pavão’s jealousy grows.
(Previous Intro) Sample Pages
Dyslexie font has been used to make the book accessible for dyslexic readers.
Concept - Emotive Elements
Throughout the story Bear has an ongoing struggle with his inner fears and worries. Playing on the idea of bears and honey, it felt natural to represent this visually as bees.
When Bear meets Brielle her positivity is infectious and he begins to have more happy moments than low, so I represented these happier moments as butterflies.
Further Visual Development
Key script moments and set design/location building.
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Thank You!
Now also on Webtoon - follow Brielle, Bear, Pavão and Rosalie in their daily lives after the origin story (short & sweet weekly comics).
2022 Edit - Now Also on Patreon!
Support my work, get exclusive insights + artwork, and find out more about the new version of the story over on my Patreon!