Falconhyrste: interview with Melissa Capriglione feat. Clara W. !
A boarding school, fellows, an island, stranger things happened… Welcome to the colorful land of Falconhyrste, supernatural for real !
A bunch of mysteries planned by Melissa Capriglione and Clara W.
Hi Melissa !
– Where do you come from ?
Melissa is from Chicago and Clara is currently in New York.
– How old are you ?
Melissa is 23 and Clara is 19.
– Influences ?
My comic influences range from Jake Wyatt to Fabian Mense, to Tillie Walden. As for the physical art of the comic, I get my painting inspiration from artists such as Sachin Teng, Zeen Chin, and Wylie Beckert. And a lot of my motivation comes from the webcomic community! Clara’s influences are Noelle Stevenson, Leslie Hung, Jen Zee, David Aja, and Matt Hollingsworth.
– Art school or not ?
Yes! I (Melissa) graduated from Herron School of Art and Design with a BFA in Drawing and Illustration in 2017.
– Favorite digital art software ?
I use Photoshop, and Clara uses Clip Studio Paint.
– Your working method ?
For Falconhyrste, I usually collaborate with Clara in writing the final script. Once the script is completed, I do some quick thumbnails and panel layouts, then Clara does the sketches and lettering. I then do the linework, flat colors, and painting!
– What your webcomic is about, in a symbolic way, the hidden sense ?
Falconhyrste, ultimately, is a story about friendship and found family. So far in the story, our characters are seemingly aimless in their goals, but through a series of challenging events, the characters will realize their potential and from that will grow friendship!
– Tell us more about your main character, the hero !
We have two main characters, Cei and Mira! Cei is a shy trans boy who just wants to make friends and realize his potential. He loves anime (especially the magical girl genre) and is usually seen eating alone at lunch. Mira, our second protagonist, is a half-demon, half-human who just woke up in the forest without any recollection of who, or what, she is. All she has is a necklace that symbolizes as a link to her origin. We also have secondary protagonists, Yumi and Kasper, who will have their own character arcs in upcoming chapters.
– How do you see your future ?
Falconhyrste is an ambitious slow burn story which has established mysteries and characters that will grow and change as the plot thickens. We constantly focus on improving the story and art on a regular basis, so Falconhyrste will only get better with every year!
– Your next goal ?
We are currently trying to raise enough money for the next step, which is printing comic issues to be sold online and at conventions! We’re almost at 75% of our goal on our Patreon!
– Advices for beginners ?
Just start! Don’t wait around and drag your feet waiting to be “ready” to make a comic, just make one! Falconhyrste wouldn’t be where it is today if we didn’t struggle through our first pages.
– Your technical secret trick ?
Gradient maps! Coloring, initially, was the toughest part of making comics for me. When I learned to utilize gradient maps, the color harmonies on each page improved a ton!
– Your social links and website ?
Website: Falconhyrste.com
Melissa’s Twitter: @mcapriglioneart
Clara’s Twitter: @tenthousandbeez
Thanks Melissa and Clara, amazing work !
