NOMAD Creatives Menu
The Hero / Villain Papercut Project
This project aims to create a digital papercut illustration that tells the origin story of a hero or villain character, showcasing the key events and experiences that led to their development and shaping of their persona. The illustration should use composition, colour, and symbolism to communicate the character’s evolution effectively.
Ashwin A. – Batman
This picture displays the outline of Batman, with Gotham City depicted below. The city is portrayed with its streets, dirt, and street lights. In the center of the picture, you can observe Batman’s cave, where bats are seen flying around. Finally, positioned at the top is Batman’s emblem, which takes the form of a bat.
Toli B. – Miles Morales
Miles Morales began his superhero journey as Spider-Man’s sidekick but eventually took on the mantle of Spider-Man himself. Throughout his journey, Miles has consistently demonstrated his worthiness to bear the Spider-Man title and embody the essence of a true hero. He has faced numerous challenges where he had to make sacrifices, giving up things and even people dear to him, all to save lives and protect the entirety of New York City. In these trying situations, Miles could have easily succumbed to the temptation of becoming a villain, yet he consistently chose to remain on the path of a hero. A notable example of this is when his own uncle, the Prowler, was killed by Kingpin, but Miles did not allow this tragedy to steer him away from his commitment to being a hero.
Jamela C. – Black Panther
The story of the Black Panther begins when a meteor containing vibranium, the rarest and strongest metal in the universe, crashed into Africa, affecting the plant life around it. When the time of man came, five tribes settled on it and called it “Wakanda.” The war began when a warrior shaman received a vision from the Panther Goddess Beast, who led him to the heart-shaped herb, which granted him superhuman strength, speed and instincts. The warrior became king and the first Black Panther, the protector of Wakanda. The Wakandans used vibranium to develop advanced technologies and to power aircraft. They vowed to hide in plain sight to keep vibranium safe from the outside world. After his father’s death, T’Challa returned home to the African nation of Wakanda and took his rightful place as king. A powerful enemy suddenly reappears, and T’Challa’s spirit as the king and Black Panther gets tested when he is drawn into a conflict that risks the fate of Wakanda and the entire world. Faced with treachery and danger, he rallied his allies, released the full power of the Black Panther, defeated his enemies, and secured the safety of his people.
Abigail CP. – Loki
I chose Loki because I believe that he has a very interesting background, and his character, at times, is very controversial. He is known as a villain and a manipulative trickster that was rescued as a child by his adoptive father Odin. Loki’s main purpose throughout his life was to create chaos and assert his power as the God of Mischief. Growing up, Loki always felt second best to his older brother Thor and that feeling of never being enough or being as good as him caused Loki to resent his brother and father. Loki just wanted something of his own, his own planet that would love and worship him, because he felt like he had never indeed received that before, which was not true. His whole family loved him, but his evil actions drew them away, but regardless of that, they never stopped caring for him. When designing Loki, I decided to add his weapon against Thors to represent the feud between them. I added the tesseract around his chest area because the first time he ever picked it up, it revealed his true nature, bringing him to the truth of what he really was and how he had lied all his life. I also added the frost to represent Jotunheim which is the place where Loki originated from.
Dormus D. – Batman
The development of Batman, the famous hero of the city of Gotham as he, goes from being a traumatized young Bruce Wayne to becoming a representation of justice. He started a battle against crime, striking terror into the hearts of criminals, and emerged as the city’s most frightening protector. He was motivated by vengeance and armed with unmatched intelligence and physical skill.
Peter E. – Harry Potter
The hero I chose was Harry Potter, and his character has a unique backstory to go with it. Harry was forced to move into hiding as a baby with his parents because Voldemort was chasing him and his parents down. Unfortunately, they were found, and Harry’s parents were killed in the house drawn at the bottom of my CPT. In Harry’s baby room, he was given his scar after a failed killing spell cast by Voldemort backfired and killed Voldemort instead. The glasses are a main staple of the recognition of Harry throughout the film, and inside are things that continue his story along. The sorting hat and the Gryffindor logo show the family Harry was given after his loss, but it almost wasn’t the case. Because of what happened with Voldemort and Harry as a baby, Harry was almost placed in Slytherin. The connection caused this the two characters share through Harry’s scar. Finally, the wands represent the final battle between the two as the prophecy comes true and Harry defeats Voldemort, bringing safety and peace to the wizarding world.
The Illustration above depicts Scott Pilgrim (from the six-book series of the same name, written and Illustrated by Bryan Lee O’Malley) artistically and creatively. Scott has a unique – perhaps even eccentric – story and lifestyle, full of allegories and allusions capable of being interpreted in various manners. The story revolves around Scott’s love for Ramona Flowers, a mysterious girl who he saw in his dreams; their meeting was foretold by a premonition that turned out to be correct. However, to be with her forever, Scott must fight and defeat ALL of Ramona’s seven exes to be left alone and truly win Ramona. While the story sounds silly, various moral and allegorical elements are present. This series is a parody of young love and relationships, and showing how characters must move on to be better, stronger versions of themselves, and how it’s not possible to do if sticking to the past (not always in terms of love, but sometimes other factors). The seven exes can also be interpreted as personal or mental issues getting in the way of Scott and Ramona’s relationship; it’s very metaphorical.
The render consists of an outline of scott pilgrim, with the inside having a landscape of Toronto and the outer background repeating three symbols: an open mind, a fist, and a heart. These symbols represent the powers Scott receives in the movie: love, understanding, and self-respect. The fist can also be viewed as a punch, which is correct, as both the movies and the comics consist of cartoony, comedic, yet well-made brawls. Inside the Scott silhouette, Scott’s head is rendered, and contains visuals of what he values the most; those visuals being: him and Ramona, his bass, the “one up” symbol from the series (the world is reminiscent of video games), and the number seven (the number of exes he must fight). Near the throat is a purple hole with a fight scene between Scott and Gideon, the main villain of the series, Ramona’s seventh ex, and the man who hired all of Ramona’s exes to fight Scott. In the lower red half of the silhouette, the other six exes reside, along with symbols that represent them. In the top half of the silhouette, scotts many allies reside, along with symbols that represent them. Note that it’s not a strict format, as there are some exceptions; two of Scott’s acquaintances, one of them not being an ally or antagonist, reside in the dead center, along with some other symbols important to the story but not specific characters. The general retrospective of the silhouette is all over the place, but for a good reason. This represents the chaotic nature of the Scott Pilgrim series, be it the comics or the movie series (and even the game), with situations where the viewer might be overwhelmed with the speed of the story progression and the large jumps from theme to theme. Not to say that the story is bad; quite the contrary.
Sam G. – Black Panther
The hero I chose was the Black Panther, AKA T’challa. The Black Panther is the king and protector of Wakanda. I have put the city surrounded by mountains to demonstrate this, including the beautiful sunset they said in the movie. The claw scratches represent his weapon, and the outline represents his suit, and finally, the head of the panther represents the God or deity of Wakanda Bast. The colours I mainly chose were black, the colour of his suit; white/silver representing vibranium, the most valuable substance on earth in the MCU; and purple, the kinetic energy released from the movie. Prince T’challa (the black panther) was born to be king when his time came after his father T’chaka. His father died, and then he became the black panther performing the ritual and receiving the power of the heart-shaped flower, giving him super strength, agility, speed, etc.. he protects all of Wakanda, and he is also an Avenger.
Owen G. – Todd Ingram (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World)
Todd Ingram’s story is an elusive one. As one of the seven main antagonists of Scott Pilgrim Versus The World, Todd is more of an anti-hero, and his time in the spotlight is very short. Compared to the other antagonists, we get much information about Todd, catching a glimpse into his childhood and life with surprising detail compared to the others. Todd’s time in the movie is around the middle of it, and his parallels to the main character, Scott Pilgrim, are shown off amazingly well for how brief of a time he has. In the picture, the choice of dominant colours is not for show. The green symbolizes his veganism, and the blue personifies his rather calm and collected attitude. While being vegan gave him powers, they were all stripped away after he had gelato and chicken parmesan and drank half and half coffee to break the vegan rule three times, losing Todd his power and the fight against Scott. As for the other two symbols of a bass guitar and skull, Todd is shown playing bass in his band, Clash At Demonhead. We also see this in his fight against Todd, which had three bass battles, with Todd playing beautifully on his bass and Scott playing only one note repetitively.
Aditya K. – Batman
In the dark underbelly of Gotham, tragedy struck Bruce Wayne’s privileged life. Haunted by the murder of his parents, he delved into the shadows seeking retribution. Mastering various disciplines, he transformed himself into the embodiment of justice. Taking inspiration from the nocturnal creatures that dwelled in his family’s manor, Batman emerged. With an arsenal of gadgets and unwavering resolve, he prowled the city, striking fear into the hearts of evildoers. Driven by an unyielding desire to protect the innocent, Batman became a symbol of hope in the face of darkness, a legend whose origins were born from anguish and transformed into a beacon of light.
Corey L. – Daredevil
Daredevil is a superhero that helps fight crime in New York City (usually alongside Spider-Man). When he was a child, an acid canister he interacted with exploded, and the acid hit him. This led to him becoming blind. Over the time he was recovering, he trained his other senses, especially hearing. His enhanced hearing helps him now to fight crime and helps him sense danger coming. Now he protects New York with his super senses.
Lizzie L. – Spiderman / Peter Parker
When Peter Parker was four, his parents died in a plane crash. He was then raised by his aunt and uncle (Aunt May and Uncle Ben). While attending high school at the Midtown School of Science and Technology, Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, giving him superhuman abilities. A bullet then killed his uncle during a house robbery. He continued living with Aunt May in New York, where he fights super villains while disguising himself in a suit. He became known as Spiderman.
For my hero origin story project, I digitally created an image showcasing the environment, lifestyle, interests and problems the character Katniss Everdeen faces within the pages and screens of the very popular saga The Hunger Games. Throughout the four books that were developed into four movies, Katniss’ story begins when she is sixteen years old and has just volunteered to join The Hunger Games to protect her younger sister Prim from the traumatic and violent reality The Hunger Games were about; a fight to the death.
At the end of the games, Katniss and the male lead Peeta Mellark won and were the victors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games. As the saga continues, Katniss becomes the face of the rebellion and a symbol of justice, freedom and hope. She and the surviving citizens from Districts One to Twelve and the new rebellion District thirteen fight to freedom with Katniss as their leader.
Overall, Katniss Everdeen was the one to spark a rise of the rebellion and fight to avenge the death of her many loved ones and allies because of The Capitol. She will always be a strong leader and someone I will always look up to because of her determination, love for others and courage to do the right thing.
Emily M. – Sam Winchester (Supernatural)
The person I chose for this project was Sam Winchester from Supernatural. He is a hero because he saves people from different monsters. When he was 6 months old, his mom was killed by a demon, and his dad became obsessed with hunting, killing supernatural beings. His dad’s obsession for revenge was so intense that he dragged both his kids, Sam and Dean, into hunting, which became the family business. Sam was always different from the other kids and was very smart and resourceful. Sam was raised by his older brother Dean because their dad wasn’t home very much, he was usually on hunting trips, but even when he was home, he wasn’t very nice. Dean was okay hunting, but Sam wanted to attend college to become a lawyer. Sam could go to college, and he got a girlfriend he planned to marry; however, Dean showed up with some bad news, their dad was on a hunting trip, and he hadn’t been home in a few days. This meant their dad was probably in trouble, so although Sam didn’t want to help his dad, he could tell it meant a lot to Dean, so he helped Dean look for their dad. A few days later, Sam’s girlfriend was killed in the same way his mom died, and he blamed himself for her death. Sam’s efforts to escape the family business were not working, so he and his older brother Dean continued to hunt down monsters. Through their journey, they not only discover different kinds of supernatural creatures, but they befriend some. The brothers dated supernatural beings at a few points, which never worked out well for them. Sam and Dean go through a lot in the 15 seasons, and through the seasons, Sam and Dean make lots of family friends, but by the final season, almost all of them are dead.
Aidan M. – John Wick
John Wick’s origin story revolves around his adoption by an old friend of his father, who eventually becomes his mentor. Having lost his parents at a tender age, John finds solace and guidance under this caring figure. Throughout the series, certain elements hold great significance to John’s character. The pencil stands out as a symbol of his lethal prowess, as in the first film, he astonishingly eliminates multiple adversaries in a bar using only a pencil. Another essential aspect is the 1969 Mustang, John Wick’s beloved car, which he drives persistently throughout the movies. It represents his personal attachment and serves as a representation of his identity. Finally, the pistol serves as John’s primary weapon, signifying his unparalleled skill and proficiency in combat. These three items collectively contribute to the captivating narrative surrounding John Wick and his remarkable journey.
Ninaika M. – Black Panther
The hero I chose was Black Panther. The Black Panther movie takes place in Wakanda. Wakanda is a very high-tech country ( rep. by the city towers), but they keep it a secret. They are so advanced because of a precious metal, Vibranium, which hit Earth as a comet (rep. by comets in the sky). Its hero, the Black Panther, protects Wakanda. The Black Panther gets their powers by drinking the heart-shaped herb (By flowers in the necklace). There were many Black Panthers before the current one (rep. by panthers in Trees). T’Challa. T’Challa is the newest Black Panther entering that world (look at the one panther walking in).
Arianne N. – Pennywise
Hundreds of years ago, a being named Pennywise left another dimension and crashed on Earth. Every 27 years, Pennywise stops in Derry, Maine, and Stephen King’s(actor) terrifying clown never leaves without leaving a body in his wake. Pennywise the Clown is a demonic adversary who can terrorize his victims with various nightmare abilities. Although it eats their fear, Pennywise doesn’t literally eat kids or adults; instead, the process is deadly.
Elijah P. – Goku (Dragonball Z)
Emma S. – Klaus (The Hybrid Curse)
Born in the 10th century, Klaus resulted from an affair between Ansel, a werewolf, and Esther, a witch. A deep connection with nature and the supernatural world marked his childhood. Despite the love and support of his family, Klaus was constantly abused by his father, Mikael, for being different and experienced trauma because of this. His mother, Esther, cast the immortality spell, which caused Klaus and his family to become vampires. The Hybrid curse was a curse placed on him by his mother to keep his werewolf side limited and limit his power to an original vampire. According to the curse, the supernatural creatures believed that the only way to break the curse was by the ritual sacrifice of a vampire and a werewolf on the night of the celestial alignment between the sun and moon. This curse haunted the characters, as it was believed to be an eternal bond between the two species, forbidding any vampire or werewolf from witnessing the daylight or the peace of a full moon. Alliances, sacrifices, and freedom for those who are affected. Klaus spent his life mission finding a way to break this curse and unleash his full potential as a hybrid which is why during season one of The Vampire Diaries, Elena Gilbert, the Petrova doppelganger, was found and “faked” being sacrificed in the ritual to free herself from Klaus. However, her aunt Jenna and Jules paid the price for the sacrifice to complete the ‘fake” ritual.
Allison S. – Wei Ying (The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation)
Wei Ying, a character from the Chinese historical novel series, The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, can be regarded as a hero and a villain. This image depicts the part of the novel when Wei Ying was ostracised from society because he created demonic cultivation. He is a very complex character, and so many people thought he was evil due to his invention, while in reality, he was anything but that. However, he was sent to live in the Burial Grounds, a cave full of dead bodies, because many people feared him. In the image, Wei Ying is on the Burial Grounds, using his power to call upon the dead. In the novel, he is depicted as a great fighter; he specializes in using his flute to call upon the dead to defend himself, and so, in the image, he is seen holding up a flute while the arms of the dead are coming out of the ground. In the image, the primary colours include red and grey. This is to create more of an eerie vibe while also being the colours that represent Wei Ying. The crows flying in the sky represent transformation, specifically from good to evil, while the red flowers at the bottom, the spider lilies, represent death. The yellow paper floating on the tree is a talisman of protection, while the jar at Wei Ying’s feet is full of alcohol. These elements symbolize a part of Wei Ying’s journey from start to end.
Matteo T. – Look Killa
The Look Killa is a villain resembling a gargoyle who targets individuals alone while listening to music at night. In the film, the first victim was sitting in her car outside a bar, engrossed in her music, when the Look Killa attacked. The second victim was walking home along a dark road at night, wearing headphones, when the Look Killa assaulted him and left him lying on the road. While attending a rave, the third victim stepped outside briefly only to come face-to-face with the gargoyle-like killer standing there.
Amelia V. – The Journey to Disaster: The Joker Origin Story
This Joker-inspired Adobe illustration is the Joker’s sad but exciting backstory to his life. I chose to do the Joker because he was not inherently wrong, but things in life made him this way instead. In this illustration it will show the person seeing this illustration the circumstances. To begin with, the Joker has had a sad past. He grew up being bullied and suffered abuse from his parents. His adoptive parents beat him up and ended his childhood with a severe head injury. This illustration shows his journey from the bottom to the top. Starting from the bottom is an illustration of a child getting scolded by their parents, and beside the trail are graves. His wife and son had died early on in life, and he suffered significant grief. The chains in the illustration show that his transformation from Jack Napier (real name) to the Joker (villain name) was inevitable. To complete his transformation of becoming the Joker, he accidentally falls into a chemical vat one day while trying to escape from Batman. The cards in the top left corner are just there to show the games that the Joker always loved to play.
Raquel W. – The Evil Queen (Snow White)
The Evil Queen (also known as the Wicked Queen, or simply, the Queen) The only person whose beauty surpasses her own is Snow White, and the Queen, determined to maintain her position as the fairest of all, becomes wildly envious of her. Later, she assumes the identity of an elderly woman to lure Snow White into eating a poisoned apple.
Marcus Y. – The Hulk
The Hulk spent most of his college/university years at Culver University in Virginia Lab. He spent most of his time in the lab with toxic chemicals and gamma radiation, as you can see in my picture. I also added green grass trees because, as a lab rat, you also deal with nature. The Hulk became a green monster when injected with gamma radiation. Ever since then, he bursts into a green beast ready to destroy anything when he gets mad, frustrated or stressed.