This article is about the webcomic. For witchery in general, see witchcraft.
Witchy is a fantasy webcomic by Ariel Slamet Ries that started in 2014. The webcomic follows the young witch Nyneve in a world where magical proficiency is based on the length of one's hair. Though the world of Witchy is culturally and ethnically diverse, its characters are marginalized based on their hair length. Ries uploads one page of the webcomic per week as she is studying animation. Witchy was nominated for an Ignatz award in 2015.
The webcomic Witchy is set in a world where the length of one's hair indicates the magical proficiency one has, and people with long hair are considered enemies of the state. Witchy follows the story of the young witch Nyneve, whose long-haired father was burned at the stake by the kingdom's royal "Witch Guard" while she was still a child. As she grows older, Nyneve has to decide whether she will accept being conscripted into the Witch Guard or go rogue. She hides the length of her hair while outside of her house to avoid conscription, while her classmates at school each have their own problems and ambitions.[1][2]
Ziah Grace of Comics Alliance described Witchy as a webcomic about the systems of a society: "both the ability of a widespread system to continue and the ability of the individual to survive within them." Grace describes Nyneve as the "product of a society that grinds up outliers." Nyneve's situation is contrasted with that of her classmate Prill, who finds herself much more accepted into the society but who feels ostracized at home.[3]
Development
Ariel Ries is an animation student at The Animation Workshop in Denmark and Witchy is her first major project.[3] She wrote the story for her webcomic during 2012 and 2013: Witchy was originally intended to be a short story about a witch village where witches were slowly disappearing into the surrounding woods. The hair-based hierarchy was centered on color at the time, and the protagonist would dye her hair to disguise the fact that she was weak. Ries decided to go with hair length instead after a friend brought up the idea, and she wanted to create a society where prejudice was not based on race, gender, sexuality, or disability. Witchy was initially very derivative of the fantasy works by Jean Giraud, but Ries later decided she wanted her webcomic to be inspired by Asia rather than Europe.[4] Ries created the kingdom in which Witchy takes place as a very ethnically-diverse place; she has stated that she imagines it as a "sort of Asian melting pot kingdom."[5][6]
As a student, Ries almost exclusively works on Witchy during the weekend; if she wasn't able to finish the inking and coloring of a page on Sunday, she would "chip away" at it for the rest of the week. Witchy updates every Tuesday, but Ries has a two-week buffer in place in case she can't finish a page in time. Ries is invested in the representation of characters that are underrepresented in media, which inspired her to include characters of various ethnicities, as well as a transgender character.[4] In an interview with Comics Alliance, Ries noted that she failed to properly plan its magic system when she started creating Witchy, resulting in her being caught by surprise when she got to drawing this aspect of her webcomic. The magic system is primarily inspired by various Asian religions, such as Shintoism and Mun, as well as the rules and techniques of several different dance styles and martial arts. Ries stated that she has many ideas she wants to incorporate for Witchy's magic system, but has had difficulty organizing her concepts properly.[6]
During the development of Witchy, Ries has switched over from using traditional ink for her artwork, to using Adobe Photoshop and later Clip Studio Paint. As Witchy is Ries' first major project, she aimed to be open to experimentation, and Ries has stated that her artstyle has gradually shifted over time. Ries plans for the plot have similarly changed over time, as her priority towards character growth adjusted greatly. According to Ries, developing the story very slowly has helped her improve the plot, as she has months to work out problems.[6]
In March 2019, Lion Forge Comics announced a print collection of Witchy, to be published beginning in September 2019.[7]
Reception
Grace of Comics Alliance stated that Ries' art is "wonderfully developed", likening the backgrounds of Witchy to those in the films of Hayao Miyazaki and comparing the scratchy and detailed linework to that of Jake Wyatt's Necropolis. Grace described Witchy as "an incredible first project from a rising talent."[3] Mey of Autostraddle praised Witchy's worldbuilding and its original set of rules for its magic system. Mey particularly praised the transgender girl Prill, who behaves fairly bossy and snarky throughout the webcomic.[5] Sarah Hunter of The Booklist Reader remarked that Ries "inflects the characters and universe of Hyalin with issues and concerns that will resonate with contemporary readers."[8]
In 2015, Witchy was nominated for an Ignatz award in the "Outstanding Online Comic" category.[9][10]
References
^Davis, Lauren (2015-03-04). "In A Webcomic Where Hair Indicates Magical Ability, One Witch Hides Hers". io9.
^Knight, Rosie (2017-01-09). "A year of free comics: Ariel Ries' Witchy". Comics Beat.
^ abcGrace, Ziah (2015-09-08). "Entangled in Magic: Should You Be Reading 'Witchy'?". Comics Alliance.
^ abSeely, Christa (2015-02-18). "Interview with Ariel Ries, Creator of Witchy". Women Write About Comics.
^ abMey (2015-01-13). "Drawn to Comics: Witchy is Your New Favorite Webcomic About Teen Witches of Color". Autostraddle.
^ abcChristianson, Jon Erik (2017-03-06). "Long Hair, Do Care: Ariel Ries Unravels 'Witchy'". Comics Alliance.
^Chiu-Tabet, Christopher (March 23, 2019). "C2E2 '19: Lion Forge Announces "Army of One" and "Witchy"". Multiversity Comics.
^Hunter, Sarah (2016-05-18). "Webcomics Wednesday: Ariel Ries' Witchy". The Booklist Reader. Booklist Publications.
^de Guzman, Jennifer (2015-08-19). "Small Press Expo Announces 2015 Ignatz Award Nominees". Comics Alliance.
^Parrish, Robin (2015-08-18). "2015 Ignatz Awards Nominees Honor The Year's Best Indie Comics". Tech Times.
External links
Official website
March 11, 2023
witchy, this, article, contain, excessive, amount, intricate, detail, that, interest, only, particular, audience, please, help, spinning, relocating, relevant, information, removing, excessive, detail, that, against, wikipedia, inclusion, policy, april, 2020, . This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience Please help by spinning off or relocating any relevant information and removing excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia s inclusion policy April 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article is about the webcomic For witchery in general see witchcraft Witchy is a fantasy webcomic by Ariel Slamet Ries that started in 2014 The webcomic follows the young witch Nyneve in a world where magical proficiency is based on the length of one s hair Though the world of Witchy is culturally and ethnically diverse its characters are marginalized based on their hair length Ries uploads one page of the webcomic per week as she is studying animation Witchy was nominated for an Ignatz award in 2015 WitchyNyneveAuthor s Ariel Slamet RiesWebsitehttp witchycomic com Current status scheduleOngoingLaunch date2014 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Development 3 Reception 4 References 5 External linksSynopsis EditThe webcomic Witchy is set in a world where the length of one s hair indicates the magical proficiency one has and people with long hair are considered enemies of the state Witchy follows the story of the young witch Nyneve whose long haired father was burned at the stake by the kingdom s royal Witch Guard while she was still a child As she grows older Nyneve has to decide whether she will accept being conscripted into the Witch Guard or go rogue She hides the length of her hair while outside of her house to avoid conscription while her classmates at school each have their own problems and ambitions 1 2 Ziah Grace of Comics Alliance described Witchy as a webcomic about the systems of a society both the ability of a widespread system to continue and the ability of the individual to survive within them Grace describes Nyneve as the product of a society that grinds up outliers Nyneve s situation is contrasted with that of her classmate Prill who finds herself much more accepted into the society but who feels ostracized at home 3 Development EditAriel Ries is an animation student at The Animation Workshop in Denmark and Witchy is her first major project 3 She wrote the story for her webcomic during 2012 and 2013 Witchy was originally intended to be a short story about a witch village where witches were slowly disappearing into the surrounding woods The hair based hierarchy was centered on color at the time and the protagonist would dye her hair to disguise the fact that she was weak Ries decided to go with hair length instead after a friend brought up the idea and she wanted to create a society where prejudice was not based on race gender sexuality or disability Witchy was initially very derivative of the fantasy works by Jean Giraud but Ries later decided she wanted her webcomic to be inspired by Asia rather than Europe 4 Ries created the kingdom in which Witchy takes place as a very ethnically diverse place she has stated that she imagines it as a sort of Asian melting pot kingdom 5 6 As a student Ries almost exclusively works on Witchy during the weekend if she wasn t able to finish the inking and coloring of a page on Sunday she would chip away at it for the rest of the week Witchy updates every Tuesday but Ries has a two week buffer in place in case she can t finish a page in time Ries is invested in the representation of characters that are underrepresented in media which inspired her to include characters of various ethnicities as well as a transgender character 4 In an interview with Comics Alliance Ries noted that she failed to properly plan its magic system when she started creating Witchy resulting in her being caught by surprise when she got to drawing this aspect of her webcomic The magic system is primarily inspired by various Asian religions such as Shintoism and Mun as well as the rules and techniques of several different dance styles and martial arts Ries stated that she has many ideas she wants to incorporate for Witchy s magic system but has had difficulty organizing her concepts properly 6 During the development of Witchy Ries has switched over from using traditional ink for her artwork to using Adobe Photoshop and later Clip Studio Paint As Witchy is Ries first major project she aimed to be open to experimentation and Ries has stated that her artstyle has gradually shifted over time Ries plans for the plot have similarly changed over time as her priority towards character growth adjusted greatly According to Ries developing the story very slowly has helped her improve the plot as she has months to work out problems 6 In March 2019 Lion Forge Comics announced a print collection of Witchy to be published beginning in September 2019 7 Reception EditGrace of Comics Alliance stated that Ries art is wonderfully developed likening the backgrounds of Witchy to those in the films of Hayao Miyazaki and comparing the scratchy and detailed linework to that of Jake Wyatt s Necropolis Grace described Witchy as an incredible first project from a rising talent 3 Mey of Autostraddle praised Witchy s worldbuilding and its original set of rules for its magic system Mey particularly praised the transgender girl Prill who behaves fairly bossy and snarky throughout the webcomic 5 Sarah Hunter of The Booklist Reader remarked that Ries inflects the characters and universe of Hyalin with issues and concerns that will resonate with contemporary readers 8 In 2015 Witchy was nominated for an Ignatz award in the Outstanding Online Comic category 9 10 References Edit Davis Lauren 2015 03 04 In A Webcomic Where Hair Indicates Magical Ability One Witch Hides Hers io9 Knight Rosie 2017 01 09 A year of free comics Ariel Ries Witchy Comics Beat a b c Grace Ziah 2015 09 08 Entangled in Magic Should You Be Reading Witchy Comics Alliance a b Seely Christa 2015 02 18 Interview with Ariel Ries Creator of Witchy Women Write About Comics a b Mey 2015 01 13 Drawn to Comics Witchy is Your New Favorite Webcomic About Teen Witches of Color Autostraddle a b c Christianson Jon Erik 2017 03 06 Long Hair Do Care Ariel Ries Unravels Witchy Comics Alliance Chiu Tabet Christopher March 23 2019 C2E2 19 Lion Forge Announces Army of One and Witchy Multiversity Comics Hunter Sarah 2016 05 18 Webcomics Wednesday Ariel Ries Witchy The Booklist Reader Booklist Publications de Guzman Jennifer 2015 08 19 Small Press Expo Announces 2015 Ignatz Award Nominees Comics Alliance Parrish Robin 2015 08 18 2015 Ignatz Awards Nominees Honor The Year s Best Indie Comics Tech Times External links EditOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Witchy amp oldid 1137024402, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
