As always… we did tell you. Back in 2024, when I selected Dominica Claribelle to be one of that year’s Broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch‘ creators, I said of that decision: “When you know, you know. Dominica Claribelle’s command of sequential visual storytelling was instantly apparent from following her work on Instagram. Bold, inventive layouts that are not just gorgeously illustrated but also playful with comics’ relationship with the passage of time, and constantly shifting in the ways in which they ask the reader to connect with and interpret the page.”
Since then the Indonesian-Chinese artist has gone on to win the Caliburn Prize for a graphic-novel-in-progress and been picked up by acclaimed UK publisher Avery Hill Publishing for her debut graphic novel Finding Home. Much deserved recognition for a truly exciting new voice in comics. I caught up with Domi to talk about her self-publishing adventures, representing Southeast Asian culture in her practice, and what the future holds for this rising star on the scene…
ANDY OLIVER: Domi, you were one of our 2024 ‘Six to Watch’ creators. So let’s begin by asking you to tell us about your wider artistic practice and endeavours, and your background?
DOMINICA CLARIBELLE: Hi! My name is Dominica Claribelle, Domi for short. I’m an Indonesian-Chinese illustrator, graphic novelist and art educator currently based in Jakarta. I have both a diploma and a bachelor’s degree in illustration, and in my 5 years of experience as a full-time artist I’ve immersed myself in many fields within the art industry, such as film and games, publishing, gallery work, education, and even live painting for weddings.
My practice has evolved in so many ways throughout the years as I’ve worked with a large variety of art styles and mediums – hence a very explorative body of work! I’m all for trying new things in art, but I especially love creating art that reflects myself on a more personal level, such as explorations of my Indonesian cultural roots, everyday observations of the modern world, as well as my interests in travelling and fashion.
I think it’s also worth noting about my sort-of strange lifestyle that also deeply influences my practice since I was very young, which is that I’m always moving countries throughout my life. I’d say I’ve relocated homes more than 20 times now, in between Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and most recently the UK. The constant exposure to so many different people and cultures has led my art to take on a more complex and unique development as I mature, which I’m grateful for.
AO: What is it about comics as a form that appeals to you in your storytelling? When did you first discover the medium?
CLARIBELLE: I’ve always loved comics as a young girl! My first exposure towards the medium was through shoujo manga which were quite popular in the early 2000s. In Indonesia, I’d buy stacks of them as one book cost an equivalent of £0.45! By 8 years old, I started drawing my own short romance comics and drew lots of handsome anime guys, haha.
Fast forward to high school, I came across a small cupboard filled with western indie graphic novels like Friends with Ghosts, Drama, Persepolis and Maus. I think they were a private collection that belonged to a teacher who was kind enough to let students read them! It really inspired me as I’ve never seen comics in that style of storytelling before, and I fell in love with the medium even more. As an adult there are so many comics and graphic novels that drive my creativity forward, but if I had to choose they’d be This One Summer, Seconds, Blankets and Deadly Class.
I choose comics because I love how the medium is just a perfect blend of beautiful handcrafted art mixed with excellent storyline, packed in a physical form you can carry around (and hug!). I want to use my talent to create art that visualises a good, inspiring story just like the books I’ve read growing up. That would really make my younger self so proud!
A spread from ‘At Our Peril’ issue 2
AO: Your most prominent published comic to date is At Our Peril with writer Mike Ranahan. Can you give us an idea of the premise of the comic and how that collaboration came about?
CLARIBELLE: At Our Peril is a comic all about loyalty, goddesses, and ancient magic. It’s very much inspired by the heritage of Indonesia, and especially the culture of Bali! I wanted to create a fictional world that not only has an exciting story of self-discovery, but also reflects the beauty of Southeast Asian culture for comic lovers to immerse themselves in.
The first issue of ‘At Our Peril’ was made really with a big leap of faith, and I’m very thankful towards my friend Mike for creating it with me. The last comic I made before this one was a short and simple nonverbal webcomic I created for my final year project back in college in 2019. I never had the courage to publish an actual comic, let alone write and draw one by myself, so having Mike take the role of a writer was very helpful and encouraging.
Panel from Dominica’s 2019 webcomic ‘Anaise’
I met Mike at the local comic shop in Bristol, where he worked at the time and I opened up to him about wanting to create a comic, and I found out he’s also a comic writer! It took a simple, “wanna make a comic together?” and boom, At Our Peril was created. We’d spend once a week meeting up at the comic shop during closing hours talking about art, comics, and slowly we made the first issue a reality.
It was perfect timing as well because it was around the time I had to decide what project I wanted to do for my final year project in uni, and then the collaboration just walked itself in my life! It really felt like I was destined to get into comics for real, and I’m glad I did. I proudly showcased the project for my grad show in Bristol and London, and the comics creatives Alison Sampson and Ram V even came to visit me on the opening day which was totally sweet of them!
Dominica and Ram V at the opening day of her grad show in London 2023
AO: Your work on At Our Peril is incredibly intricate with some gorgeously inventive page layouts. In terms of your creative process, what mediums do you prefer to work in?
CLARIBELLE: Thank you so much! I really did play around a lot with the comic’s composition – I wanted to include the iconic traditional textiles of Indonesia called ‘batik’, to really show the country’s heritage, so I did a bunch of research of batik design variations and creatively turned them into the comic’s panel shapes and border patterns which have never been done before.
A spread from ‘At Our Peril’ issue 1
I treat each panel in At Our Peril as its own work of art. So when I held my solo exhibition in November 2024 to celebrate the second issue’s release, I saw it no less than the usual fine art show held at galleries despite knowing comics aren’t really ever given their own showcases like this. I wanted to change the narrative as I believe comic art deserves the same respect! I’m very thankful towards Malaysian toy and comics artist Michael Chuah for giving me the platform to showcase my work in his gallery at the heart of Kuala Lumpur. The feedback for the show was just amazing and I even got a couple of pieces of original sequential art sold! It felt very rewarding, I love love love exhibitions and I hope to hold more of my own in the future.
Dominica on the opening week of her solo exhibition for the release of the 2nd issue of ‘At Our Peril’
Regarding mediums, I’m all for tools of traditional art. I spent many years as a teenager being a watercolour artist, but sadly I stopped doing all that in exchange for digital art during college. The pandemic reignited my passion toward creating art traditionally again, and during that year I spent almost everyday painting in multiple mediums such as gouache, ink, watercolour and acrylics. I never turned back since then and have even ventured into oil painting more recently. Nowadays I really only touch on digital art for work purposes!
AO: Last year you won the 2024 Caliburn Prize for Finding Home, your graphic-novel-in-progress. What’s the premise of the story?
CLARIBELLE: Finding Home is a love story about a girl named Julia and her relationships with three different men at different stages of her life as she matures as a person. Filled with passion, heartbreak, and self-discovery, the graphic novel is very much inspired by my own personal experiences in dating as a young woman entering my 20s. Readers get to follow along Julia’s search in finding true love and what it means to “build a home” with a significant other.
I started working on this book just earlier this year when it was officially picked up by the lovely Avery Hill Publishing, but what’s interesting is that the book’s concept was first thought out 4 years ago, right after I experienced a bad breakup! It was the pandemic and I was stuck at home (as most people were), and I ended up dumping my then boyfriend after a bad argument. Moving on from that relationship was difficult since I couldn’t simply go out to nice places or hang out with friends to get my mind off it due to lockdown regulations, so I had a lot of grief in me that I channeled into my art.
I ended up putting Finding Home aside for 3 years when I left to the UK for my degree, so it wasn’t until last year when I heard about the Caliburn Prize that I thought “why not?” and decided to pick up this story again as an entry for the competition. To be honest I still can’t believe I won! What was a small story I came up with in my bedroom has now turned into an IP bound to get published worldwide and I couldn’t be happier. My goal with Finding Home is not only to share my own story, but also for young women, especially in Southeast Asia, to feel seen in the shared experiences in modern dating.
Page detail in ‘Finding Home’
AO: Given some of the huge names in comics on that Caliburn Prize judging panel how much of a boost to your confidence has that been?
CLARIBELLE: It actually has given me a lot of motivation to get this graphic novel published for real! Sometimes when I work, I end up overthinking and I’m like, “Do people really want to read something so personal and cheesy like this?”, but then I’m reminded of how a good number of comics professionals have chosen this as the winning entry over loads of other brilliant work, and that alone is able to drive me to move forward. I don’t want to give up on this graphic novel at all as I know so many creatives wish they were in my place, so I’m going to give it my best!
A page entry for the Caliburn Prize 2024
AO: In Finding Home you use a visual style that is completely different to At Our Peril. How important do you feel it is to you to be able to apply such distinct approaches to different subject matter?
CLARIBELLE: I believe execution is just as important as concept! There’s no style that’s solidly better than another, because every art style has their perks for different projects. At Our Peril was given a more realistic look with soft watercolour washes to give off a more scenic environment. Plus the characters’ elegant anatomy and clothing fits the charming Balinese aesthetic really well.
In contrast, Finding Home is a comic that focuses more towards touching on the reader’s emotions more than environmental aesthetics, so I gave it a simpler, more graphic art style accompanied with digital colouring. This allows the reader to feel more in depth with the story and understand the abstract concept of the houses from Julia’s imaginative world more easily.
I’m pretty confident in my body of work despite the extremely different outcomes of my publication projects. Although it may seem impulsive, I don’t want to restrict my style just for public appearances, y’know? I grew up quite an experimental artist thinking that I’d stick to one art style one day, but I’m already in my mid 20s now and I’ve grown to accept and appreciate the gift of being a multidisciplinary creative. I think it also gives aspiring artists a positive message that you don’t have to stick to one solid art style to be a professional!
Concept art of Julia for ‘Finding Home’
AO: As a newer voice on the scene what advice would you give to those first starting out in self-publishing and tabling at fairs?
CLARIBELLE: Self-publishing a book is a giant commitment and what kept me going was community and confidence. Although I was dreaming big during the creation of At Our Peril, the process can be quite mentally exhausting and financially stressful, so being around those who express genuine interest in your project and having faith in yourself can do a lot.
For tabling at fairs.. from my personal experience, people are more likely to purchase your work when they get to know you better as an artist. With this in mind, the way I go about it is to offer passersby my sketchbooks for them to browse! Most of them tend to be shy, so speaking directly to them might scare them away. Sketchbooks are a great way for them to look through your portfolio without interactions involved haha. Another thing that helps me personally is displaying a short and simple bio of yourself at your table for people to read. They usually get curious when they get an idea of your achievements and your future projects, it somehow compels them to connect with my socials surprisingly!
Lastly, don’t forget to make connections!! Have someone to cover your booth for at least 30 minutes, and go make tons of friends- collect everyone’s business cards like Pokemon cards. It’s not everyday you get to be under one roof with so many creatives after all.
Dominica’s latest comic convention booth in May
AO: And the inevitable final question. What’s next for Dominica Claribelle? What other projects are you working on and what can you tell us about them?
CLARIBELLE: There’s a lot of exciting stuff! Other than Finding Home, I’ve recently been signed to be represented by an amazing literary agent, Katie Blagden of The Ampersand Agency in London. She’s brought me on board to work on another exciting graphic novel project in collaboration with LA-based author-director Kryzz Gautier. I can’t say much about it for now since it’s still early days into the project, but it’s gonna be amazing and I’m excited to work on it!
Another cool thing I’ve got going on is that I’ve also started a side hustle in joining a local art studio to teach others to paint and I’m quite excited for that! I’m someone who loves going out and meeting new people, so I find this to be the perfect opportunity to be a part of a lovely creative community and have the chance to share about my love for comics as well. I thank God for the opportunities I’ve been able to take on this year and I’m really looking forward to seeing the projects get more and more fleshed out over time. Overall, I’m just looking forward to bringing more art for people to enjoy!
Domi and her workshop participants at her latest Live Model workshop
Visit Dominica Claribelle’s website here and follow her on Instagram here.
Interview by Andy Oliver
