For years I dreamed of making comics, but self-doubt, fear, and a rare condition called myotonia congenita kept me stuck. I started projects that I never finished. I was waiting for the perfect moment to feel “ready.” That moment never came. So, I decided to create my own opportunity.
I stopped waiting. I made a small promise to myself: to complete one short comic. No pressure, no perfection. That comic is called The Foundation Stone, and finishing it changed everything.
Video Transcript
Have you ever felt the burning desire to create something but didn't know where to start? For years I dreamed of making comics, but fear and doubt held me back, until I finally found a way through.
Looking back, it all began with a simple desire to tell stories that words alone couldn't express. Stories that linger in the mind long after they end. Stories that help us to make sense of the world.
I was the quiet kid in the corner of the classroom, sketching while trying not to be seen, dreaming in comic panels. I found a voice I didn't yet know how to use.
You see, I was born with a condition called myotonia congenita.
It primarily affects my muscles, but for most of my life, it has shaped something deeper. The way I saw myself. I carried an unspoken belief that I wasn't enough, not just as an artist, but as a person.
I sabotaged my own efforts, starting comic projects but never finishing them, always chasing the next shiny idea. I took jobs that pulled me further from my creative path, convincing myself it wasn't the right time. I kept waiting for a moment when I'd finally feel ready, when I'd feel worthy, but that moment never came, so I created the moment myself.
I realised I couldn't keep postponing my dreams, year after year.
At some point, those unfinished dreams stop feeling like hope, and start feeling like weight, not wings, but shackles. So instead of chasing the perfect comic, I gave myself a kinda goal, make one short story, finish it, and let it go. No pressure, no perfection, just proof that I could follow through.
That comic is called the Foundation Stone.
It's a story about how even the smallest details are part of something larger, how even the smallest fragment contributes to the beauty and strength of the whole.
But the title carries another meaning, too.
This wasn't just a story, it was my starting point, my way of laying a foundation for the creative life I've long dreamed of, a quiet declaration: this is enough, I am enough, it's time to begin.
Wrestling with my inner critic at every stage, I finally finished a comic, and here's what I learned.
One. Start before you're ready.
I spent years waiting, for permission, for validation, for the feeling of being good enough. But that sense doesn't arrive on its own, you have to give it to yourself.
You only discover who you are by doing the work, taking the risks, and showing up, even when you're uncertain.
Two. Progress beats perfection.
The Foundation Stone isn't the best comic ever made, there's plenty I'd change if I were to start again, but here's the thing, it exists, unlike all the perfect comics I never finished, and from that I can build.
This is a real foundation, and from here I can build and refine with each future project.
Finally, discipline is self-respect.
For too long I let my condition and my past tell my story, but this project taught me something powerful, they're part of my history, not the limit of my future.
Every messy draft, every stroke of ink, it's more than art, it's a declaration that I'm worth the effort. Discipline isn't punishment, it's proof of belief in yourself, and this, this is just the beginning.
Credits
Music Credits
Emmit Fenn, Allégro, public domain, provided by YouTube Audio Library.
Aakash Gandhi, Frozen in Love, public domain, provided by YouTube Audio Library.
Everet Almond, Desert Drive, public domain, provided by YouTube Audio Library.
Aakash Gandhi, Fallen Snow, public domain, provided by YouTube Audio Library.
TrackTribe, Flying, public domain, provided by YouTube Audio Library.
Comic Credits
Cooke, Darwyn. DC: The New Frontier, Volume 1. New York: DC Comics, 2004.
Miller, Frank, and David Mazzucchelli. Batman: Year One. New York: DC Comics, 1987.
Miller, Frank. The Dark Knight Returns. New York: DC Comics, 1986.
Schulz, Charles M. The Bumper Book of Peanuts. London: Canongate Books, 2015.
Tatsumi, Yoshihiro. A Drifting Life. Translated by Taro Nettleton. Montreal: Drawn & Quarterly, 2009.
Asano, Inio. Solanin. Translated by Yuji Oniki. San Francisco: VIZ Media, 2008.