I showed some of the art from the comic to someone and one of their first comments was about how they liked that the forest was immediately recognizable as a redwood forest. That definitely feels like a small victory, because it’s not at all accidental or incidental.
One of my major goals with the comic is to have the setting convey the atmosphere of the redwood forests. I want the setting to be almost a character itself.
Pacifica is very much inspired by growing up near the redwoods and spending many hours wandering them. The area has a very specific feeling and magic to it that I want to communicate in the stories. It’s hard not to feel a sense of wonder and mystery in these towering woods. Fairy tales and fantasy readily spring to mind as you wander here. It’s something that’s hard to do justice in pictures, but I hope that I capture some fraction of the awe these forests inspire.