SQUARECROWS NFT FANTASY COMIC
A 12-page fantasy comic created for Squarecrows, an NFT project inspired by Scotland's ancient woodlands. Combining original comic scripting, character development and detailed fantasy illustration, The Fellowship of the Wing introduces a magical world of flightless crows, mysterious creatures and an ancient curse.
The Client’s Objective
Squarecrows was developing an NFT brand built around a collection of distinctive crow characters and a connection to Glen Nant, an ancient Scottish woodland sometimes described as part of Scotland's rainforest.
The project combined digital collectibles with souvenir plots of land, drawing inspiration from the landscape, wildlife and folklore of Scotland.
Each NFT would feature a unique Squarecrow, with variations in appearance, clothing and personality. The client also planned to introduce different character groups through successive stages of the project.
However, they wanted the brand to offer something beyond individual collectible images.
Their ambition was to create a fantasy universe in which the Squarecrows had their own history, mythology and adventures, giving audiences a reason to become interested in the characters themselves.
The client approached Make Me A Comic to turn this concept into an illustrated comic book that could introduce the fictional world and establish the foundations for a continuing adventure series.
The Creative Challenge: From Character Concepts to Comic Book
The project began with character archetypes, preliminary designs and a chapter-by-chapter story outline rather than a completed comic script.
The Squarecrows already had an unusual defining characteristic: they were crow-like creatures with square bodies who could not fly.
The client's outline introduced the idea of an ancient curse, a wise elder and a journey to restore the characters' lost ability. It also established the possibility of expanding the adventure across several comics.
Our role was to take these foundations and develop them into a cohesive 12-page illustrated story.
This required working out how to introduce the setting, establish the central conflict, develop the characters and build towards a conclusion that would encourage readers to continue the adventure.
The writing also needed to balance several different tones.
The Squarecrows were charming and sometimes mischievous, but their story involved dark magic, betrayal and a curse that would affect an entire kingdom.
We wanted the comic to feel accessible and entertaining without losing the sense of mystery and adventure associated with a fantasy story.
With only 12 pages available, pacing was particularly important. The narrative needed to explain the origins of the curse and introduce the next generation of adventurers without becoming overloaded with exposition.
Developing The Fellowship of the Wing
The finished comic, The Fellowship of the Wing, takes place in Invernest, an ancient kingdom hidden among the forests of Glen Nant.
At the centre of the story is King Corvus Rex, a ruler facing an unusual problem.
His kingdom is losing its population because its citizens keep flying away to explore the wider world.
Desperate to prevent more departures, the king seeks a magical solution.
His search brings him into contact with the Cat Sith, a mysterious figure inspired by Scottish folklore who claims to possess extraordinary powers.
She offers to help, but demands the king's golden feather in exchange.
What follows is a terrible betrayal.
The Cat Sith unleashes a curse that robs the crows of their ability to fly, changing life in Invernest forever.
The narrative then jumps forward one hundred years.
Generations of Squarecrows have adapted to life on the ground, building a remarkable community among the forest trees. But the legend of the curse has survived.
A young Squarecrow named Hawthorne, who loves books and solving puzzles, discovers a possible way to break the spell.
He learns that the Cat Sith must be brought to an enchanted river and exposed to sunlight.
Hawthorne gathers a group of companions, and together they prepare to leave the safety of their home in search of a cure.
The comic concludes as the adventurers set off on their quest, establishing the beginning of a much larger journey.
This combination of an origin story and an unresolved adventure gives the first instalment a clear purpose while leaving room for future chapters.
Designing the Characters and Fantasy World
The Squarecrows' existing visual concepts provided the starting point for the artwork.
Our task was to develop the characters for sequential storytelling, creating consistent designs that could express emotion, interact with one another and perform throughout the comic.
King Corvus Rex needed to feel unmistakably royal, with a crown, distinctive clothing and an expressive personality that could communicate his growing desperation.
The Cat Sith required a very different treatment.
Her mysterious appearance introduces a sense of danger, while the dramatic transformation during the curse creates one of the comic's most striking visual moments.
The supporting Squarecrows have their own individual features, helping readers distinguish between characters even though they share the same unusual body shape.
We also developed the visual setting of Invernest.
The opening pages establish a sweeping fantasy landscape of forests, mountains and an ancient kingdom. Later scenes introduce a richly illustrated treetop settlement, with wooden structures, rope bridges, winding pathways and homes integrated into enormous trees.
These environments are important to the story because they show how the Squarecrows' world has changed since losing the ability to fly.
The artwork moves between warm, colourful scenes of everyday life and darker sequences involving magic and danger.
Expressive faces, dramatic lighting and cinematic compositions help guide the reader through the changes in mood.
The finished illustrations give the Squarecrows a recognisable visual world that can accommodate comedy, mystery and more ambitious fantasy adventures.
Bringing the Story Together in 12 Pages
One of the most demanding aspects of the project was fitting the narrative into a relatively short comic.
The opening needed to establish King Corvus Rex's predicament, introduce the Cat Sith and reveal the consequences of his decision.
The second half then had to move the story forward a century, demonstrate how the Squarecrows had adapted and introduce Hawthorne's discovery.
Each page therefore had a specific storytelling purpose.
We developed the script, dialogue and panel sequences to ensure the reader could follow the action without unnecessary explanations.
Some moments were given larger illustrations to establish the setting or emphasise dramatic events. Others used smaller panels and character interactions to communicate humour and move the story forward.
The transformation of the Cat Sith, the moment the curse takes effect and the introduction of the treetop village are examples of scenes where the artwork carries much of the narrative.
By combining written dialogue with expressive visual storytelling, we could communicate the history of Invernest while keeping the pages lively and engaging.
This was particularly important for a project intended to introduce an unfamiliar cast of characters. Readers needed to understand the world quickly, enjoy the story and feel curious about the adventure ahead.
Using Comic Storytelling for an NFT Brand
Squarecrows demonstrates how a comic can add narrative depth to a character-based digital collectible project.
NFT collections often introduce characters through individual artworks and descriptions of their traits.
A comic allows those characters to exist within a shared world, with relationships, motivations, conflicts and adventures.
For Squarecrows, The Fellowship of the Wing provided an introduction to the mythology behind the collection.
It explains why the Squarecrows cannot fly, establishes important figures in their history and creates a larger purpose for the characters through the quest to break the curse.
The Scottish setting also connects the fictional narrative to the landscape that inspired the brand.
Glen Nant becomes the setting for Invernest, giving the project a distinctive sense of place rather than relying on a generic fantasy background.
The story can be enjoyed independently of the NFTs, making it accessible to readers who may have no previous knowledge of the collection.
At the same time, it gives existing followers another way to engage with the characters and discover more about their world.
This approach illustrates how custom comics can support NFT marketing, Web3 branding and character-led projects through entertainment rather than conventional advertising.
The Finished Squarecrows Comic
The completed project was a 12-page fantasy comic titled Squarecrows: The Fellowship of the Wing.
Make Me A Comic transformed the client's character concepts and chapter outline into a finished comic, developing the script, dialogue, panel layouts and illustrated scenes.
The final publication tells the origins of the Squarecrows' curse, introduces the kingdom of Invernest and establishes the beginning of an adventure to restore the characters' lost ability to fly.
Its combination of fantasy, humour and original artwork creates an accessible introduction to the brand's fictional universe.
The project also offers a foundation for additional stories, with the first chapter establishing characters, locations and unanswered questions that could be explored in future instalments.
For Make Me A Comic, Squarecrows is an example of creative storytelling and comic illustration for an emerging digital brand.
It demonstrates how an existing collection of character ideas can be developed into a complete illustrated narrative, giving audiences something to discover beyond the original artwork.
In Their Words
This is such a great service. Really professional but still lots of fun. We're delighted with the comic and plan to do many more
Explore the Squarecrows Comic
Read The Fellowship of the Wing, the opening fantasy adventure introducing the ancient curse of Invernest and the Squarecrows' quest to fly again.