Have you ever put your whole heart into something and watched it slowly take shape, one day at a time?
Some projects start as just a school assignment… and then there are those that become something much bigger. Andrea Piotto’s manga Fallen Angel is not just the result of a well-executed Personal Project: it’s living proof of how a genuine passion, nurtured with consistency and vision, can turn into a complete, profound, and surprisingly mature work.
It all began with a dream: to tell an original story through the language of manga, an art form Andrea has loved for years. From there, his goal was to truly learn how to create a comic—not just by drawing it, but by building it from the ground up. And that’s exactly what he did: he attended an intensive manga illustration course in London, where in one week he absorbed professional techniques, drastically improved his drawing skills, and honed his time management—having to complete entire pages within two days. A challenge as demanding as it was formative.
Upon returning, Andrea didn’t waste any time. He clearly defined his learning goals and the final product he wanted to create: a manga of at least 60 pages, coherent in narrative, visually polished, and meticulously structured in every detail.
He conducted online research, finalized the entire storyline, gathered reference images to speed up the drawing phase, and wrote his success criteria—not just once, but twice: after a constructive discussion with his design teacher, he revised and perfected those criteria to truly fit the complex nature of his project.
From September 10th, with his supervisor’s support, he started the most intense part: drawing two pages a day, every day, weekends included, aiming to finish the pencil sketches within a month. And he succeeded: 65 hand-drawn pages, representing only the first step of a long and intricate creative journey. Next came inking, then final editing. Each phase was approached with near-professional precision, fueled by unwavering motivation.
But Fallen Angel is not just technique. It’s storytelling, a world built by hand, an emotional experience. Andrea developed believable characters, urban scenes rich in atmosphere, and a use of perspective and visual composition that reveals the obsessive care behind every choice. His style evolves as you turn the pages: from more rigid lines to more expressive, dynamic, and personal strokes.
Throughout the process, Andrea applied a wide range of ATL skills:
- He enhanced self-management through rigorous planning and effective time management;
- He refined his research skills, especially in selecting and analyzing reference images and creating solid evaluation criteria;
- He worked on communication, both written and visual, learning how to tell a story clearly and engagingly;
- He applied critical and creative thinking to solve narrative problems, revise dialogues, and manage pacing and structure.
The final product received high praise, but even more importantly, Andrea recognized at the end of the journey what this project taught him: what it means to believe in yourself, how to work towards long-term goals, and how much you can grow when you have the courage to pursue what you truly love.
In the end, Fallen Angel is more than a manga. It’s a story within a story. That of a young man who decided to seriously challenge himself and discovered that when passion, dedication, and creativity come together, even an idea born in the classroom can become something extraordinary.
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