DEITY: Behind the Magic

As a child, drawing is something most are drawn to as a form of self-expression, and this was no exception for Omiebam Dandison Brown, aka Dan Brown, the artist, who from his younger days chose drawing as his art form. The growth is evident from poorly drawn Spider-man comics to becoming a full-fledged graphic illustrator of his own Webtoons.

Every journey starts somewhere; Dan Brown's journey to being an illustrator is no different. Although he officially took up digital artistry in 2019, creating several ideas for comics and developing them as time went on, his love for art has been with him since childhood. Still, he put that on the back burner to study Finance in College.

Credit: Dan Brown

His first digital creation is a web series called DIETY set in a futuristic setting with Nigerian elements alluding to the fact that the characters are Nigerian. The Webtoons feature themes of loss, grief, torment, and redemption, as with most origin stories.

Though the creation of DEITY has been one that has been ongoing for years, it took slowing down in his creative work as a photographer to have him focus back on his passion for illustration. He went back to the drawing board and brought the characters of DEITY back to life.

Except for some, Nigerian Webtoons are few and far between, Making DEITY one of the very few in existence at the moment. The Webtoon shows true creative artistry with a Nigerian flair; this is evident in some quips used in the writing in which Nigerian slangs are inputted. When asked about his process of getting on Webtoons, he said, "Google and YouTube, there's nothing you can't learn on there," alluding to the fact that he learned how to be a Webtoons creator by using the internet.

The realization of this Webtoon is a testament to the true sheer willpower of the artist as the creation of DIETY as an art form is a solo project with Dan Brown being the artist, writer, creator, colorist, and everything in-between it's genuinely a one-person show. He gave credit to his friends and family that support his work with publicity when a new episode drops every Monday, as they've truly helped him to build a community of supporters around him.

The future of DIETY through the lens of the creator will keep evolving and growing; for now, he's going to keep releasing a new episode every Monday and hopes to expand his team eventually to help increase his output. He said we should be on our toes, expecting more twists and turns in the Story.

As for future projects besides DIETY, he said, "Watch this space; there's a lot in the works." He stated that there are other projects he's working on that will soon come to light once DIETY is fully operational.

Credit: Dan Brown

DIETY is a highly intriguing Webtoon, and I recommend reading it; it's a new Webtoon and only has a few episodes, but each drop is worth the wait. A definite ten out of ten would recommend situation. The art is impressive and is slightly different from the Asian-inspired artwork we see frequently on Webtoons with dynamic characters and a true origin story feel going on to the first few episodes of the series. Check out DIETY on Webtoons for more.