Trilogy of the Gateway Drug (Artist Statement)

In this work I was trying to speak about drug use. Drug use is a serious topic of discussion at my house, so naturally i had to make something about drugs. Drug use is something most teens do at some point, and it's something I think most of everyone I know has been exposed to. The only thing that bothers me is drug ABUSE. Too many friends fall into the clutches of hardcore drugs and drug abuse. This was dedicated to their story. Because this story applies to so many people, instead of a face on the protagonists bold head there are three simple letters: "Y O U".  I used colorful and flowing lines instead of dry grey smoke to depict the exhale of "YOU". I thought this would be an interesting topic because of how familiar it is. I used rhythm a lot in the smoke lines and second panel background, simplicity in the first and second panel backgrounds, and vibrant colors in all three panels.