Personal PrOjects & World Building
This is where I let my imagination run a bit wild. When I’m not working on commercial projects and not running to catch deadlines, I’m usually here—scribbling down fresh story ideas, story plots, designing quirky characters, and building brand-new universes from scratch.
Think of this page as a behind-the-scenes look at my creative sandbox. It’s filled with passion projects, fan art series, Inktober art challenge series, alternate history concepts, and loose storyboards that are currently cooking in my brain.
Take a look around to see what worlds I'm building bit by bit!
Air Pirates of Bangladesh (APBD)
This is a personal world-building project of mine exploring a dieselpunk, sci-fi, futuristic version of Bangladesh. I wanted to see what it would look like to blend traditional local elements with high-flying sci-fi, so I've been designing things like the classic Bangladeshi Boats re-imagined as an aerial pirate ship. Below is a collection of vehicle schematics, environment layouts, and character turnarounds as I build out this universe. It’s been a massive playground for me to practice complex perspectives, mechanical designs, and sequential storytelling.
Rise of The Insects
This page is a collection of illustrations from my 2022 Inktober challenge, where I focused entirely on a single theme: Rise of the Insects. I wanted to push my line and ink work to the limit, so I used this daily challenge to experiment with traditional pen, brush pens and ink.
The concept revolves around giant, weaponised bugs, cybernetic creepy-crawlies, and post-apocalyptic survivor characters. It was a massive grind, but a great way to sharpen my art fundamentals, practice micro-detailing, and see how far I could stretch a simple prompt using just black and white.
Walk with Heroes
This is a personal fan art series where I pay tribute to the heroes and pop culture icons that shaped my childhood and inspired me to pick up a pencil in the first place. Instead of standard pin-ups, I wanted to draw these characters in dynamic, full-body poses that capture their swagger, energy, and personality as if they are walking right off the page.
It’s an ongoing project featuring the legends who made my childhood awesome—from cartoon classics like Captain Planet, He-Man, Scooby Doo, Ghostbusters, and Robin Hood, to TV and film icons like Mr. Bean, MacGyver, and Johnny Depp's legendary characters, along with larger-than-life figures like John Cena. I created this entire series digitally, using it as a playground to experiment with bold layouts, dramatic lighting, and crisp digital inks. It’s my way of celebrating my favourite pop culture roots while pushing my drawing habit and the practice of completing a project for myself solely.
Alexander's Secret City (Working Title)
This is an ongoing historical fiction comic project exploring a fascinating, hypothetical connection between two of history’s greatest rulers: Alexander the Great and Emperor Ashoka. The story is built around Alexander’s legendary campaign into the Indian subcontinent and weaves an alternate history mystery around a hidden city left in his wake, directly tying its secrets to King Ashoka's later reign. The core plot ties together intellectual and philosophical threads from both worlds—connecting Aristotle's teachings to Alexander, Chanakya's brilliant strategies in India, and how Plato’s concept of Atlantis might actually be the key to the secret city itself.
I’m using this project to challenge myself with deep historical world-building, authentic ancient architectural layouts, and period-accurate costume and armour designs. So far I'm studying about Alexander, Ashoka, and the famous figures around them like Aristotle and Chanakya, alongside the massive empires they built. Sharing some character concepts here.
Legal Information
Website Owner: Romel Barua
Location: Western Australia, Australia
Contact: romel.barua2012@gmail.com
Copyright Notice: © 2026 Romel Barua. All rights reserved. No artwork may be reproduced or used without express written permission.