What?
We are created in the image of our Creator. Therefore, we create!
As someone who loves to create, this "Creation Effect" principle took root in my brain long ago. My creations are finger paintings to the Creator of the universe. But I like to think He looks at them and smiles, like a father admiring his toddler's scribbles.
I started The Creation Effect in 2026 – a single-panel comic strip written by a bible fan, for bible fans. The topics span from the quirks of contemporary Christian culture to the classic Sunday school bible stories. My prayer is that curious readers will be inspired to open their bible and read for themselves. I include the verse reference on every comic and add my own commentary (for whatever it's worth) in the accompanying slides. Full disclosure... I didn't go to seminary. I am definitely not a pastor. And does anyone even read comics anymore? I guess I'll find out. Sure, I have hopes and dreams for my goofy little strip, but right now, I just really enjoy making them. I'd love for it to become a full-time ministry someday, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Who?
I'm Noel Powell. Full-time visual effects artist. Part-time comic stripper (is that what we're called?). I was that kid that liked to draw in his notebook. I majored in art at Taylor University and then spent a few years trying out the "starving artist" thing – creating portraits, murals, and illustrations. Over time, I traded my paintbrush for pixels and began exploring digital illustration, animation and visual effects. In 2012, I started CreationEffects.com (sound familiar?), where I sell visual effects templates for use in film and video. But AI is rapidly turning my industry obsolete. So it'd be pretty great if this comic-thing worked out!
I grew up in West Africa as the son of missionaries. While I was there, I met a daughter of missionaries. Long story short, we grew up, got married, and had a bunch of babies! Today, our family lives in North Carolina.
I love playing soccer, showing my kids movies from the era when movies were good, and more recently... drawing comics!
Why?
Like many twelve-year-olds, puberty was a time of immense anger and confusion for me. Mine was mostly targeted at "the funnies" in the Sunday newspaper. I grew up on The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes. I read them all. I loved them. I cherished them. In my arrogance, I couldn't understand why all the other comic strips were so bad. It fueled a lifelong dream to have my own strip.
I got my start in seventh grade with a blatant Calvin & Hobbes rip-off for the school paper. A popular kid accused me of plagiarism. I didn't know what that meant, but I denied it vehemently. Having learned my lesson, I tried again with a more original strip for my college newspaper. I submitted it to a syndicate. They even said they liked it. But they passed, and the rejection was enough to make me abandon comics for twenty-five years (my ego is a delicate flower).
Fast forward to 2026, and I find myself driven by new motivations. I want to share God's truth. I want to encourage people to read their bible. And hopefully, I get a chuckle or two along the way. There's no denying that The Far Side influenced (probably shaped) my sense of humor. It's a little dark, a lot goofy, and perhaps an unusual style for sharing the Gospel. Believe me, blaspheme is a constant fear of mine. The last thing I want to do is disrespect God's word. That said, I figure sin and the human condition are fair game. I probably won't even have many comics that feature Jesus. He is simply too holy and perfect to be the punchline of my silly little jokes. But I will absolutely be pointing to Him in the accompanying devotionals, because He is the source of all humor, truth, peace, hope, and eternal salvation, both my origin and destination, the Light of the world.
How?
I start by sketching out the comic by hand on paper. Then I scan it, and ink it with a stylus in Adobe Photoshop. I use AI to generate a watercolor-style base coloring. Lastly, I fix everything that AI got wrong in Photoshop, and add any necessary finishing touches. The whole process takes three to five hours.
Skynet Helping To Do The Lord's Work
I enjoy working with watercolors and have considered coloring the comics by hand. But as a colorblind artist who's also short on time, AI makes more sense. And honestly, it does a great job. I know other artists who detest AI and swear they'll never touch it. I can appreciate that, but the way I see it... if AI is destined to end my visual effects career, I have two options: boycott it... or use it to my advantage and milk it for all it's worth.
Animated Abominations
For the animated versions of the comics you may have seen on social media, I separate the artwork into individual elements and animate them in Adobe After Effects, adding sound effects or music. For the record, I don't particularly like the animated comics. I think they detract from the humor, which is why they're not on this site. They are a necessary evil for growth, since Instagram and TikTok push videos more heavily than static images.
Social Media Is Sensitive
The devotionals are much more challenging for me, and they generally take longer than the comics. I don’t want to screw them up, so I spend a lot of time researching and thinking through them. That doesn’t stop people from regularly telling me I’m wrong, though. You might think it would be pretty safe to say something like, “God doesn’t care about appearances – He looks at the heart.” BOOM – you just committed heresy! At least, according to someone on the Internet. I've had colorful comments from Protestants, Catholics, Jews, LDS, and others, and it’s been good for me to see just how much beliefs can vary.
I can understand getting upset at a teaching you believe to be false. What’s more fascinating to me, though, is how easily today's generation is offended by the jokes, which I consider to be downright tame. I tell you, it hurts to come up with a fantastic comic idea, only to realize I can never post it because the humor is too dark. And honestly, I’m not interested in shocking or offending people. So I swallow my pride, and do my best to do what I feel God has commanded of me - share my faith and my understanding of Scriptures with others.
If you'd like to learn more about the Bible in a format that's fun and easy to digest, I invite you to sign up for the free weekly comic & devotional, or follow The Creation Effect on social media:
