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. Even if you don't know your bible, you might still enjoy it. 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. I was that kid that liked to draw in his notebook. Later, I majored in art at Taylor University and 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 ones were so bad. It fueled a lifelong dream to have my own comic 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 can 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 commentaries, 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 ink it, either traditionally or with a stylus in Adobe Photoshop. Next, I use AI to generate a watercolor-style base color. After that, I fix everything that AI got wrong in Photoshop, as well as add the finishing touches. The whole process takes three to five hours.
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 figure 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.
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.
If you'd like to learn more about the Bible in a format that's fun and easy to digest, I invite you to follow The Creation Effect on social media:
