Sweet Leaves

Sweet Leaves is a cinematic slice-of-life drama about new beginnings, grief, and family, told over four episodes presented in a unique storybook style. The main story follows Red Ellsworth, a California transplant looking for a fresh start following a tragic event. Set against the backdrop of a small, quiet northern Minnesota town, Red finds an unexpected anchor in the Graingers and their found family —a tightly-knit group who welcome and support him during the transition from his old life to a new one. Just as he's beginning to settle in, Red is introduced to a strange and remarkable being that will change the course of his life forever.   Sweet Leaves is a kinetic, linear, fully-authored graphic/visual novel. With no branching paths or choices to pull you out of the moment, you can fully immerse yourself in a rich, dynamic atmosphere that lets you experience the story as if it were a living book. “Sweet Leaves” was created as an LGBTQIA, fantasy, slice-of-life webcomic back in 2018, following the story of the Grainger family—two gay fathers, their precocious son, and the found family members that stepped in to help raise the child after the untimely and tragic death of his mother.  Sweet Leaves stories acknowledge that painful events that occur in their lives, but how providing love, empathy, and physical and emotional support to loved ones can help them through those inescapable difficulties and trials of life we all face—even when some of those things just can’t be fixed. Humorous, happy, and light-hearted at times, and sad and bittersweet at others, Sweet Leaves aims to leave its readers with a lasting emotional impression, and to hopefully inspire others to commit their own acts of kindness and thoughtfulness for those they love, similar to how the Graingers and their extended family do so for one another. Sweet Leaves includes features aiming to create an immersive and cinematic experience for the reader, such as: Unique storybook-style presentation All hand-drawn backgrounds with animations Animated sprites with over 100 unique expressions per character Pre-rendered, cinematic CG cutscenes Custom atmospheric sound effects Decorative custom UI  All-original chillhop soundtrack featuring tracks by AJMW (from Chillhop Records and Lo-Fi girl) August Grainger