Painting Morning Star-A Graphic Novel

My Summer URSP project consisted of the research and writing of a graphic novel centered on the story of a Filipino-American female protagonist trying to find her place in the world while growing up in the United States with her immigrant parents and her siblings. My interest and goal of this project was to share my experiences as a young Filipino American and turn it into a graphic novel to bring valuable contributions to the Asian-American, specifically Filipino-American community. I came up with this project when I noticed the lack of Filipino American stories on the bookshelves and wanted to tell my story to create positive change to ensure there are places for Filipino Americans who are trying to find where they belong.
My graphic novel, Painting Morning Star is based on my last year of high school and my torn path between parental expectations and what I wanted to study in college. The story is about Tala Mendoza, a Filipino American girl in her senior year of high school figuring out her next move before leaving high school. In the story, we follow Tala and learn about the pressures of being a child of immigrant parents and being stuck between expectations and personal desires.
During this summer’s research, I worked with my mentor to create a story that would be true to my own experiences while also highlighting the realities children of Filipino immigrants face while growing up in the United States. The project, although challenging throughout the summer, I learned new drawing, writing, and technical skills and about the research and hard work that goes into making a graphic novel. My research aims to fill a gap in the bibliophile world, hoping to give voice to young Filipino-Americans trying to find their place in the world.

I wonder if there are any new books today. I hope I can get something good. (looks at books on shelves and scans)

I can never seem to find what I am looking for. All these books are probably great, but none capture the essence of what I’d like to read.

There are so many books, sometimes it’s overwhelming to look through everything and find what I want.

I just wish that there was a book that I could relate to. Something with a character that looks like me or talks about experiences of being Filipino American.

And I’m still looking, and looking, and looking, sigh nothing seems to capture my attention but wait
(scans the shelves again)

Wait, what’s this? (picks book off shelf and turns it over)

Painting morning star? I wonder what this this is about.

“Tala Mendoza is not the perfect Filipino daughter her parents wanted, at least not like her older sister Raia, who was a straight A student and valedictorian of her high school graduating class. Tala, while obedient on the outside, is also rebellious on the inside, and is reluctant to follow the path her parents want for her.”
Wow I can’t believe there’s a story like this and it’s about a Filipino American girl! There aren’t many like this and I definitely want to read it!
I think this is it.
Hello everyone, my name is Natalie Ledesma and I am an Art and Visual Technology student at George Mason. This summer I have been researching and creating my own graphic novel, citing my own experiences as a Filipino American at the center of my story. My goal for this research project was to create a story and characters that were relatable and to share my experiences in how I struggled to find a place among American society as a young Filipino American. As a young adult I have wanted to discover more about my Filipino identity and I still feel that a part of me is missing. I wanted to portray a protagonist who was like me and looked like me, a Filipino American girl who is stuck in between worlds not knowing her past or her future.
Through my research, I learned that working on a story like mine was difficult, however, through these struggles, I learned more about myself as an artist and a writer, finding and developing my own drawing style and writing style. I hope to continue working on the graphic novel as part of my senior project and publish the novel in sections to literary magazines for publication to gain traction with readers.
Here is a sneak peak at some of the illustrations from my novel. I used procreate to make the illustrations and used references to help with difficult scenes and anatomy.
Now I will read a short scene from my novel.
I was never really good at science. Did I like science? Absolutely, of course because I was fascinated with anatomy, but everything else made my brain melt. I couldn’t keep up with physics and chemical formulas never made any sense to me.

“Looks like I’m not gonna get through this packet tonight”, (sighs). I check the clock sitting on my desk it’s reads 1:32 am.
Sometimes I wonder if pursuing nursing is even worth it. I’ll never be like mom and Raia. Why does every woman in this family have to be a nurse anyway? I’m sure the world can do without one of us.

I go to the bathroom to get ready for bed.(Washes face and changes clothes) I look at my uniform one more time. “Well here’s to the end of the road. I hope something different happens this year.” (walks back to her bed) I crash on my mattress like it was the best thing in the world and slowly the night takes me away.
Stay tuned for the rest! Hopefully you’ll see my book on the shelves soon!