The first webtoon project that led to the studio’s formation was “Kinfire Chronicles: First Expedition“. Commissioned by Arcane producer Jane Hoffacker and written by Brandon Chen, this series brought together a small team of alumni as background artists and colourists for the webtoon. Weekly reviews with lead artist Xin led the team to adopt fast production timelines from the outset, without compromising the quality of the product. During production, the CEO of Laurel Pursuit encouraged the team to create backgrounds that were ‘simple, but fire’, a phrase that was later adopted as the studio’s name. We also contributed to monster design and temporary project management.

After a magical apocalyptic event devoured the world, one metropolis remains standing: Din’Lux, the City of Light. Phaeon is a lost soul reborn as a magic-powered metal golem (known as a revenant). They become a target after regaining memories of their past life. On the run, they cross paths with a group of unlikely adventurers, known as the First Expedition. First Expedition is a Seekers origin story set in the world of Kinfire.

Simple but Fire members who contributed to this project: Virginia Nordio, William Munerol, Antonino Cusenza, Aurora Fiordaligi, Beatrice Ronci.
Roles: background art and colours, monster design, temporary PM.

Credited as part of Laurel Pursuit / mentioned as “Studio Cornelius”.

As an official series of the Voyce.me platform, DDA has cast artists trained at the European Manga Academy in its leading roles. The Studio joined the team once the series was already underway, working alongside the Academy’s alumni Simone Sanseverino (storyboards) and Mara Artiglia (character line art) on background design and flat colouring, gradually taking on roles in painting, rendering, and effects as well.

After demons mysteriously appeared and started to terrorize society, an elite task force was formed to deal with the outbreak of attacks. Fighting with special weapons called Imperiums, crafted from the infernal cores of the demons they hunt down, the Demon Defense Agency is now humanity’s last hope.

And Atlas is the world’s greatest Defender, a young man with the most confirmed demon kills. But after discovering a dark secret about the agency he works for, Atlas is forced to go on the run. With enemies all around him and nothing to fall back on, how will he survive and prevent the apocalypse? 

Simple but Fire members who contributed to this project: Antonino Cusenza, Michela Panella, William Munerol, Gianluca Chiodi, Virginia Nordio, Nicole Ampola, Rossana Raffaelli, Francesca Pastorelli, Francesca Filippone, Arianna Seno, Sara Dall’Argine, Minerva Uzzau, Barbara Montruccoli, Francesco Stella.
Roles: background art and colours, character painting, rendering and effects, storyboard.

Credited as “Studio Cornelius” / Simple but Fire.

With over 9 million readers worldwide, the production of the Runebound series involves several members of the Simple but Fire studio. The studio has been responsible for the base colouring and background design since the first episode, and has also taken on the task of creating assets and 3D models for the second season. Occasionally, experienced members of Simple but Fire assist colourist Yumiitsu with the colour rendering of Runebound.

Magus Vermil was a scumbag — the most hated professor at a magic academy. Then someone murdered him. He never would have been heard from again if not for a lost soul from Earth by the name of Noah Vines. Transmigrated into Vermil’s body, Noah assumes the man’s runic powers and extensive list of enemies. There’s just one problem. Noah has to teach class tomorrow, and he has no damn idea what magic is.

Simple but Fire members who contributed to this project: William Munerol, Emanuele Facchini, Bianca Tassoni, Virginia Nordio, Arianna Seno, Aurora Fiordaligi, Francesco Stella, Carlo Baldoni, Alessia Brenna, Flora Galli.
Roles: colouring and effects, background art.

Simple but Fire is responsible for the colouring and rendering of Overtime Elite. Written by Brandon Chen and produced by Overtime TV, the series has secured official sponsorship from Adidas.

Omari’s dream was always to become a professional basketball player. But that dream was quickly crushed by reality. There’s school, money, his strict aunt, and the future, of which he wasn’t sure of until a mysterious scout discovers his talent with a ball and offers him a ticket to Overtime Elite Academy, a high-tech program designed to craft the world’s greatest basketball player. Does Omari have what it takes to survive against the most competitive basketball talent? Or will his dream slip away again?

Simple but Fire members who contributed to this project: Virginia Nordio, Ginevra Fattori, Arianna Seno, Bianca Tassoni, Francesca Filippone, Flora Galli, Francesco Stella.
Roles: colouring and effects.

With over 2 million readers, System Universe is one of the most popular webtoon adaptations of the moment. The studio is responsible for the background art, colouring and rendering for the entire series.

Omari’s dream was always to become a professional basketball player. But that dream was quickly crushed by reality. There’s school, money, his strict aunt, and the future, of which he wasn’t sure of until a mysterious scout discovers his talent with a ball and offers him a ticket to Overtime Elite Academy, a high-tech program designed to craft the world’s greatest basketball player. Does Omari have what it takes to survive against the most competitive basketball talent? Or will his dream slip away again?

Simple but Fire members who contributed to this project: Virginia Nordio, Ginevra Fattori, Elena Toma, Flaminia Collettini, William Munerol, Bianca Tassoni, Emanuele Facchini, Carlo Baldoni, Francesca Pastorelli, Francesco Stella, Flora Galli, Carolina Treccani, Francesca Filippone, Max De Clemente.
Roles: background art, colouring and rendering.

Based on a web novel by Aethon Books, “Defiance of the Fall” is a dark fantasy series. Simple but Fire is responsible for the colouring and rendering of the series.

Zac is in the middle of the forest when the world changes. The whole planet is introduced to the multiverse by an unfeeling System. Alone, surrounded by deadly beasts, demons, and worse, Zac must find the means to survive, get stronger, and seek out his lost family in this new cut-throat reality with only a hatchet for his weapon… or die trying.

Simple but Fire members who contributed to this project: Virginia Nordio, Alessandra Martino, Francesca Pastorelli, Flaminia Collettini, Francesco Stella.
Roles: colouring and rendering.

“Shadow Slave” is a popular fantasy series written by Guiltythree. Simple but Fire joined the production to edit end enhance rendering and final effects on the series.

Growing up in poverty, Sunny never expected anything good from life. However, even he did not anticipate being chosen by the Nightmare Spell and becoming one of the Awakened – an elite group of people gifted with supernatural powers. Transported into a ruined magical world, he found himself facing against terrible monsters – and other Awakened – in a deadly battle of survival.
What’s worse, the divine power he received happened to possess a small, but potentially fatal side effect…

Simple but Fire members who contributed to this project: Virginia Nordio, Flaminia Collettini.
Roles: colouring and rendering edits.

The project that officially marks the studio’s launch in its new form is Path of Ascension, a webtoon adaptation of the famous web novel published by Aethon Books and written by C. Mantis. Currently in pre-production, this series features members of Simple but Fire in all creative roles: storyboarding, line art, colouring and lettering.

The story follows Matt, a young man determined to uncover the cause of the rifts responsible for the monsters that destroyed his city and killed his parents. His dreams are shattered when his Level 1 Talent is deemed harmful, and no guild or group is willing to take him in.
Working in a nearby inn, he meets a mysterious and powerful couple. The two offer him the chance to join the Path of Ascension, a competition involving the entire empire to climb the Levels and become living legends.
And so Matt begins his journey to the pinnacle of power.

Roles: storyboard, lineart, background art, colouring and rendering, lettering.

Our studio has been working on the adaptation of this phenomenal slice-of-life martial arts fantasy series, which approaches the xianxia/cultivation genre from a unique perspective!

Jin Rou aspired to become a formidable cultivator, a martial arts master, and a spiritual lord capable of defying the heavens. However, after his untimely death, he finds himself reincarnated into his own body with a drastically altered perspective. Uninterested in the arrogance of powerful masters or the violent trials of heavenly tribulations, Jin Rou decides to abandon the path of cultivation for a simpler life.

Settling into rural farm life, Jin Rou discovers that his extraordinary strength and access to Qi make mundane tasks like tilling fields almost effortless. His experiments with Spirit Herbs, however, lead to unexpected outcomes, like his pet rooster developing an unusual grace. Despite the occasional quirks brought on by Qi, he embraces the tranquility of rural living.

Roles: colouring and rendering.

“Shattered Realms: Death isn’t permanent” is an original project initially developed by Studio Bayi and illustrated by Simple but Fire’s Virginia Nordio. The tenth instalment in the series was created entirely by members of the Simple but Fire team, who faithfully reproduced the style established up to that point.

Every ten years the grand selection is being held, where two candidates from each of the shadow realms are being sent to Death’s mansion. There, they will study by his side and compete for his mantle and the privileges that come with it. But since the beginning of time, the position of Death has always belonged to the same man, as no one’s ever convinced him that they are worthy of it. Those who return defeated are deprived of their memories during their time in the mansion and those who yearn to compete, blindly prepare for the next selection.

Simple but Fire members who contributed to this project: Virginia Nordio, William Munerol, Barbara Montruccoli, Marta Benassi, Arianna Seno, Carolina Treccani.
Roles: storyboard, lineart, backgrounds, painting, lettering.

Simple but Fire brings together a range of creative professionals and offers its services to companies and creators looking to pitch project ideas to production companies, publishers, or directly to the general public. When working with the studio, the creation of a pitch deck typically includes character and setting designs, promotional illustrations, and a selection of complete webtoon and manga panels.
The studio also offers layout services for the pitch deck, following the client’s design guidelines and ensuring the layout is user-friendly and legible for the chosen medium.

Over the years, Simple but Fire has helped produce pilot episodes for a number of international projects. Some of the titles it has worked on with Laurel Pursuit include Tenet, Double Kill, and Keeper of the Crimson Petal. With Aethon Books, it collaborated on the first webtoon adaptation of Gleam.
Developing high-quality pilot episodes enables the company to present a compelling proposal to platforms looking to invest in projects.

The studio also frequently takes on smaller projects, such as promotional illustrations and book covers.

The skills developed in layout, drawing and colouring can be applied in a variety of ways, and the final results reflect the professionalism of those involved.