These marks were created in collaboration with Shami Stovall in order to bring her award winning series to life, The Frith Chronicles. These marks were created for her fans, as well as illustrating a subsection of the much larger bestiary featured in her fantasy world.
A Knightmare Arcanist values honor, courage, and integrity. They manipulate darkness and terror to defeat their enemy. This mark is composed of three powerful icons that symbolize a Knightmare.
The Medieval time period heavily inspired my design for the Knightmare Arcanist mark. I started with an illustrative approach to study the elements of each individual icon.
Cape: Black, long and flowing fabric.
Sword: A straight, double-edged, single-handed blade with a cruciform hilt.
Hectogram: A persons’ soul- their source of magic.
Difficulties
This design is fairly complex, challenging me to think more creatively about each icon and how they would visually interact with each other.
How to make a flat image have depth?
I first sketched out each icon on paper. Then, I used Adobe Illustrator to vectorize them into shapes. In order to make this illusion, I cut out sections of each icon to concentrate on the negative space of the cape. This allowed the Arcanist mark to form an element of spacial depth.
A Pheonix Arcanist values loyalty, hope, and growth. Their abilities consist of manipulation and creation of fire, healing, and rarely resurrection. This mark symbolizes the power of healing and renewal.
I first designed a traditional pheonix, however, I realized that Shamis’ description was more intricate.
Phoenix: Neck and beak of a Heron, tail feathers resembling a peacock.
Heptagram: A persons’ soul- their source of magic.
Difficulties
The Pheonix Arcanist mark is the most complex among the others. My main concern was creating a detail-oriented design with controlled chaos.
How to “not over do it”.
I first sketched out the detailed areas; the neck, beak, and tail feathers. This process highlighted the uniqueness of this Arcanist mark. By combining the wings’ and tails’ feathers in the vectored shape, I controlled the complexity of my design.
Rizzles value adventure, bravery, and strength. They teleport through time and space to swiftly get ahead of their enemy. This mark is composed of three significant icons that symbolize a Rizzle.
In Shamis’ first book of the series, The Frith Chronicles, she describes a sly grin characterizing the Rizzle Arcanist mark. Their playful spirit sparked the idea to add stars, as well as for the symbolization of their teleportation abilities.
Ferret: Long, flexible, and fluffy fur.
Stars: Four points, varying sizes.
Heptagram: A persons’ soul- their source of magic.
Difficulties
The Pheonix Arcanist mark is the most complex among the others. My main concern was creating a detail-oriented design with controlled chaos.
How to “not over do it”.
I first sketched out the detailed areas; the neck, beak, and tail feathers. This process highlighted the uniqueness of this Arcanist mark. By combining the wings’ and tails’ feathers in the vectored shape, I controlled the complexity of my design.
