The Blog of the Empire

Behold, Malcolm Zfnoc! He was the reason I said Paewar Zfnoc was a ‘test’ of dark effects and Zfnoc looks. Because Malcolm Zfnoc is all that, effectively. He’s basically all black or close to it. It was definitely going to be a challenge to render into art form but, of course, Erika Hollice totally knocked it out of the park.

Honestly, this has been one funky year and I imagine for us all. Things were definitely accomplished last year, for sure, but at times it felt like spinning wheels in place while other things ran free. Progress was intense in some places and then hardly any in others. I am so glad for all of the things I’ve done media-wise like commissions and what not this past year, but… I wish Amethyst Shards had been done by now. That’s what...

Since Balon and Rayacha’s stickers turned out so great, I had to get Sticker Mule stickers of both Lana and Paewar when the opportunity arose. And it did and I seized it! As with Balon and Rayacha, Erika Hollice gave me transparent versions of their artwork. Their sticker forms look fantastic, super pleased as always! If you’re interested in trying Sticker Mule, you can use my referral link to get some credit:

Okay, this commission of Paewar Zfnoc by Erika Hollice might be a bit of a surprise, unlike the Lana Zfhi commission. I wasn’t actually sure if I was going to even commission Paewar Zfnoc at first, but he deserves artwork made of him and he is a ‘test’ of the dark effects/Zfnoc tone that will be used heavily with…someone else that will be done after this. But, anyway, here’s what I thought of Paewar Zfnoc going in and the general...

Since I commissioned Haasio for Dien, it was only apt I did so for Hequera as well. It was natural and expected. The end is known in the beginning…but in this case the beginning is known in the end. Hequera was an easier commission to rationalize in many ways since Dien had already been done and Hequera was going to be less complicated (mostly by nature). The general shape was constant between them with some adjustments. Hequera’s color was more...

If you’ve been on the Spine recently, you may have noticed that things are very different now in terms of design. The Spine has has a pretty major face lift. I received some advice from a designer friend of mine, Kelly Rauwerdink, on The Spine of the Empire’s website design, mostly focused on the home page. There was a lot to take in and a lot to improve. The Major Design Changes The home page, save some copy, was gutted...

As a member of the main cast, commissioning Dien was inevitable. But, Dien, by nature, was going to be trickier to get done. As a Dracite, she really has no commonality with a Human at all…as she is a Dracite. As in, a Dragon. Dragon artwork is a specialty of its own, so I knew I had to find someone who was specialized in it. But, thankfully, I knew someone who excelled in this type of work and that I...

It has been awhile since I’ve done any new Sticker Mule orders, but I decided to order two die cut sets of the Balon and Rayacha artwork Erika Hollice did last year. Erika gave me transparent files for each character and I decided to make Balon and Rayacha into stickers. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the finished product since this artwork was more ‘complicated’ than the cartoon-y ones I had done thus far. But it turned out well!...

The last of the Tarot Minor Arcana suits and the last of the Tarot matching series. Pentacles pushes us further to legendary/out there characters (Gods, etc.). It also features the two lead Empirians from the Recordings Series and the rest of the Great Fallen Angels. I’m pleased with this one and it feels overall fitting to end with these characters.

Here is the second to last Tarot Minor Arcana suits, second to last in this entire series. Swords gives us a set of characters who are either powerful entities in their own right or that have become pseudo-religious icons. Some of these characters have not been seen on screen, yet, or have only been mentioned.

The continuation of the Minor Arcana matching series: The Suit of CUPS! Cups was evocative of political prowess and also religious power to me. Thus, Cups finds ourselves with characters from The Madness of Light, and the political spaces of the Empire. It also includes the characters presented in Sepulcher of Shadows.

The start of the Minor Arcana suit assignment: the Suit of Wands. The quoted meanings for the below Minor Arcana are taken from The Pictorial Key to the Tarot’s Additional Meanings section. I didn’t follow the core meanings exactly or with how/what they are to be represented with. Some of this is more symbolic alignment than exact Tarot meaning alignment.