The Spot Art of Sadia Bies

Hey folks!

This week, we’re taking a look at the beautiful spot art that Sadia Bies has created for Ampliterra. If you’re like I was at the beginning of the process, you might not know what exactly counts as spot art. These pieces are essentially anything that’s not a full or half page illustration and are set into the text around them. These are opportunities to show small details of the world and give the whole project a cohesive sense of style and place.

After putting so much time, thought, energy, and care into developing the visual world of Ampliterra, Sadia was the perfect choice for these illustrations. We identified 22 spot illustrations we wanted for the book (with the potential for a few more based on layout needs). This was a large amount of work, but they knocked it out of the park. The style is cohesive and simple, but each one is evocative and shows something interesting about Ampliterra.

Here’s Sadia with a bit more on how they developed the style for the illustrations and what they hope to achieve with them:

“I wanted the spot illustrations to look like they could have been made by a character traveling through the world. I took inspiration from some medieval manuscripts and woodblock printing. Even though they’re digital, they’re supposed to look like they were made with simple tools, maybe done quickly on the road to document what they saw.”
-Sadia Bies, Art Director & Artist for Ampliterra: Echoes of the Rift

Take a look at a few of Sadia’s spot illustrations and their context below! These are just 4 of the 22+ you’ll see in the book (I have to leave you wanting more, right?).

Tree of Muses

The Tree of Muses is a celebrated landmark in the Skadi Forest whose branches emit ethereal, soothing music. Its wood is a popular material for magic focuses for bards throughout Vindurheim. But an aspiring bard cannot simply wrest away a piece of the tree, as forced removal of a branch will destroy its enchantments. Instead, bards must perform for the Tree of Muses, and it will grant a branch to those it deems worthy. No one is sure how this process works or if the tree is sentient, but it has consistently proven that it has excellent taste in music. Over the years, it has become tradition to leave a small wind chime on the tree’s branches that resonates with its natural music when one is granted a branch to thank the tree for its gift.

Marina’s Symbol

Kadis, the Dragonfly God, or the God of Life, is believed to be the very first deity and the creator of Ampliterra. In the earliest days of existence, Kadis was born out of a random combination of elements that granted her both consciousness and the ability to make life. This event is known as the Dawn. Quickly, Kadis set out to build a lush plane for her creations full of variety, opportunity, and adventure.

Acolytes of Kadis devote the bulk of their energy to stewardship of her creations. This is frequently done through acts of healing, neighborly service, reverence of nature, and artistic expression. This illustration is the common symbol for Kadis, which depicted her as a small dragonfly with iridescent wings and is frequently pictured with the flower of the magnolia tree, her first creation.

Wings of Kadis

The Wings of Kadis is a monument built in Kelna to honor Kadis, the Dragonfly God, and to celebrate Aspelan progress. Built in the years before the Abiding Conflict, the tower has since been stripped of most of the metallic material used in its luminescent exterior to be repurposed as armor for the country’s troops in the war.

Pilven’s Pernicious Potions

The potions depicted here derive from the city of Smokeport, which has struggled with intense air pollution ever since the Boiling River formed after the eruption of the Boiling Pinnacle volcano. When the river’s lava meets the ocean, it forms a thick layer of noxious smog. The all-encompassing smoke has benefited virtually no one, except for Pilven of Pivlen’s Pernicious Potions. The expert alchemist has devised ghastly potions all distilled from the toxic air. Popular purchases include potions that can cause instant sleep, rapid poisoning, or potions designed to work slowly, or cause a delayed reaction. I think this illustration makes them look perfectly nefarious.

Which one of these four illustrations is your favorite?! Tell us down in the comments.

That’s it for today’s post, but we should have even more fun stuff to share in our next post in a few weeks. Until then, stay tuned!

Austin

Introducing Vilm!

Ampliterra June Progress Update