Celebrating Human Artists
My social media feeds have been packed with anti-AI posts for months now, but I recently realized something. With all the discourse going on about how bad AI is for the environment, how it’s taking jobs, and hurting human creators, there have been very few posts in my feed actually celebrating those very same human creators.
And that’s really sad.
So, about a week and a half ago, I sat down and put together some graphics for my Instagram page, highlighting the human artists I’ve had the honor of working with over the years. There are a few, and they’ve all been wonderful people who (to my knowledge) do not use AI in their processes.
My posts don’t usually get much attention there (Instagram isn’t a platform I particularly enjoy, but it seems to be the one with the best traction for authors at the moment.) I wasn’t expecting much to come of the post, but I felt better about simply putting it out there. Human artists deserve to have their work celebrated—now, more than ever before.
Since Instagram is a continual struggle for me, I’ve decided to highlight the same artists here on my blog. I’ve shared their work previously, since their art is integral to my books, but it has been a while, and I’ve had a lot of new readers join since I last shared anything.
Jamie Noble
I first came across Jamie as I was preparing to publish my Relics of War series back in 2021. I found him through Reedsy, and I am so glad he was willing to work with me back then. He’s not only an incredible artist, but he’s a genuinely great person.
Since our initial collaboration for The Relics of War, he has also done the covers for my Caein Legacy books, Serpentus, and the revamp of Hunted’s cover artwork. He’s also currently working on something else for me too.
While Jamie’s cover art can run a bit higher than others, he does an amazing job and I really enjoy working with him. For me, that’s worth the cost.
Jamie’s website: thenobleartist.com
JustMiss Art
I was still writing what became Wraith and the Revolution when I started seeking out character art for the book’s interior. I was after a specific style and sought recommendations from other authors I knew—and her account popped up a few times. I liked her style and thought it would work well with my vision for the book.
We did a test run with Daaros’ illustration, since he was probably the most challenging one to do. And I loved the end result. I ended up commissioning her for the other six characters. Later, she also drew up Tagrin, the dragon inventor from the upcoming Fontayne Company books. Tagrin’s face was intended for merchandise at the time (I made some t-shirts for my husband to wear when he’s helping me with cons and book fairs. He caused some confusion early on by wearing shirts with his own business logo, so we needed to fix that.)
She was a joy to work with.
JustMiss Art website: justmissart.carrd.co
C.B. Lansdell
When I first met C.B., I knew her only as an author. It was later that I learned she painted her own book covers and also did character artwork on occasion. She painted Andrew from The Caein Legacy as fan art, and I knew immediately that I wanted her to paint the other three brothers.
She has since painted the cover for my short story, Survivor, and additional character art for the upcoming Fontayne Company duology (I’ll be slowly sharing that artwork over the months to come.)
C.B. is one of the kindest, most generous people I’ve ever met. And her painting skills are exquisite.
C.B.’s website: ko-fi.com/cblansdell
J. Caleb Design
When it came time to commission a cover for Wraith and the Revolution, I wanted to use an artist who had a slightly different vibe than that of my other books. Wraith is sci-fi, set in the far future, and I wanted the artwork to reflect that. I did a lot of browsing online and scrolling through social media before I came across J. Caleb’s work, and he came highly recommended by another author that I trust.
I was really happy with the final artwork for Wraith. One day, if I finally get around to writing the related novel that I outlined two years ago, I hope he’ll have time for another commission. He did a great job of brining my cyborg to life.
J. Caleb’s website: jcalebdesign.com
Eurephora
Eurephora was another artist recommended to me by author friends. At the time, I was looking for someone to do the portrait of Jal’den and Sal’zar that sits at the end of The Ballad of Alchemy and Steel.
One of the unfortunate problems I was running into with artists at the time was that quite a few of the ones recommended to me (based on the style I was looking for) would not illustrate a same-sex couple. It was frustrating, because I wrote that story for my brother and I wanted it to be the best it could possibly be for him. And I needed that artwork.
And then I was referred to Eurephora. She was willing to paint Sal’zar and Jal’den, and her piece is still one of my favorite bits of character art I’ve ever commissioned. She captured my Murkor characters perfectly, and I’m grateful she agreed to paint them.
Eurephora’s website: eurephora.carrd.co
Glint of Mischief
This is another artist that was referred to me by an author friend. While the piece I commissioned isn’t in the related novel, I really love how it came out, and it’s hanging on the wall above my desk (next to the one of Jal’den and Sal’zar.) They did this portrait of Adalin and Ravin, from a scene in The Talisman of Delucha.
The last I checked, which was a few months ago, Glint wasn’t taking commissions any longer. I don’t know if that has changed, but they were really wonderful to work with, just as everyone else on this list.
Glint’s website: glintofmischief.com
And if you’d like to see the original Instagram post I made, you can find it here: