My Name Is Magic - Xan Van Rooyen
Tiny Ghost Press 2022
Brief
Despite coming from a long line of powerful Finnish mages, and their name literally meaning magic, Taika can't perform the simplest of spells.
Forced to attend Myrskyjärvi International School for the Magically Gifted on account of their mom being principal, Taika has a hard time fitting in. Sometimes, they wonder if not having magic has something to do with the fact they're neither a girl nor a boy and if they're fated to be "Taika the Talentless" forever.
Life goes from bad to worse when Natalie, Taika's former BFF, is mysteriously absent from class, only to appear to Taika as a liekkiö, a spirit begging for their help. As more students go missing, Taika must take the lead in a race against time to save friends old and new before a powerful group of chaos mages can unleash the legendary Sampo, an artefact capable of either saving the world's waning magic or destroying everything Taika holds dear.
To rescue Natalie, Taika will have to journey to the liminal space between worlds where they'll be forced to battle mythical monsters and their own dwindling self-esteem. In doing so, Taika might just discover that magic-and love-comes in many different forms.
For fans of witchcraft and wizardry looking for a new, inclusive magic school to attend, My Name Is Magic, is a story about finding strength from within and potential where you least expected it.
Cover Artist, Layout Design, Character Design.
"I absolutely loved My Name Is Magic. The novel is a gripping, page-turning mystery and a wonderful, welcome addition to the Magic School subgenre. Drawing from Finnish mythology, Xan Van Rooyen creates a spellbinding setting brimming with wintry darkness and ancient sorcery while introducing a diverse cast with a marvelous non-binary main character. I found myself immediately longing for a continuation to Taika's story - in the meantime, I may just have to read My Name Is Magic again!"
(Emmi Itäranta author of Memory of Water and The Moon Day Letters)
The brief was given to have the main colour scheme as Green/Purple
First round of Posing sketches, following the brief for "we’d like the two main characters Tai and Morgan, facing opposite directions, in action type poses, with Morgan a little ways behind Tai, to make them the main focus."
Next I needed a solid idea of each character. Which went really well! We chose to tone down Taika, but I was really proud of subtly adding in the colour of the Non-Binary Pride flag to their design.
This is the revision of Tai, and the addition of the Liekkiö - I don't want any spoilers here, so you'll just have to find out what that is.
I went
