newest entry: I dream of Instruments of Tamriel, but it wants to become a real book ( 2023)

The art book project called “Instruments of Tamriel”, or rather its dream, has first been taken serious in January 2023. Since June, I posted a number of drawings of those instruments across Discord, Instagram, Reddit, DeviantArt and my own Website. But now the project has taken shape to the point where I can finally spill the beans about it on a another level.

It’s actually a very strange thing, this project, bordering on book art, where the book as an object is in the foreground, but also on fanart and worldbuilding and roleplaying, and of course on illustration and art, where the images are most important. So naturally, it’s taking aspects from all of these realms, and I love it, because I’ve always enjoyed to mix things up.

Now I should mention, that I originally wanted to make an instrument-playing Morrowind mod, together with my friend tewlwolow, that would also have actual music in it. But! As a dad AND an artist, I kinda have to dream big enough to sustain my family, or go work a regular job. And I can’t really sell a Morrowind mod for profit. Nor would I want that.

So I considered my truest skills and decided it will be an actual book! And not a .pdf either, because I believe in the sincerity of touch! For immersions sake, I want it to look like an actual, illustrated manuscript of a scholar, who has traveled around making travel notes and drawings, and I will pursue that with a lot of confidence: I will really draw and paint almost everything by hand, and perhaps even write it (the latter depends on which language I decide on and/or how much time I can give myself).

For this first book, the fictional first-person narrator/author considers the cultures of Tamriel’s western and northern provinces (if I succeed in creating that, then another one may follow, which will show the other provinces). His adventure is not so much about thrill and fright, I can spoil that much, but full with thoughts on life, culture, music and friendship. They tell of minor escapades and unplanned travel maneuvers, and of the author’s devotion to the subject: the diverse musical instruments of dozens of different cultures. (Please note: any resemblance to real instruments is purely coincidental!)

The story is of course just a nice way to keep you immersed in the world. The real meat is obviously the body of illustrations that will fill the majority of the pages. And there are travel sketches, collections of “scientific” illustrations, and also scenic images, that accompany the story.

There will also be a surrounding story, told by documents and letters, that will make it deeper and even more interesting. But I will talk about those later.

Now, thank you very much for reading this first introduction! I will keep you posted with more important updates in the future.

This marks the point in time where I will engage with my audience more thoroughly, so for those who need more information and crave a closer look, you can now subscribe to my Patreon (English) or Steady account (German)! All the other channels are still open, but sketches and work-in-process drawings are only available in those.