Erik’s Curiosa is thrilled to announce that Heidi Taillefer, a visionary artist known for her unique blend of technology and organic forms, has joined the ranks of Sorcery: Contested Realm with her work in our upcoming set Arthurian Legends. We pride ourselves on the caliber of our artists and are eager to collaborate with Heidi to showcase her incredible talent.
Heidi’s work on Sorcery: Contested Realm began in 2022, in an environment that could not have been more fitting: a 1000-year-old-knight’s castle in France. “I was included in an exhibition on dragons and brainstorming one of the images Erik had asked me to do,” Heidi recalls.
Now, as we approach the launch of Arthurian Legends on October 4th, Heidi is eager for the Sorcery community to experience her work.
Sir Tristan: A Mortal of Unique Charisma
A unique knight from Sorcery’s highly anticipated Arthurian Legends, this piece challenged Heidi with bringing to life one of the more complex characters from Arthurian lore: Sir Tristan.
Known for her signature style that often explores the intersection of technology and society, Heidi embarked on her own quest to depict Sir Tristan in a way that would resonate with fans, while staying true to her artistic voice.
Heidi is no stranger to Arthurian lore, sharing that her fascination with Arthurian Legends began at a young age. “I had watched the Legend of King Arthur repeatedly on the VCR that my father had at home growing up, so yes, I was quite fascinated with it,” she recalls. This early interest naturally spilled over into her art, particularly in her fascination with medieval winged dragons.
However, when it came to Sir Tristan, Heidi chose to focus on a lesser-known aspect of the character: his musicianship. “Depicting Sir Tristan as a musician moves away from the more clichéd associations with him as a warrior. We all know what he is, but the arts add dimension and character to him as a knight - something more unexpected which grabs the attention,” Heidi explains.
After settling on the overall approach to the piece, challenges still remained in bringing Sir Tristan to life. Sorcery creator, Erik Olofsson, asked Heidi to illustrate the piece in her signature style, a task that required her to balance the traditional elements of Arthurian legend with her modern, technology-inspired approach. “I didn’t want to create a robot, because that would come across as terminator-esque,” Heidi says. Instead, she focused on designing a helmet or headdress that would convey her usual style of painting while staying true to the character’s essence.
We’re delighted to have Heidi Taillefer as part of our Sorcery community and can’t wait to see how her unique vision continues to shape the Contested Realm.
You can find out more about Sorcery’s Heidi Taillerfer and our Sorcery artists here.
