The Making of Alanestia: From a Spark to a Citadel

Welcome to the first official post on the Artistic Euphoria blog! I’m so excited to kick things off by taking you behind the scenes of a project that is incredibly close to my heart: Alanestia. More than just a collection of images, Alanestia is a world I've been dreaming of, and in this post, I want to share how one of its central pieces came to be.

The First Spark of a New World

Every great story begins with a single spark of inspiration. For Alanestia, that spark was a though of what it would be like to create an epic design for an extraordinary fantasy world. From that thought came characters, plots, and twists that now tell the story in its entirety. 

I knew immediately that this wasn't just a fleeting thought; it was the seed of an entire world waiting to be discovered. I grabbed my sketchbook and started mapping out the core ideas that would eventually become the foundation of Alanestia. That spark was over 25 years ago.

From Rough Sketch to Digital Life

Bringing a world from imagination to the screen is a journey of a thousand tiny steps. My process for creating the Citadel of Alanestia involved a blend of diving head first into the extraordinarily wonderous world of Generative AI. I am a descriptive person by nature and that personal trait payed of very well when I started generating my own imagery for Alanestia. I found out very early on, that the more descriptive you are when utilizing AI in image generation, the better your images will render. 

The most important part was capturing the right feeling—the sense of awe and ancient magic. I spent hours just working on the lighting, ensuring that the Citadel felt both impossibly grand and serenely peaceful.

Overcoming a Creative Hurdle

No creative journey is without its challenges. While working on the Citadel, I hit a major roadblock with how I wanted my creation to be represented. Did I want my world depicted as a "fairy" type forest setting, a " cosmic" otherworldly dimension, or did I want to create something completely unique. 

For a while, I felt stuck. The solution came when I finally stopped trying to "recreate" something from the wonderful epic fantasy storylines I had read and decided to follow my heart and vision.[It was a powerful reminder that every challenge is just a stepping stone in the creative process.

The Citadel Revealed

And here is the final piece. This isn't just a castle; it's the heart of Alanestia. It represents a dream I had over 25 years ago. While I was finding the written words of Authors like Anne Rice and Brent Weeks, I dreamed of what it would be like to create something special to me. Something that I could tell my story but in a capacity that only Fantasy Fiction could tell. 

Seeing it complete for the first time was an incredible feeling, and it’s the image that truly defines the epic, magical feel of this world.

Thank you for joining me on this first step into the world of Alanestia. I can't wait to share more stories, characters, and behind-the-scenes moments with you.

Now, I’d love to hear from you! What kind of stories or places do you dream of? Let me know in the comments below!