So. The character art on my website changed.

No, you’re not imagining it.
No, your browser did not glitch.
Yes, this was intentional.

Originally, the character art for The Aeldstorm Saga was commissioned. That was the right call at the time. I needed art, I wanted art, and commissioning artists is good and cool actually. The art did its job.

But then I ran headfirst into a very unsexy reality.

I did not own the copyright.

Commissioned art almost always comes with strings attached. Totally reasonable strings, but strings nonetheless. Usage limits. Permissions. Future me having to reread contracts and go “wait can I do this?” every time I wanted to reuse my own characters’ faces.

Absolutely not.

I am an indie author building a multi-book series. I do not have the time, energy, or remaining brain cells for copyright gymnastics.

So I looked at the situation and said: fine. I’ll do it myself.

By creating the character art personally, I own it. Fully. Cleanly. Forever. I can put it on my website, in promo graphics, in social posts, in future projects, and wherever else these chaos gremlins end up without asking anyone for permission. Which is extremely on brand for me.

Was this the most dramatic solution? Maybe.
Was it the most efficient? Also yes.

This was not about dunking on commissioned art or pretending collaboration is bad. It is about long-term control and not sabotaging my future self. The original art served its purpose and I do not regret starting there.

But The Aeldstorm Saga is a long haul project, and I want to build it in a way that does not involve legal stress, email chains, or me yelling “WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF” at three in the morning.

Now the art is mine. The characters are mine. The copyright is mine.

Peace has been restored to the realm.

More updates will probably happen. I am like this.

You can see the new art on Heimskript - A Living Glossary of The Aeldstorm Saga & Heimvar - Meet the Characters or visit the version of this blog on my website.