Fae’s Anatomy
“medical sketches with supernatural twists”
When Hebanon Games reached out with their project, Fae’s Anatomy, and asked if I would be the illustrator for their medical-themed reference texts, I gladly accepted. I felt the younger version of myself resurrect and invoke an ambition I thought I had lain to rest— the pinnacle of achievement I saw in illustrating textbooks and kin. Moreover, it could not have been in a better genre: diagramming for speculative fiction.
Fae’s Anatomy is an RPG best characterized as a magical-realism medical melodrama. In each episode, there is a medical mystery derived from two d100 tables. One table generates an ordinary disease or bodily area and the other table amends it with a supernatural condition. It is up to the players to figure out how these chimeric conditions manifest. This series of illustrations is meant to serve as visual inspiration in their instruction manual for some directions you can take the game.
Ponderings and Process
Fae Myocardial Infarction
#62 Fae
#15 Infarction
Although the system is set up to randomly generate pairings, I opted to curate the ones I’d illustrate. I wanted the diagrams to be somewhat familiar and the humor to be accessible to an audience. I didn’t think all maladies would translate into equally compelling diagrams. For example: Cholecystokinin, a hormone secreted by the duodenum to induce the production of bile and pancreatic enzymes, is decidedly less visually charismatic than say gangrene. The mechanics are also somewhat more convoluted and heady. I was looking for material with the potential to draw people in at a glance, even if they didn’t have a background in anatomy and physiology.
some were straightforward.
some were challenging.
These three were intricate renderings, and intentionally so. I think the work I output should intimidate me a little. Capturing the textures I was interested in and the transparency of the x-rays were technically very difficult. Opacity and texture, on top of the general form, are conveyed through visual contrast with the surrounding environment. Working in monochrome can be challenging because you can not rely on color to support and nuance that contrast.
some were cliche… hopefully in a good way!
I knew I wanted to tackle an Illuminati reference. A good conspiracy and the classic iconology are just too hard to pass up, but I was having a surprisingly hard time figuring out how to apply the symbols of the cult. Then it hit me.
What says Illuminati more than the classic eye and pyramid?
some were personal.
“Shadow Marfans” is a nod to my background in shadow puppetry and the lesson of consideration my first anatomy teacher passed on to me. Many years ago, in the thick of studying physiological and anatomical pathologies, my teacher shared journal excerpts from people struggling with Marfan’s. He pointed out that beyond the corporeal, there is loneliness, isolation, fear, social stigmas, momento mori. Certainly one of the more important lessons I learned along that path: clinical as diagnosis and treatment can be, we have to keep in mind and advocate for the person and heart on the other side. This drawing attempts to gently and sensitively depict Marfan’s.
You can read more on Marfan’s here.
and some were just for laughs.
We all leave traces of ourselves in our work. In this series, my fascination with parasites really shows, as well as my adoration for puns and wordplay. I am happy to have put many years of anatomy and ecology studies to good and absurd use. A thank you to all of those who inspire curiosity, attention to detail, and bad punnage. A deep thank you, too, for all those who approach knowledge with joy and seek the platforms to share it.
And now, all these illustrations live in a book.
Find Fae’s Anatomy Here.
Which one was your favorite? Do you have thoughts to share? Bad joke? Send a doodle of your own or a thought my way.
