The Towers
Atlas Thorn
April 24, 2024, will always be remembered as a profoundly influential day in the history of Sorcery: Contested Realm TCG. This is the day that Collector Arthouse introduced the Sorcery world to extraordinary artist Atlas Thorn in this Collector Arthouse YouTube Live Event. As fate would have it, eleven months later on March 24, 2024, Erik's Curiosa would announce Atlas Thorn as its latest commissioned artist for Sorcery!
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Much has been written about Atlas' background and emergence as one of the most exceptional artists in the industry in this Collector Arthouse Interview with Atlas. Please take the time to read it after this feature article.
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But before we dive into the Behind the Art feature, I will provide some high level context for those new to Atlas' work. Rewind back to the early beginnings of 2024. I had courted Atlas for several weeks after discovering his incredible card alters work, painted on cards from Magic The Gathering. I was completely enthralled with Atlas' work the moment I discovered him and knew that the art-loving Sorcery community would fully embrace his work and his style.
Afirst Atlas was reluctant to work with me due to some prior bad experiences working with art promoters. I had extreme conviction in Atlas' potential and was persistent in encouraging him to give Sorcery alters a chance. After a few weeks of consideration and intermittent dialogue, Atlas thankfully agreed to attempt a few Sorcery alters to be auctioned at the Sorcery: Contested Realm Community Facebook Group and Collector Arthouse Discord.
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Below is the first Sorcery: Contested Realm Alter Card that Atlas ever created, and a couple montages of his many Sorcery alters to date. He has been one of the most popular alterists in the scene, following in the footsteps of Elvira Shakirova, Marta Molina, and Caio Calazans who were all renowned Magic alterists before being commissioned for Sorcery.
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You can see a fun introductory video short from that introduces Atlas' Royal Bodyguard alter here.
And now our story begins about the development of the Dark Tower, Gothic Tower, and Lone Tower paintings that Atlas has painted for alternate art promo cards and prize support for Sorcery's organized play tournament circuit.
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In Atlas' own words:
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Okay so each of the pieces are meant to be a fantasty mix of cultures from different regions in the real world. I wanted the three images to look distinct, but to also feel like distant locations within the same world. I aimed to do this with a shared colour scheme. Earthy tones, with violet shadows, and a pop of vibrant oranges throughout the pieces created a unifying and moody sunset atmosphere through the images.
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Here we get a glimpse into Sorcery's potential intentions with Atlas' three paintings. In their organized play announcement, Erik's Curiosa refers to the Towers representing regions where "Crossroad Events" will take place around the world. As Atlas further tells his story about the historical development of his illustration pieces we glean some insights about which core Sorcery community markets are featured...
Lone Tower is meant to be inspired by the Americas. Ancient Mesoamerican inspired pyramids are scattered throughout a North American autumnal forest. To me, this one's simplicity and openness has the feeling of ancient vastness that I love.
Of course, America is Sorcery TCG's core market and home to its first major event appearance at GenCon in Indianapolis. In Erik's Curiosa's announcement they have stated that GenCon 2025 will be the first ever Crossroads Event as part of their new organized play rollout.​
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Atlas was gracious enough to provide the sketch and work-in-progress images for his Lone Tower painting.
Here Atlas further describes the artistic process in working with Sorcery's creator and Art Director, Erik Olofsson to iron out the details of the composition:
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He actually gave me a lot of direction when it came to the elements that needed to be in each piece. He wanted to make sure that communities in regions that play Sorcery got some representation in the paintings. Additionally, it took some back and forth to work out the level of real-world influence and fantastical freedom that felt right for the paintings.
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So for all of them there was the balance that we needed to find between literally putting real world monuments together, and creating completely fantastical landscapes. It was actually quite tough to work out, so sketches and lots of back-and-forth helped us to find that happy medium.
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Lone Tower for the Americas was the least specific original pitch. For a time I had an idea of a Statue of Liberty-like building, but it was far too "real-world", especially for a community with a lot of people from the USA. Mesoamerican pyramids have always interested me, so I wanted to add something similar as a nod to more than just North America. Erik suggested the maple forest for a North American influence.
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Below we get an exclusive first look at an alternate art sketch from Atlas' first concept offering to Erik. It is shown side by side with the new sketch for the final illustration so we can compare its evolution. Like many Sorcery pieces, the final composition is evolved to have a central pronounced focal point that is most fitting for the use case of the card and its game mechanic. After all, this is a singular "lone tower", and the tower itself is the distinguishing focal point of the piece.
Erik's guidance to draw inspiration from the maple forest perfectly rounds out the piece by invoking one of Atlas' key strengths as an artist - his signature magnificent landscapes in the "fantastical" style and brilliant "vibrant orange" colors that he previously described.
Next we shift our focus to Gothic Tower.
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Atlas continues:
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The tower is inspired by Big Ben coming out of a German-ish castle. A Roman aqueduct connects to it. The forest and mountains are lifted from the Swiss Alps. This one feels the most moody to me.
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For Gothic Tower, Erik wanted a reference to Big Ben in there from the start. He was mostly hands off beside that. I sent him sketches with other distinguishable monuments, but we felt it was too "real world" so we scaled that back into recognizable European vibes.
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What follows is the initial sketch, the evolved final sketch, and the final illustration featuring Big Ben, the Roman aqueduct, and forest and mountains lifted from the Swiss Alps! You can see in the initial sketch that Gothic Tower was a collection of European monuments before being tuned to its more balanced and focused final form.
The last of Atlas' illustrations is Dark Tower.
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Atlas shares the following insights:
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For Dark Tower, the original direction from Erik was a Japanese style tower with Australian red rock. As I worked on sketches, Erik asked for the Singaporean element included, but at that time we were sure we didn't want to just add an exact replica of the Supertrees to an otherwise arid landscape.
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Once again we see the initial sketch, the evolved final sketch, and the final illustration. Notably absent in the initial concept is the Singaporean element. We also find in the final piece a more refined and deliberate portrayal of the tower in its traditional Japanese architectural style.
Through the insights shared by Atlas Thorn we discover deeper meaning in their artistic context and the intent behind the various cultural elements within the three pieces. We have learned that the pieces pay tribute to each of Sorcery's primary markets; and where the most vibrant and active communities have emerged to support the project - America, Europe, Australia, Singapore, and Japan.
Everything creator Erik Olofsson does with the project is done with purpose; especially its artistic direction. Here the themes beautifully represent the global community as structured organized play makes its debut and brings the world together from far and wide and all corners of the realm!
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I would like to extend a debt of gratitude to Atlas for sharing these stories and images with me for all of us to enjoy. I am deeply honored to work with Atlas, and so many Sorcery artists and emerging artists beyond the game who truly inspire me. It is my dream to be a champion for the beautiful tradition of hand painted original art, create opportunities and visibility for the many brilliant highly skilled artisans all over the world, showcase their work across my community platforms, and help connect art enthusiasts with adoring fans who celebrate their work.
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Thank you!
Mike @ Collector Arthouse
