Artist Profile: M&T, The Creators of the Haanta Series
By Ludmila Rishkova
January 3, 2011
Last Fall, we published an author profile on Michelle Franklin, an avid fantasy writer and author of the Haanta series and multiple short stories featuring The Commander and the Den Asaan Rautu. What we haven’t mentioned is that Michelle works in a partnership with an artist, the talented and mysterious Twisk.
When we spoke to Michelle, she mentioned that Twisk was the sole artist who could truly see eye to eye with her when it came to the Haanta characters and events, and the two of them, M&T, have been working together for several months now, feeding each other’s imagination as they created the intricate world of Old Frewyn. While Michelle gives every character a background, Twisk instils a note of realism with detailed illustrations. She gives a face and a visual presence to Michelle’s characters, and they literally seem to live a life of their own, guiding, rather than being guided by the author’s and artist’s hand.
Twisk's illustrations for the Haanta series are infused with passion and personal interest in the story, the world and the characters created by Michelle. They are sensitive and sensual, expressive and loving, and from a single look one can tell that this is a one of a kind alliance between writer and artist that has to do with wavelength and understanding rather than interests exchanged.
Michelle’s novel The Commander and the Den Asaan Rautu: Book 1 is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and will appear at Chapters within the following months. Meanwhile, you can follow and fall in love with the characters on Michelle's Deviantart Page and at The Haanta Series Official Site. For more on Twisk, you can follow her on her Deviantart page.
Our review of The Commander and the Den Asaan Rautu: Book 1 will come out upon the book’s release in stores, and more details on Twisk will follow. Until then, please check out this amazing and devoted duo!
Some more of Twisk's work:
