About

As a figure sculptor I was inspired years ago by the work of the Victorian illustrator Richard ‘Dickie’Doyle who created a fantasy world in which faerie maidens were wooed by elves sitting astride their trusty snails. This set me off on a journey to develop a tale wherein the characters and their environment could be brought to life through the medium of miniatures.

So welcome to the World of Dwind, where the aim is to create an immersive experience for young adults and collectors by merging storytelling with meticulously crafted fantasy collectibles.

I am pleased to be able to make some of the original figures available as collectibles which feature in the World of Dwind books. The collection will be expanded to include some of the gadgets and machines which appear in the two tales. If you wish to purchase the books and figures please visit the SHOP page where you can email me directly using the contact form.

Meet Dwind

Dwind is a young aelf * who has been apprenticed to Smartweed the inventor.

Smartweed has a workshop tucked away in a tiny patch of woodland known as Tillwald.

The inventor has been tasked by the elders of Tillwald to recover Hawkbit the Wise - an elder who has worked out why the aelffolk of Tillwald have stopped talking about their feelings and living in the here and now. 

Word has it that Hawkbit, whose thoughts are contained in notebooks in a casket, has disappeared along with them down a moletunnel during a storm.

  • aelf is an old english word for an elf

Two male fantasy characters dressed in adventurer or elf costumes, standing in front of a textured white background. The character on the right has light-colored hair, pointed elf ears, and goggles on his head, while the character on the left has red hair and serious expression.

Tillwald

A fantasy scene of a small village with thatched-roof houses in a dense forest illuminated by sunlight filtering through the trees.

Our tiny patch lies between a stream and the Great Hedgerow and is a place of wonderful natural beauty. The aelves of Tillwald know how to protect it but things have been going astray of late…….

The Miniatures

I based the stories on a series of figures and buildings I originally hand sculpted. Some of the castings were hand painted, others in order to save time were rendered and or modified by AI to suit a particular scene. The buildings were photographed from different angles and the images positioned in such a way as to create a much larger set of dwellings. Tillwald for example was created in this way against an AI generated background based on actual shots of nature. I think the juxtaposition of colour in the foreground against pencil backdrops looks quite effective. A word of reassurance for the reader - no part of the stories has been generated using AI.

A detailed sculpture of an elderly man with a beard, dressed in traditional clothing, riding a crocodile. The sculpture is placed on a base with rocks and leaves.
Gray arrow pointing to the right on a white background.
A detailed miniature figurine of an elderly traveler with a gray beard, wearing a tall orange hat with goggles, carrying a walking staff, a large bag, and wearing brown boots, standing on a grassy base against a black background.

original painted casting AI render

A miniature model of a thatched-roof hut with a chimney, set on a round base resembling dirt or sand, with small wood pieces and a clay pot nearby, against a black background.
A detailed pencil sketch of a brick chimney with a thatched roof structure beside it, set in a grassy landscape.
A large right-pointing arrow with a dark gray fill and black outline.

AI pencil sketch

original model

A detailed figurine of a gnome with a long gray beard, wearing a yellow-orange tunic and hat, holding a tall staff, standing on a yellow base. A partially colored sketch of a large, tall tree is in the background.