Amínyte Pendants: Collaboration with The Gaming Geeks

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At the end of 2023, I was ecstatic to introduce the very first authentic recreation of an artifact from my award-winning fantasy series!

To accomplish this, I partnered with The Gaming Geeks — a pair of craftsmen from Michigan City, IN who have become good friends after we vended together at multiple events. The Geeks are probably best known for their tabletop game accessories, particularly their unique figurines and dragon eggs that open so you can store dice or other items inside. But they also create maps, posters, digital art, and a lot more.

Their skills with handcrafted resin molds were perfect for this collaboration project!

The Project

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The Amínyte symbol has become an iconic part of the Chronicles of Avilésor. It made its debut on the back cover of the first novel and has since been included on the first interior page before the prologue of each book. I also sell the design on pinback buttons, necklaces, earrings, and other items.

The symbol is my own design, and it was heavily inspired by the Celtic triquetra, also known as a trinity knot.

Kit and Rayven, two characters in the series, are known as “Amínytes,” and this is the symbol of their people. Amínytes are animal shifters. True to their names, Kit transforms into a black-and-white kitten, and Rayven turns into a raven with a white-tipped wing.

Kit became an instant favorite among fans, resulting in quite a bit of cat-themed merchandise and the popular Kit emojis that I created for the Discord server.

(All of the Kit emojis are available as vinyl waterproof stickers, and several of the designs are also for sale as keychains.)

In the books, all Amínytes, including Kit and Rayven, wear unique ivory pendants that have their names carved on the back. These are sacred artifacts. The ivory pendant is actually formed in the womb, and the baby is born with the ivory clenched in their hand. The symbol of the Amínytes is dissolved into the surface while the ivory is forming. The name is then carved onto the back of the enchanted pendant, which transforms to suit the animal. Kit’s pendant, for example, becomes a collar when she’s in her feline form.

In tribes that live in the Wild, receiving their Name is a special ceremony, but unfortunately, many Amínytes are raised in captivity and don’t get this honor. However, even the cruelest breeders and owners will still honor the tradition of carving the name into the pendant because Amínytes can’t function without a name. They have a complete psychological breakdown, making them useless as slaves. That doesn’t mean the owners give much thought or care to the process, which is why it’s common for Amínytes to have not-so-creative names based on the animal form they take.

I had originally consulted an acquaintance who used a 3D printer to create colorful Amínyte symbols for me in the past. But, after explaining the project, she told me that using a filament 3D printer wouldn’t be able to accurately recreate the look of an ivory pendant.

That led me to The Gaming Geeks, who happily said that it was right up their alley!

The Process

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We started with Photoshop renderings of what the pendants would look like. I had already designed the symbol, but I entrusted the hand-carved names to The Gaming Geeks.

After the 3D models were finished, a rough batch was printed as a test to see size options and make sure everything looked good. (The lines you see are from the printing plate, which had to be adjusted when the final masters were printed.)

Once the master design was finalized with Dan, Russ was able to start creating pendants for me in small batches. Although they were designed digitally, each one is cast in resin by hand, creating small variations in every piece. Once I receive them, I then paint them by hand and seal them with a clear matte finish. I ended up going with a darker brown than what I’d used in the original design on the cover of Book I to make the symbol and the names stand out more.

Here is what Russ had to say about the production:

The initial process of the medallions seemed simple enough, but rarely are the simple items the simplest to make. We knew the resin that would show off the work was one we liked to use for our own work because of its heft and natural ivory like properties after casting. Perhaps the most difficult things to create initially were actually the scribed names in the back. We used Photoshop to create some quick mock ups of the medallions. The fronts were simple replicas of the symbol for Ms. Noe’s world, but the back scribes were several back and forth discussions with the author to get the feeling of hand-carved names without making them feel too computer generated. 

When we were all happy with the first mock ups, it was time for Dan to create the medallions in the computer. For a semi-spherical shape, to make line depths deep enough but not too deep was a bit of a challenge. But again, after a couple trials and print outs, we found a depth and size that worked for the author. Now that we had the masters, it was on to the next step. 

We’ve always enjoyed using higher grade silicon mold resins rather than tin based ones. They’re easier to maintain, release a lot better, and we’ve found we get quite a bit more castings out of them than with the lesser grade mold rubbers. The process for the molds was not too difficult, we just followed the side seams with clay below, blocking the hole for the cord partially to a divot, and then poured the rubber. Once cured, the clay on the back was removed, release agent applied, and the second half was poured. After that, it was a matter of conditioning the mold and injecting the resin with syringes to assist in avoiding any air bubbles that would ruin the cast.

– Russ, The Gaming Geeks

The Results

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The resin pendants are a unique new product that’s now available as part of my regular event inventory! I think it’s incredible that fans of the books can now hold (and own) an actual piece of the story.

I had been wanting to do this project for a while, but I wasn’t sure how to approach it. Finding a large production company online usually requires placing large bulk orders, and it’s not uncommon for companies to discard the molds after a project is completed, which means having to pay another mold design fee for every order.

I wasn’t in a position to cover the upfront costs of a large bulk order. By teaming up with The Gaming Geeks, not only was I staying local, but our production expectations were also similar; I needed small orders of no more than five to ten of each design at a time, and The Gaming Geeks are a two-person business operating out of a small studio. Since they handcraft each individual piece, small orders were ideal for them as well, plus I could avoid shipping costs by picking up my orders at events.

I love that I could support a small, local business that takes pride in their craft and combines digital and hand techniques. These pendants are NOT mass-produced by machines… making each one a special and unique treasure!

Shop the Pendants

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The Kit and Rayven pendants are available at events! (You can find an up-to-date schedule of my upcoming events on the homepage.)

And, now that I’ve launched my brand-new ecommerce website, you can also order the pendants online.

The Gaming Geeks do NOT sell the Amínyte pendants, so you’ll have to get them directly from me. But if you’re into fantasy, tabletop games, art, maps, et cetera, be sure to check out their store and see what else they offer! They’re also open for collaborations if, like me, you also have a project that you’ve been wanting to bring to life.

What do you think of the pendants? Are you as excited about them as I am??