Howdy, I’m Sam, the composer and creator behind the cinematic music project Arkana . For over a decade, I’ve been building worlds through sound, chasing the same feeling of awe I first found in the mythic stories and epic worlds that inspired me growing up.

I’ve always taken the long road with my work, choosing patience and depth over quick output. The goal has never been to make content, but to make something lasting, and that approach has shaped a community that has grown with me over the years.

Staying true to that approach, I began exploring a new idea through a single song called Einvik’s Curse, which eventually became the foundation for my album, Iskatallith . I poured everything into it, but I soon realized music alone wasn't enough to tell the full story. So I took a leap of faith and self-funded an anime music video for that song, a step closer to fully realizing the world in my head.

That journey, however, was not a simple one. The years it took to bring that video to life were a period of immense personal struggle and hidden growth. A deep creative burnout, amplified by a late diagnosis of Autism, forced me to learn how to work with my own wiring instead of against it. It was through that process that I discovered the real reason the music never felt like enough: I wasn't meant to just be a composer. I was meant to build an entire mythos.

And that’s what I’ve been doing. Since the completion of the video, I have devoted myself full-time to expanding the world of Arkana, developing hundreds of pages of world-building, lore, and screenplays. I realized the story must unfold across multiple mediums and is now being transformed into a graphic novel series, with the ultimate goal of a fully realized animated movie trilogy.

(still frame from Arkana - Einvik's Curse anime music video)

So what’s the story?

Arkana is a myth about the shadow side of good intentions, about how the desperate urge to mend what’s broken can pull the wound even tighter.

It unfolds in a world where a living star is dying, scarred by a fallen civilization that tried to bend the laws of nature and failed.

From the ashes, two new powers have risen: one seeking to restore order through absolute technological control, the other vowing to unleash primordial chaos in a cleansing fire.

Caught between them, a lone outcast must uncover the buried truth of a fractured pattern or watch both factions impose their own catastrophic cure upon the world.

Why GoFundMe?

This campaign will fund the proof-of-concept needed for the upcoming Kickstarter launch of our first graphic novel, Arkana: Branch of Becoming™.

Your contribution goes directly toward the two most essential resources that make this possible: hiring a professional art team to bring this world to life visually, and my undivided creative time to finalize the foundational screenplays.

To build momentum and make this a shared journey, we're using a phased approach. Our journey begins with an initial goal of $3500. As we hit each milestone, the next goal will be unlocked, allowing us to build this pitch package together, piece by piece, all the way to our ultimate goal of $20,000.

INITIAL GOAL: $3,500 - The Core Cast & Their World

Concept art for three main characters and a key environmental painting of their desert home village.

(Example of character concept art used for Einvik's Curse AMV)

STRETCH GOAL #1: $7,500 - Assemble the Allies & Creatures

Full concept art for three pivotal supporting characters and designs for one of the world's signature creatures.

STRETCH GOAL #2: $12,000 - Build the Epic World

A full suite of concept paintings for four key environments (including treacherous swamps and vast wastelands) and detailed designs for the story's central ancient megastructure and a mythic starship.

(Example of environment concept art used for Einvik's Curse AMV)

STRETCH GOAL #3: $15,000 - The Cover & First Pages

A professional cover for Book 1 and five fully colored and lettered graphic novel pages.

FINAL STRETCH GOAL: $20,000 - The Expanded Preview

Our ultimate goal! Hitting this would be transformative, allowing us to expand the deliverable from a small preview to a complete, 10-15 pages from the graphic novel, giving us an incredible head start for the Kickstarter.

The Road Ahead

With the finished scripts and art package in hand, we’ll launch the official Kickstarter to fund the full production of the first graphic novel.

You can join the mailing list HERE to receive updates on deliverables, production progress, and the Kickstarter launch date.

Your contribution will help manifest this story into physical reality. Support the campaign today, and let's unearth a myth together.

- Sam