R.J. Franks Artist & Worldbuilder

Architect of Creative Realities

Exploring the boundaries between science fiction, fantasy, and visual storytelling.

Enter the Archive
Sci-Fi Universe
Universe // Sci-Fi

Klios

A sprawling epic saga of multiple perspectives, set in the far reaches of a galaxy that materialized from the collapse of a supermassive black hole. This sudden cosmic event shattered the known laws of physics, birthing a realm of infinite possibilities where the old order has crumbled. Watch as the timeline fractures, shaping humanity’s conquest into a chaotic tapestry of factions born from the ashes of xenocide and the fallen mega-cities of the past. At the heart of the storm lies the Prize: a singular, hyper-dense galaxy teeming with rare resources so vast they offer an impossible advantage to any society that claims them. Those who enter quickly learn it is a lawless frontier where opportunists swarm like moths to a flame, and established armadas work to extinguish rivals with ruthless precision. Here dwell the Planesweepers: independent freelancers, mercenaries, and sovereigns who sweep the new expansion of space to harvest the universe’s bounty for their families and self-interested goals. Whether fleeing oppressive empires or resource-scarce homeworlds, they seek to build their own utopias or die trying. Some are demonized mercenaries; others are fledgling governments answering to no one. Amidst the chaos, new sapient alliances form as old adversaries - the very species that once hunted humanity to the brink of extinction - are forced to meet on this new playing field. As societies shift the balance of power with each new colony establiushed, humanity, their new contacts and dangerous former enemies all collide in the endless void, fighting not just for territory, but for the very future of their species.

Fantasy Universe
Universe // Fantasy

Phastet

A high-fantasy world where reality is a finite resource. To conjure water from humid air is to bend the world’s natural consciousness; to summon it from nothing is to tear a hole in the universe. As ancestries and dynasties grow more vicious, their tactics threaten to shred the barrier between their world and the emptiness of the metaphysical. Once, the gods walked among men; now, their corpses drift through the sky like dead stars, their decaying flesh fueling the magic that keeps the world alive. For eons, these entities have sat in quiet contemplation within the Unmaking Void - not truly dead, nor truly real - forging horrid new forms of existence in their minds. If a tear in reality opens, their own presence threatens to overwhelm creation itself, bringing eons of creative malice to reshape the world in their warped vision. Their only true adversaries are The Ascended, whose vigil nature and oaths of neutrality are now challenged by the rising chaos. Amidst this backdrop of inevitable collapse, the fates of the unlikely intertwine. A thief bound by an ancient pact finds her soul tethered to a Blood God she never knew existed, a connection that can only be resolved by the sacrifice of one. A summoner, unaware of the weight of a spell cast in ignorance, finds his very life force bound to a greater purpose, dragging him into a war he cannot see. And an inventor, desperate to pay off a crushing debt, stumbles into a race against time to save a young woman from losing her body to one of the returning Old Gods. These survivors, debtors, and the unwitting are caught in a web spun by gods who have spent eternity learning how to kill a world. As the barriers fail, the line between savior and monster is drawn by the actions they take now; their past mistakes no longer matter if there is no timeline left to rewrite. Follow the political figures and their intrigues that shape the events and the lives of those trying to survive them. Watch as the tears in the fold become too vast to ignore. When the political game shifts from territorial dispute into a mere distraction, only the apocalypse remains. When it becomes too late to prevent the end, the choice is left: fix the world, or fall in place to the invaders who will reshape the material plane as their own.

Visual Archives

View Full Gallery →
Character Design
Character Design

Title

Insert Description here.

Environment Art
Environment

Phato's Garden

A small view into a Godling's sacred grove.

Illustration
Illustration

Title

Insert Description here.

Active Projects

See All Work →
Commissioned Work

Client Portfolios

Selected commissions for book covers, character design and more.

Writing

Short Stories

Short stories talking about/from the perspectives of every day lives to Eldritch creatures.