THE TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO ILLUSTRATING THE EXTRAORDINARY CREATURES OF THE UNIVERSE VOLUME I: AETHERIN
Launching on Kickstarter
November 18th, 2025
Artists of the universe...
do you ever find yourself at a loss when vacaying across the galaxy? Can’t quite capture the most camera-shy of creatures? Have you lost more than one limb whilst trying to take a picture of the photo-sensitive Forty-Tentacled Wormgurbler of Zenith 5? Don’t get a lawyer, get The Traveler’s Guide to Illustrating the Extraordinary Creatures of the Universe Volume I: Aetherin. Quoted by the A.I.M.A.C (Association of Intergalactic Museum of Art Curators) as "the third best way to prove to your friends about where you have been,” The Traveler’s guide teaches you how to document the creatures of the universe with a pencil, NOT a camera– because most things bite before the flash can go off. The Traveler's Guide to Drawing the Extraordinary Creatures of the Universe Volume 1: Aetherin is a unique spin on the classic how-to-draw art book that takes artists on a journey to the wild and volatile planet of Aetherin. Chronicled by the dashing and mysterious artist known only as The Traveler, the illustrations are paired with illustrative techniques as well as journal entries describing the Do’s and Don’ts of navigating this dangerous planet–all so you can live to draw another day.
Artists will learn Mike Butkus’ process on drawing alien creatures, vehicles, and environments from the imagination as well as industry techniques he’s developed over the last three decades. The techniques described in the book are suggested for intermediate to advanced artists. All artwork in the book are created traditionally using mediums such as color pencils, Acrylic paint, airbrush, markers and Gouache. The tips and techniques will touch on composition, perspective, value control as well as character, environmental and vehicular design.
The Traveler’s Guide is the first book ever to combine illustration techniques with a rich and immersive fantasy storyline. You won't find a dry and boring how-to-draw book here. Instead, intermediate artists will be immersed in the dangerous and colorful world of Aetherin and its eccentric inhabitants while they learn to draw from the imagination and improve their illustrative skills.
About The Author
The storyline for The Traveler's Guide was created and written by the talented Amelie Butkus, Mike's lovely but very snarky daughter. She is also behind the YA mystery A Lamplighter in Larkeney and the upcoming dark fantasy The Witch in the Wall. Amelie is a recent Berkeley graduate who has gone on to collaboratively write and illustrate with her father, Mike Butkus. The rest is on a need-to-know basis, obviously. What little information she can divulge is that she likes to write books about doomed dinner parties, enormous peppers, and the best places in the galaxy to get a decent sandwich. She currently lives somewhere in a town between some landmarks along a stretch of road that might or might not be somewhere in a larger country. Or right behind you.
Meet Some of Aetherin's Finest
Excerpts From The Traveler's Guide
 Esmeralda & PekSo, you might be thinking “wow this girl does that horrible thing we Earth people do, which is carry around small dogs in purses where they get to marinate in bits of old gum and dirty coins. First of all, that’s a unique form of torture on some planets, and second of all, Pek (the little guy) actually likes it. Pek is a Pekarine and the last of his kind. The girl is Esmeralda and she belongs to Aetherin’s only Species Preservation program. She's also the only member, go figure. |  The GumbleshankerThe deadly Family-Munching Gumbleshanker of Cuka Pora roams this jungle on his mechanical tree-hopping pogo sticks. His favourite meal is a nice big bowl of SpindleGrovers and his favourite pastime is thinking up ways to catch them, whether that be by inescapable sap of the Silva Leaf, sticking his long tongue in through the door of a SpindleGrover home, or pretending to be a lady SpindleGrover around the corner of a SpindleGrover Bachelor party. |  The Misery MiteThe Misery Mite is technically a harmless bug that proliferated some time ago in the unwashed cesspools of Aetherin’s only metropolis, D’wor Di. Most bacteria live to infect, replicate, and repeat but the Misery Mite lives solely to make people miserable. According to scientists, the bacteria became extremely depressed regarding the futility of love, realizing that it, quote, “did nothing but split up.” |
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 Draxel FearghastThe Mayor of D’wor Di pronounced (Doo-or-Die) The capital city of Aetherin is a vibrant and thriving one, but living in the hub of civilization comes with its own challenges. In his own words, The Mayor of D’wor Di, Draxel Fearghast was forced to hack his way through the competition (but that’s just a metaphor of course.) His main objective is keeping his constituents safe and happy. |  Choralie MitsmitheI found an underground library, pitch black save for a few roving lanterns held aloft by enormous indistinct shapes. I got quite a scare as one of them came close and revealed itself to be an enormous spindly machine with bug-eyes and eight arms. At my scream, someone came running and I met Choralie Mitsmithe. Fifteen-year old Choralie Mitsmithe is one of the youngest engineers in D’wor Di. She’s made quite a splash this year by designing the winning contestant of this year's Witherin Races. |  Gorbok & ZipharaI was nursing one of Garblar’s Limbic Lagers and feeling down on myself after yet another angry phone call (with an unnamed sand sylph) when I was approached by an attractive couple asking if I wanted to swing…from the gallows. Turns out Gorbok (left) and Ziphara (right) were a pair of bounty hunters. They hastily assured me this was a joke and said they’d only been curious about what I was drawing. Feeling generous in my relief, I offered to do an entry on the couple in my book. |
Cobellian's Coin
The Collaboration
Our mysterious Traveler is a member of the prestigious Order of Stride which is one of the four oldest guilds in Federation history and it's expanding all the time. New alliances are forged on the promise of a life long dedication to explore and document new worlds. In order to be granted membership to The Order of Stride, an artist must prove his worthiness by displaying acute survival skills and superior drawing abilities in high-stress situations (knowledge of parkour is a bonus). Then and only then, will they be rewarded the distinguished Cobellian Coin. The coin features the signature star map of the First Federation Seven and on its flip side, a relief of Cobellian Stride The Seventy-Handed Savant and founder of The Order of Stride. Cobellian Stride was the first of the Cetalline to liaison with the budding interplanetary alliance. A brilliant academic and technical artist; all who knew him called him The Seventy-handed Savant. Cobellian’s coin functions as a key to the Order’s homebase- a towering edifice in the swooping Old-Cetallian architectural style. Members press the coin into the divot between the pair of double doors and Voilá!
We are thrilled to announce a first-of-it's-kind collaboration with T&S Coin, a coin company known for their attention to detail and beautiful artistry. Cobellian's coin, a symbol of membership to the intergalactic guild of artists known as The Order of Stride, showcases the highest level of craftsmanship in the galaxy. You can purchase the coin on the T&S Coin website or alongside The Traveler's Guide on Kickstarter in November 2025. Are you ready to join the Order of Stride?
Kickstarter
What is Kickstarter?
Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform where you can pledge to purchase a product you believe in and that product will be shipped to you once it has been produced.
How do I order the book?
Our launch date of November 18th means that The Traveler's Guide will be open to pledges (orders) for 45 days from launch. The book will be created if we can hit our funding goal of $8,000, which we have in just the first 24 hours! But no worries, you have until January 2nd to go to Kickstarter and pledge. Thanks so much for your support!
Why pledge?
You become a backer when you make a pledge (place an order) on one of the tiers we offer. By pledging, we as creators get funds to mass produce the product and ship it out to you at a later date. The tiers will not only include the book but exclusive incentives such as custom stickers, semi-permanent tattoos, the Cobellian coin and original sketches that will not be offered with the book once the kickstarter campaign is over.
The Official Kickstarter Trailer
How can I help make sure the Traveler's Guide gets made?
For starters, you can join our street team to help spread the word about the book's Kickstarter launch. A street team is a group of people who volunteer to promote someone else's work that they believe in. The Traveler’s Guide has been our baby for the last seven years and we are passionate about inspiring the next generation of adventurers and artists.
As a street team member, here’s what you can do to help:
-Repost our instagram posts onto your story or even main grid. You can use our own posts or the images on this page and tag us @mikebutkusart and @ameliebutkus.
-Tell your friends and family
-Create some of your own aliens and tag us to possibly be featured in this book or the next #thetravelersguide
We appreciate all of your support and hope to see you out there on the streets, the webs, or hyperspace!