Astigmatic Esperantism (commission)

Many months ago I was commissioned (again) to make a series of Discord server icons. This is the same client who previously commissioned such gems as Enraptured Athoracophoridae and Erudite Australopithecus, so I knew I was going to be in for something interesting. Just like last time, I was given a list of phrases whose words started with E and A, then asked to illustrate them. I was given minimal direction other than the occasional explanation when I asked what some of the words meant.

Like many conlangers, one of my first introductions to constructed languages was Esperanto, a language designed to be easy to learn. The language was created by a guy named Dr. Leyzer Zamenhof, who hoped that if everyone learned Esperanto as a second language, it would bring about world peace because everyone had a common ground on how to communicate with each other.

Of course, look at the news and there’s at least 20 different, horrifically violent wars happening right now, so clearly there’s not enough people today speaking Esperanto.

Astigmatism is an eye condition that makes things blurry due because your eye’s curvature is weird, but it can be fixed with glasses. Hence, Zamenhof with glasses.

Fun fact: though best known for Esperanto, Dr. Zamenhof was an ophtalmologist (an eye doctor) by trade, so the glasses are actually extra fitting.