I have no idea what Benioff and Weiss have planned for the look of the series, but getting the look of Westeros right is going to be important. My hope is that they do what Peter Jackson did with his adaptation of Lord of the Rings. Early on in production, Jackson brought on board famed Tolkien illustrators Alan Lee and John Howe. The art these two did based on Tolkien’s series is what much of the look of the films is based on. So who could Benioff and Weiss bring in to get the look of Game of Thrones just right?
One of the most popular ASOIAF artists is Amok. His extensive gallery of character portraits is impressive. Certainly for costuming and casting his work could make a good basis. He also has some artwork of famous scenes in the books. Personally I’m not as big of a fan of his art style as some others, but he certainly has a very exhaustive collection of portraits so any character that would need to be costumed or cast could be referenced.
For the design of the castles and cities, they might look to Ted Nasmith. Nasmith is another popular Tolkien illustrator, however he recently did work on most of the major castles, keeps and cities in Westeros for the upcoming World of Ice and Fire book. All of the paintings he has done are beautiful and I think capture the descriptions given to us by Martin in the book perfectly. Obviously all of the works would have to be translated on screen as matte paintings or possibly CG renderings.
Lastly, we come to my personal favorite ASOIAF artist and if you’ve followed this site at all you’ve seen his artwork used frequently on here. I am talking, of course, about Michael Komark. Komark is an experienced fantasy artist, who has done a little bit of everything. His foray into the world of Westeros was done originally for the Game of Thrones CCG and more recently for the Song of Ice and Fire calendar. To me, his vision and art style captures almost perfectly what I picture most of these characters to look like in my head. I also think his skill at realistically portraying the characters and settings would help with the transition from the page to the screen. He would get my vote for official Game of Thrones concept artist.
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48 Comments
I agree with Komark, I have bought ”Art of Ice and Fire” and his works really stand out among the others. And Amoka is really amazing, especially if you consider he has no formal art training…
gabalQuote Reply
Amok's art is AMAZING. It was seeing his portraits that really brought the characters to life in a visual sense for me.
I wish he would still but the color versions up because the B&W ones don't do justice to his talent. I guess I understand why he doesn't though.
OmagusQuote Reply
I see you plugging the 2009 calendar artist, but what do you think about the 2010 artist? Are you ready to kick it old school – to the extreme?
High and Mighty JeffreyQuote Reply
Just click on the black and white pictures they open in a new window in color.
AnonymousQuote Reply
I actually don’t think Michael Komark would be good as a concept artist for the series. His work is too fanciful, while the great thing about Game of Thrones is its realism.
Also, his artwork shows a disregard for the narrative surrounding each character. Tyrion’s coloring is wrong in his portrait, Tywin Lannister’s armor is wrong, and Sansa is apparently building the snow-castle version of Winterfell in the middle of a gloomy wood, rather than a courtyard in the Eyrie.
I love Ted Nasmith’s renderings of the castles though.
AnonymousQuote Reply
I think Amok comes closest to the way I imagine the characters.
I like Kormark’s landscapes but his characters are wide of the mark imho, esp. Tywin and Tyrion, from how I imagined them.
Amok’s are alright but I have the same problem with Tywin. I imagined him as a bit older and burlier – a smaller Robert. In other words, more intimidating than these pictures.
Robert Baratheon is easy: http://tinyurl.com/b5bwkj :-)
Chris TQuote Reply
Komark all the way . . . he’s fantastic and portrays what I had already envisioned in my head.
AnonymousQuote Reply
WiC, did you pick up on this news about HBO commissioning a pilot for a drama about the Borgias? I was a bit concerned that the Guardian started saying it was being touted as ROME’s replacement, which is what I thought AGoT was being aimed at?
Adam WhiteheadQuote Reply
I just have to say that Komark’s portrayl of Jaime is spot on in that one picture on his site. Definitely my favourite of his.
AnonymousQuote Reply
“Certainly for costuming and casting his work could make a good basis.”
I don’t think so. ASOIAF is kinda realistic story and there should be references to the real costumes of 13-15th centuries. The same thing concerns the towns, castles (etc.) as well.
Generally speaking I see no problems with costuming, for example: there were so many historical movies that the crew may easily find some to use in the series.
AnonymousQuote Reply
I always like watching the image montage videos on youtube like this one, they are usually pretty neat….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfcb7csXJFc
RerQuote Reply
KOMARK ALL THE WAY!!!
AnonymousQuote Reply
You should check the work of Enrique Corominas too, illustrator of the spanish books of asoiaf. He even has an illustration book called ‘El arte de Canción de Hielo y Fuego’, really nice.
AnonymousQuote Reply
Adam: I hadn’t heard anything about that. I don’t see it being reported in any of the trades. Do you have a link for that?
WinterIsComingQuote Reply
Those castles look awesome.
BubbaQuote Reply
Got me scared :)
Here’s what I dug out:
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2009/02/uk_indie_to_make_renaissance_drama_for_canal.html;jsessionid=0EFA163C882147823C58FB3E7357D071
Tom Fontana’s writing it, but not for HBO, apparently!
Some dead news links suggest that there were rumours circulating about the show being an HBO production, but luckily that does not seem to be the case.
MarkoQuote Reply
I really hope they don’t do that, actually. I always visualize this series is dark, gritty, and very realistic – if they make it look like a fantasy novel illustration, I’ll be quite disappointed (and it’ll probably be both more expensive and less appealing to the general population).
heiligeglutQuote Reply
It seems to me that the real concept art will be needed for the castles and not the people, so my vote goes to Nasmith.
Still, Komarck is by far my favourite, his illustrations for the card game were awesome. Tywin was a brooding, intelligent man, Tyrion was a dwarf with a touch of awesome, Jaime was cocky as hell, and Cersei was absolutely gorgeous (and resembled Jaime quite a bit!)
I haven't seen the calendar (%$&# Dabel Brothers) but I've heard rave reviews. If the Jon Snow cover piece was indicative of the overall quality I think it's going to be one solid piece of awesome.
AnonymousQuote Reply
To clarify, I bought the calendar, but I have yet to see it.
AnonymousQuote Reply
Marko: Good find. Yeah, it looks like a lot of ex-HBO folks are involved with that production. Possibly those folks were planning on bringing the project to HBO at one point, but they definitely won’t be able to do that now. So, thankfully, it won’t be in contention with Thrones.
WinterIsComingQuote Reply
Concerning the Borgias:
Project launched by a French channel (canal+) with the help of many european groups and production societies.
It has nothing to do with HBO, even if a lot of people who worked with HBO in the past are involved (Tom Fontana, Chris Albrecht and Anne Thomopoulos).
Production will begin by the end of 2009.
AnonymousQuote Reply
Anonymous above is me again:
Link: http://www.canalplus.fr/c-series/c-l-actu-des-series/cid218571-canal-lance-une-serie-sur-les-borgia-ecrite-par-tom-fontana.html
LOG
AnonymousQuote Reply
tinyurl please
AnonymousQuote Reply
WiC, The Guardian was reporting it as fact that HBO were doing it. However, I note that they have now removed the story from their website and the former link is now dead. I’m guessing they made the mistake of thinking that HBO were definitely doing it and have withdrawn the story.
Adam WhiteheadQuote Reply
hey – it now has a IMDB page…woohoo
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944947/
AnonymousQuote Reply
Of course, the other excellent ASOIAF artist (which has been overlooked in your post!!), is Mike S Miller. This is the guy who is responsible for the comic adaptation of the Hedge Knight series.
He is also responsible for these two masterpieces (among others): http://firebrandfantasyart.com/forsale/001.html and http://firebrandfantasyart.com/forsale/003.html.
Not sure if he is really a candidate for concept art for the HBO series, but he should be acknowledged as a great ASOIAF artist.
JohnQuote Reply
IMHO the perfect candidate for CONCEPTUAL artist would be AMOK – while some of his portrait’s lack technique (then again – they are supposed to be concept’s) they are very FAITHFULL to the books (they were all actually consulted with GRRM) and I think THIS is the most valuable attribute of a good concept art. Komarck’s Jaime for instance is great but I seriously doubt if anyone could mistaken him for Cersei – and that’s how he should look… Of course I’d love to see Nasmith and Komarck involved in the production – but I don’t think it’d be a good choice without good supervisor (GRRM?;p). Their work is also to detailed and that means more time consuming and expensive as well…
PytonQuote Reply
“It seems to me that the real concept art will be needed for the castles and not the people, so my vote goes to Nasmith.”
Word. He does the best landscapes.
AnonymousQuote Reply
I just don’t hope for cheap fantasy style, but gritty realism… please…
Use to whatever extent possible real armours, clothes etc.
LOTR movie kept from my point of view a strikingly beautiful balance between realism and fantasy… follow that path…
AnonymousQuote Reply
I hope that The Others look like Lee Moyers take on them. http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/3347/p065.jpg
dizzyQuote Reply
I respectfully disagree … while they have some faithful elements, they strike me as outer space aliens.
Well, I guess this is just to show that tastes differ a lot, and that Martin’s detailed descriptions still allow readers’ fantasy to follow divergent paths. The important thing for the producers to achieve (and I completely trust them with that) is unity, and – as we seem to agree – the visuals to be more on the realistic side. Even with minimal Martin’s involvement, I’m pretty sure they can’t really go wrong there.
MarkoQuote Reply
Komarck’s Jaime doesn’t look like his Cersei? Are you shitting me? Look at the jaw, the chin, the cheekbones, the brow and the forehead. Shit, just look at the face.
Amok’s art was decent, but I don’t think his artwork comes anywhere near to Komarck’s. For one, I really appreciate Komarck’s armour and weapons. Most fantasy artists take shortcuts (including Amok) and draw something that vaguely resembles a sword or a suit of plate, but Komarck’s actually looks realistic.
AnonymousQuote Reply
I think Amok’s portraits are mostly really good, maybe he has occasionally drawn some characters too pretty and model-like, but that’s a minor flaw. So I do hope the producers would take a look on Amok’s gallery. Of course the casting shouldn’t only rely on the looks of the actors, but you know what I mean :)
Nasmith and Komark are perhaps more talented than Amok, but I have a strong sense of “wrongness” when I look at their works. Nasmith is really fantastic in landscapes and buildings, but his style is too “Tolkienish” and too “graceful” in my eyes. I feel better if ASoIaF gets more fresher look. Komark, however, has been a stranger to me until I started my ASoIaF obsession so he has no burden of the past, but some his visions – for example in Sansa’s case – just doesn’t convince me as an ASoIaF art (about armour and weapons I have no complaints). If Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising would ever get a worthy tv/movie adaption, Komark would be the right artist in the right place. His works have that kind of ethereal beauty.
Btw, Komark’s Jaime sitting in The Iron Throne is pretty awesome in his cockiness etc, but I still agree with Pyton. CCG-Jaime (in the horseback) doesn’t look _enough_ like CCG-Cersei. They have some resemblance, but Jaime is too masculine and sturdy to be Cersei’s lookalike-twin. Amok’s Cersei and Jaime are much better couple.
(Besides Komark’s Cersei is too bitchy-looking for my taste)
AnonymousQuote Reply
Its all a matter of taste and imagination. I find Kormak’s work the closest to my ideas of some of the characters (Tiwin for example). And I totally disagree with Jaimie and Cersie. They are totally twins! Kormak used the same triangles for both faces. They might look a bit different due to angles, but they are very alike. And I find that that work for cercei better than other artist, where they focus on Cerceis “beuty” rather than in her sexiness. Cercie is not a young woman. She cannot be compared with Sansa or other “pretty” girls. She is a woman with 3 children, never forget that, true no noblewomen would breastfeed, but will still get the increase/decrease in water/fat that comes with preganancy. She is supposed to be breathtaking and that is not the same as pretty. Kormaks cercei is a tad masculine in the face (a bit too rectangular, he’s keeping proporcions to fit Jaimie’s I think) but I find that works better for her character.
RichardQuote Reply
About Komark's Jaime & Cersei… (I'm the anonymous above)
Maybe I was too harsh when I said that K's Jaime and Cersei have some resemblance. They definitely look like siblings… all right – twins, they have same features etc. But. Jaime and Cersei are _more_ than ordinary twins. When they were younger, they changed their clothes and not even their father noticed anything. Of course boys and girls look more alike than men and women, but at least some of that uncanny identicality must still remain in their adult lives. I have always thought that both Jaime and Cersei are rather androgyn in their looks. Komark's Cersei is really fine in regard to that (and the age/being-a-mother -thing), better than most interpretations of Cersei I've seen, but his Jaime isn't so successful. K's Jaime is too macho-looking. I don't mean he should be some sort of anime/manga-prettyboy, because he is not an emo-poet or whatever (no offence meant to anyone who happens to like poetry and/or beautiful boys), I just want him to be as feminine as much Cersei is masculine. I think Amok's Jaime captures that pretty well, though his Cersei isn't as good as Komark's
AnonymousQuote Reply
Personally, I think the effects of puberty would account for the mild differences between the twins when in adulthood. :P
Remember, they looked alike as children. After Cersei’s flowering and Jaime’s knighthood, probably not as much.
AnonymousQuote Reply
Heh, Cersei and Jaime's identical/not-so-identical looks are clearly the most important thing to ponder :)
I didn't mean that Cersei and Jaime should look _exactly_ alike still in adulthood, just more than ordinary twins. I think I have the books supporting me in this. All the time it is emphasized that Cersei and Jaime were looking as much alike as reflections in the mirror and so on. Komark's Jaime and Cersei's resemblance isn't enough for that.
I have known a couple of twins from my childhood. When we were children, they could not have done a succesfull Jaime/Cersei-clothes-changing. They did look alike, but not so much that they could have passed as each other. And now, as adults, they look about as much alike as Komarck's Jaime and Cersei.
So these are the reasons why I can't accept Komarck's visions of C & J. The feeling I get from the books and the limited knowledge of the looks of the twins based on my acquaintances ;)
AnonymousQuote Reply
Frankly, none of the existing art ever sat right with me for the series. I would not mind if the tv series went off on its own art tangent. Even the map inside the books doesn’t exactly match the narrative (just try and justify the path that Yorek took back from kings landing on that map and you’ll see what I mean). The only thing I ask is to see things described in the book: 700 foot Wall, hot springs in Winterfell, and the Honeycomb sky cells of the Eryie.
AnonymousQuote Reply
Ted Nasmith is absolutely amazing with his designs, I cant believe how someone can make something so good ! And I love Komark also.
AnonymousQuote Reply
Thomas Jedruszek, look him up. He does some art for the CCG, and he’s the closest to capturing both the vividness and grittiness of the setting. I like Komarck a lot, but I do think Amoka can be overrated. Some of his portraits are quite fine, especially the Targaryens, but some are a bit sloppy. Of course he has improved in talent a good deal since he did many of his ASOIAF portraits way back.
Another artist I like very much is Christine Griffin.
AnonymousQuote Reply
Komark does awesome job. His characters are natural and vivid. While Amoka’s are quite stiff and weird. Futhermore, his art doesn’t represent any of the characters as well as Komark’s, in my opinion. One glance at Komark’s art and you know exactly at who you look at.
AgnieszkaQuote Reply
What amazed me is that AMOK’S representation of Euron Greyjoy is so much like I imagined him it hurts. It’s like he ripped the image out of my head and drew lines over it.. Amazing. He may not be the best artist, but he got some characters absolutely accurate.
AnonymousQuote Reply
For the longest time Amok was the only person I could find, years back, who had even attempted ANY character portraits from a Song of Ice and Fire; so I have a special place in my heart for him. That said,Komark is on another level with his skills.
NjordQuote Reply
Yes, I have also that kind of fondness towards Amok’s works. Besides, I think that he is one ot the most loyal artists to the books’ descriptions. His portraits aren’t techically as fine as e.g. Komarck’s, they have some kind of frozen plasticality and some of them are a little bit too beautiful etc. But I feel that Amok has honestly done his best, tried (and managed) to stick as close as possible to the books. Let them come first and his “ego as an artist” behind. That’s why I appreciate his works more than some others’. And some of Amok’s portraits just are absolutely right-looking :)
Komarck, however, while he is undeniable very talented, there is also something in his works I don’t approve. But it is quite difficult to put my finger on it. Since his version of the golden twins has caused some amount of discussion, I try to clarify through them what bothers me. It is perhaps the “american redneck”-look Jaime (while his attitude is made of win!) is expressing and Cersei’s lack of decent clothes and being a bit flasher. They don’t struck me as members of pseudo-British/medieval nobility. They belong more to the realm of Deadwood. Though I should see more of Komarck’s art to give a final judgement :) Does anyone know is his ASoIaF-calendar totally watchable somewhere in the net?
KaisaQuote Reply
There’s some good stuff on deviantart… one of my personal favorites there is pojypoyj:
http://pojypojy.deviantart.com/gallery/#A-Song-of-Ice-and-Fire
Her painting of Cersei is definitive, and she has some comic style sketches of “The things I do for love” scene that you would be perfect storyboard material. Her latest ASOIAF stuff includes some great portraits of Targeryans we’ll see in season one… Viserys is spot-on!
Here’s her personal website:
http://pogg.carbonmade.com/
The artist who did the Spanish edition book covers is also excellent, and captures the turbulence and darkness of the books better than most, and has some great renditions of Dany. The artists name is “Corominas”… I was unable to find a personal website… George’s website has a section for cover art–dig around and you’ll find some samples.
I agree on Mike S Miller… if they could find a way to have him draw at 24fps for 7 seasons, we’d have no need for live action :)
AnonymousQuote Reply
Found some links with art including some character portraits by Corominas:
http://doriangraybd.blogspot.com/
http://doriangraybd.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20song%20of%20ice%20and%20fire%20art
AnonymousQuote Reply
Anon: Those are great. Really like his Tyrion and Arya.
WinterIsComingQuote Reply
I like his portraits a whole lot. The rest not so much … a bit too fantastic and unreal for my taste (however, I could only wish to have his abilities :) my issue is with the interpretation of the material, not the artist’s talent).
MarkoQuote Reply