The Witcher snags Game of Thrones scenic artist Howard Weaver

Howard Weaver has a very cool job. As a scenic artist, he paints backgrounds on large canvases that actors when stand in front of — probably augmented with special effects — while playing out their scenes, like so:

Show business is a strange business.

Weaver has had quite a career, having worked on everything from Star Wars to Batman to Game of Thrones. Check out Weaver rendering of what looks like the North in the early seasons of his show, taken from his website:

Image: Game of Thrones 1. From howardweaver.co.uk

In between his work in film and TV, Weaver finds time to make and exhibit his own stuff, but he’s clearly a major name when it comes to big-ticket entertainment. Among his projects on deck for this year is The Witcher, Netflix’s upcoming series based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels.

Image: The Witcher. From howardweaver.co.uk

Notice how there are real trees put in front of the backdrop, to make the illusion more complete. You may recognize this particular swamping background from the end of The Witcher trailer. The giant spider is added in after the fact…we assume.

There’s also this striking castle backdrop:

Image: The Witcher. From howardweaver.co.uk

Witcher fansite Redanian Intelligence thinks this may be Wyzim, the capital city of Temeria. We’ll have to wait until the first season of The Witcher drops later this year; still no exact release date yet.

Interestingly, it sounds as though The Witcher is purposefully steering clear of casting actors from Game of Thrones, probably so it can establish itself as an original fantasy series. But clearly that ban doesn’t apply to crew members, which makes sense. Why wouldn’t you want some of their expertise?

Anyway, we’re looking forward to seeing Weaver’s work on screen! You can see more of his stuff here.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels