Stormlight Archive Portrait Series

[Kobold King he/him]

I quite literally sat still for a few minutes, mesmerized by how awesome that chasm is.

 

I know I'm not the first person to do this, but upvote.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Kobold King

[Argent he/him]

Sooo... We are now ready to raise money and commission fan art as a site, yes? 

[Lyraina she/her]

Thanks again guys!

Regarding the chasms - I myself depict them with more stone surface, and less vegetation as well - especially lower parts that get flooded more often. I don't think the vegetation I painted would do very well with heavy flood rushing through. In the beginning when we experience them in a dark and oppressing way, I didn't imagine there to be much vegetation at all - that only happened much later when it gets described as having beauty as well.  (Trying to stay vague here because of spoilers ) If I can find the time, I would like to do a more realistic version later on, but then again, there's already some official art for that.

Leaving for vacation now, more replies when I'm back!

[GreyPilgrim he/him]

I'm sorry, Michael Whelan, but we have found our cover artist. Absolutely amazing!   

[Mailliw73 he/him]

http://www.frugal-rv-travel.com/image-files/buckskin2.jpg

This is like what I picture the chasms as.

[Curiosity he/him]

Brilliant! I really like the chasm piece. The Soulcaster was cool, but the chasm just took my breath away. Yes, maybe not exactly what's in the book, but… !!! It's so cool!

[Chrono she/her]

Holy crap that chasm. So good! I love the crazy amounts of plants there. I think you've done a most excellent job with the amount of plants- Brandon has said that even though Roshar is a harsh world, it is by no means barren. The sheer beauty of it is awe-inspiring. ANOTHER!

[Lyraina she/her]

Thanks again for all the comments!

GreyPilgrim: Haha, thank you - I guess not everybody would appreciate that Michael Whelan is amazing!

Mailliw73: Yeah, I think that is actually closer to how they would look. Certainly closer to how they are illustrated in the novel. I imagine them a lot less colorful though, more dark/grey/greenish and with more loose stuff lying around, not so 'clean'. Might depend on where you are and how long it's been since the last flood though.

Curiosity, thank you very much!

Chrono: Thank you! Working on it!

 

Here's a part of the next piece I'm working on. What do you think of Syl? Is she too ... "heavy"? I imagine her as a very tiny & fragile creature, not sure if I am conveying that yet. Maybe a bit thinner and more translucent might help...

[Delightful]

Thanks again for all the comments!

GreyPilgrim: Haha, thank you - I guess not everybody would appreciate that Michael Whelan is amazing!

Mailliw73: Yeah, I think that is actually closer to how they would look. Certainly closer to how they are illustrated in the novel. I imagine them a lot less colorful though, more dark/grey/greenish and with more loose stuff lying around, not so 'clean'. Might depend on where you are and how long it's been since the last flood though.

Curiosity, thank you very much!

Chrono: Thank you! Working on it!

 

Here's a part of the next piece I'm working on. What do you think of Syl? Is she too ... "heavy"? I imagine her as a very tiny & fragile creature, not sure if I am conveying that yet. Maybe a bit thinner and more translucent might help...

The lighting and colours are gorgeous, and I love the fairy-dust effect around her hair and hem.

 

She's definitely more solid that I imagined her, especially with the pattern on her dress (no pun intended). I always thought it was a flowy, wispy kind of dress. She also looks kinda worried and I usually imagine her more playful, but that does depend on  where in the story this is from.

 

Anyway, that's just my two cents. Hope that's helpful.

[Chrono she/her]

I love her hair, very nice special effect on that. If you made her about fifty percent more translucent, then I think it would be better. I always imagined her face a little more delicate and playful, but I think you've captured the wiser Syl -- the one who explains the nature of the Windrunners to Kaladin and sounds a little bit different from regular Syl. Beautiful either way.

[Atilium she/her]

Oh, that's beautiful! I love how her dress fades into mist at her knees, just how described. Personally I always imaged her with a very long dress that she would fold under her feet when she sat down... weird, I know But honestly, this is stunning!

[Delightful]

Oh, that's beautiful! I love how her dress fades into mist at her knees, just how described. Personally I always imaged her with a very long dress that she would fold under her feet when she sat down... weird, I know But honestly, this is stunning!

I'm fairly certain her dress changes length. I remember it as full length, knee-length, and trailing off into Syl not having feet.

[Argent he/him]

Mandatory disclaimer: I focus on what's not working in a piece of art, and offer suggestions how I think it can be fixed. I am not hating your art, I am offering what in my head sounds like constructive criticism. I just don't know how to sound nice about it - I love the painting, but...

 

...

 

I don't know about the transparency. Maybe a little, but 50% sounds too much to me. I think she needs to be just transparent enough to reveal that there is something behind her, but not enough so that you can determine what it is.

 

Hair's good. I think her face needs to be... more girly, less womanly. I keep imagining her as younger than 20, with a face that takes off a few years when she is being particularly mischievous. The length of her dress is largely irrelevant, as it changes with her moods, but the way it transitions into wisps feels too... defined for me. It's incredibly frustrating, because I have an image in my head, but I can't remember where it is from. The closest I could find was this. 

 

Oh, also. If I recall correctly, Syl rarely "walks" - she just glides in the air (or flies freely if she is in some other form, a leaf for example). The way her leg is positioned is unlikely. 

Edited July 5, 2014 by Argent

[Atilium she/her]

I'm fairly certain her dress changes length. I remember it as full length, knee-length, and trailing off into Syl not having feet.

Oh, I totally missed that.. haha, me and details. Thanks! 

[Lyraina she/her]

Thank you for the feedback, guys! I agree that it is a lot more in character for Syl to look mischivous or cheerful (and also youthful), so I changed her face a bit. Since I am painting Kaladin with a quite sinister expression, I don't want to give her too big a grin though because I feel like that wouldn't fit together (she doesn't like him to be unhappy after all). I also made her more translucent (esp. the feet) and a bit more airy.

 

The lighting and colours are gorgeous, and I love the fairy-dust effect around her hair and hem.

 

She's definitely more solid that I imagined her, especially with the pattern on her dress (no pun intended). I always thought it was a flowy, wispy kind of dress. She also looks kinda worried and I usually imagine her more playful, but that does depend on  where in the story this is from.

 

Anyway, that's just my two cents. Hope that's helpful.

Thank you, glad you like the fairy dust. I was a bit afraid that this is too much glitter
 

 

I love her hair, very nice special effect on that. If you made her about fifty percent more translucent, then I think it would be better. I always imagined her face a little more delicate and playful, but I think you've captured the wiser Syl -- the one who explains the nature of the Windrunners to Kaladin and sounds a little bit different from regular Syl. Beautiful either way.

Fifty percent is a bit much I think, she would look more grey than made of light then. But I made her a bit more translucent.

 

Oh, that's beautiful! I love how her dress fades into mist at her knees, just how described. Personally I always imaged her with a very long dress that she would fold under her feet when she sat down... weird, I know But honestly, this is stunning!

Thank you!
 

 

Mandatory disclaimer: I focus on what's not working in a piece of art, and offer suggestions how I think it can be fixed. I am not hating your art, I am offering what in my head sounds like constructive criticism. I just don't know how to sound nice about it - I love the painting, but...

 

...

 

I don't know about the transparency. Maybe a little, but 50% sounds too much to me. I think she needs to be just transparent enough to reveal that there is something behind her, but not enough so that you can determine what it is.

 

Hair's good. I think her face needs to be... more girly, less womanly. I keep imagining her as younger than 20, with a face that takes off a few years when she is being particularly mischievous. The length of her dress is largely irrelevant, as it changes with her moods, but the way it transitions into wisps feels too... defined for me. It's incredibly frustrating, because I have an image in my head, but I can't remember where it is from. The closest I could find was this. 

 

Oh, also. If I recall correctly, Syl rarely "walks" - she just glides in the air (or flies freely if she is in some other form, a leaf for example). The way her leg is positioned is unlikely. 

Haha, don't worry about giving me critique! I'm really grateful for any input, both on the technical/art side as well as content wise. There's just so much in the books that I'm pretty sure I'm missing a lot of details. I'm not too fond of the heavy use of smoke brushes in the photo you posted but I agree that it does look quite like the dress would fit Syl!
"transparent enough to reveal that there is something behind her, but not enough so that you can determine what it is" actually is put very nicely. I tried to stick to that, although it's a bit hard with all the dress stuff going on, and since I want the face to be visible. It works with the arm though, I think.

 

 

Here is the current version, I want to fix some things on Kaladin and add some rain next.

 

[Delightful]

Lyraina, that is THE. BEST. KALADIN. that I have seen thus far. His brands looks horrifying, the darkness, Syl's contrasting light, his expression.....just WOW. Wow. That's storming incredible!

 

 

Syl is much better too, though I still feel like I shouldn't be able to see her feet. Or maybe just that she's bigger than my mental image. Not sure. (Sorry if this is unhelpful).

 

But that Kaladin....just wow.

[Argent he/him]

Oh yeah, Kaladin is spot on. He looks angry - which may or may not be the intent, but I think that's the idea. I am mildly concerned he doesn't look his age, but that's not something I am going to allow myself be bothered by.

 

Syl... I don't understand what my issue with her is. After some good 10 minutes of pondering and Googling (at work, because that's the most productive time!) I've come up with two possible causes:

1. Most of the times we see Syl, she is in motion, zipping around (or at least that's how I imagine her moving) - so seeing her relatively stationary, apparently moving slowly, feels odd to me. I wanted to say I think of her as Tinkerbell, but Tink doesn't move like I imagine Syl would. Once again, frustratingly, I can't remember where the reference in my head comes from... 
2. When I think of Syl, I think of something pixieish, flimsy. The one on the painting looks... solid.

I don't know, I can't put it in words. She is a little off. Maybe it's because imaginary characters all look different in our heads, and Syl is the next best thing to an imaginary's character imaginary character...

[Bunnyburn he/him]

I'm loving your Kaladin. Very similar to my mental picture. In fact I feel as though I can envision him much better after seeing it.

Your chasm blew my mind. I had a hard time imagining their size and scope, but as with your Kaladin, it has supplemented and enhanced my own mentak imagery. My eventually reread will be enhanced due to your amazing paintings. Thank you

Edited July 22, 2014 by Bunnyburn

[Mailliw73 he/him]

That Kaladin is great! He's a bit different than I pictured, but very good! The brands are amazing. Syl definitely looks a lot better to me too!

[Lyraina she/her]

Lyraina, that is THE. BEST. KALADIN. that I have seen thus far. His brands looks horrifying, the darkness, Syl's contrasting light, his expression.....just WOW. Wow. That's storming incredible!

 

 

Syl is much better too, though I still feel like I shouldn't be able to see her feet. Or maybe just that she's bigger than my mental image. Not sure. (Sorry if this is unhelpful).

 

But that Kaladin....just wow.

Wow, thanks so much! I don't really want to get rid of her feet, because in my mind it makes sense for her to have them even if she's zipping around and not walking - she gives herself a face and hair etc without needing them, so why not feet, too?

 

 

Oh yeah, Kaladin is spot on. He looks angry - which may or may not be the intent, but I think that's the idea. I am mildly concerned he doesn't look his age, but that's not something I am going to allow myself be bothered by.

 

Syl... I don't understand what my issue with her is. After some good 10 minutes of pondering and Googling (at work, because that's the most productive time!) I've come up with two possible causes:

1. Most of the times we see Syl, she is in motion, zipping around (or at least that's how I imagine her moving) - so seeing her relatively stationary, apparently moving slowly, feels odd to me. I wanted to say I think of her as Tinkerbell, but Tink doesn't move like I imagine Syl would. Once again, frustratingly, I can't remember where the reference in my head comes from... 
2. When I think of Syl, I think of something pixieish, flimsy. The one on the painting looks... solid.

I don't know, I can't put it in words. She is a little off. Maybe it's because imaginary characters all look different in our heads, and Syl is the next best thing to an imaginary's character imaginary character...

An imaginary's character imaginary character, haha Your post actually gave me the idea to add a bit of motion blur. Not too much though, while that would look cool, it gets a bit too blurry and distracting for my liking.

 

I'm loving your Kaladin. Very similar to my mental picture. In fact I feel as though I can envision him much better after seeing it.

Your chasm blew my mind. I had a hard time imagining their size and scope, but as with your Kaladin, it has supplemented and enhanced my own mentak imagery. My eventually reread will be enhanced due to your amazing paintings. Thank you

Thank you. I'm glad if I can actually match someone's mental picture 'cause that is reaaally hard and doesn't happen too often.

 

That Kaladin is great! He's a bit different than I pictured, but very good! The brands are amazing. Syl definitely looks a lot better to me too!

Thank you!

 

I think I'll wrap this one up now, unless I'll find something else to change last minute.

On a side note, does anyone have a good source where I could find descriptions of Roshar's geographical areas? The wikipedia's I've checked are not really helpful nor is my memory, but I'm not sure if that is because I didn't find the right source, or if there is just not very much explanation in the books yet, aside from areas our main characters have visited more frequently.

[Argent he/him]

No good place, no. Your best bet is probably to ask around the forums, some of us are quite familiar with the books and where things happen and are described, so it wouldn't take us long to find specifics. 

[Swimmingly he/him]

Plus we've all got the ebooks. A Ctrl F does wonders.

[ZoneZero]

Awesome job on Kaladin and Jasnah. Nice to see high quality fanart about the Stormlight Archive.

Shallan's eyes are a bit weird, could use a fix.

[Gabriele she/her]

Kaladin really needs a hug. But then, I like me some dark, brooding heroes.

 

Great portrait.

[Chrono she/her]

That's one awesome Kaladin! I always imagined him looking more like Christian Bale, but your Kaladin has this perfect amount of both grief and anger in his face. Plus, dat lighting... 

 

In short, masterfully done. Have my upvote.