WeiryWriter he/him Posted September 7, 2015 Posted September 7, 2015 Hey I just wanted to let everybody know that on October 6 (the release date of Shadows of Self) Ben McSweeney, i.e. Inkthinker, i.e. actual real-life Shallan, is going to be doing an AMA for /r/fantasy. 6
Guest Posted September 7, 2015 Posted September 7, 2015 Correct me if I am wrong but isn't Ben the one who drew the pictures in Stormlight? Do we know if he was commissioned for Stormlight 3?
WeiryWriter he/him Posted September 7, 2015 Author Posted September 7, 2015 Correct me if I am wrong but isn't Ben the one who drew the pictures in Stormlight? Do we know if he was commissioned for Stormlight 3? Correct he does the artwork for Shallan's sketchbook pages, there's zero reason to think he won't be coming back. He also does a lot of the artwork for the MAG, he worked on the broadsheets for Mistborn Era 2, and is the illustrator for The Rithmatist.
Guest Posted September 7, 2015 Posted September 7, 2015 Correct he does the artwork for Shallan's sketchbook pages, there's zero reason to think he won't be coming back. He also does a lot of the artwork for the MAG, he worked on the broadsheets for Mistborn Era 2, and is the illustrator for The Rithmatist. Oh great, so he did the miniature Adolin face we had in Stormlight? Perhaps I can ask him if he has a full sketch... I'm dying to get drawing of the Kholins.
WeiryWriter he/him Posted September 7, 2015 Author Posted September 7, 2015 Oh great, so he did the miniature Adolin face we had in Stormlight? Perhaps I can ask him if he has a full sketch... I'm dying to get drawing of the Kholins. Team Sanderson commissioned sketches of all the main characters when they were first pitching the series to Tor (the most notable being the sketch Ben did of Szeth which turned out so well it became his chapter icon). Whether the rest will ever get released is really up to Brandon though.
Guest Posted September 7, 2015 Posted September 7, 2015 Team Sanderson commissioned sketches of all the main characters when they were first pitching the series to Tor (the most notable being the sketch Ben did of Szeth which turned out so well it became his chapter icon). Whether the rest will ever get released is really up to Brandon though. We already have sketches of Shallan, Kaladin and Szeth... It seems logical we should get sketches of Dalinar, Adolin and Renarin eventually. Though it is possible Renarin's physical appearance is not yet canonized... as we have literally no description of him. Dalinar and Adolin though should be pretty much established. I'll probably ask the question on the AMA. Maybe he knows something he is allowed to share.
WeiryWriter he/him Posted September 7, 2015 Author Posted September 7, 2015 We already have sketches of Shallan, Kaladin and Szeth... It seems logical we should get sketches of Dalinar, Adolin and Renarin eventually. Though it is possible Renarin's physical appearance is not yet canonized... as we have literally no description of him. Dalinar and Adolin though should be pretty much established. I'll probably ask the question on the AMA. Maybe he knows something he is allowed to share. That isn't quite the same, the portraits of Shallan/Kaladin that were done by Michael Whelan were commissioned by Tor, as such Brandon had relatively little real control over them. They are by no means canonical. (Yes technically Ben helped Whelan with the Shallan piece but that was mostly as an adviser/assistant, ultimate control still lay with Whelan).
Mailliw73 he/him Posted September 7, 2015 Posted September 7, 2015 So what does Isaac Stewart do and what does Ben do?
Zas678 he/him Posted September 7, 2015 Posted September 7, 2015 Isaac does maps (Mistborn, Warbreaker, Stormlight Archive) and icons (like the Allomantic and Feruchemical tables, the chapter headings, and the Alethi language I think), and pretty much anything Nazh does (maps, diagrams, etc) Ben does illustrations (Rithmatist, Shallan's drawings, the Mistborn Adventure Game) and some maps (Rithmatist). They're kind of interesting stories to both of them. If I remember right, Brandon saw Isaac sketching when he went to a store, and asked him if he wanted to help make maps for his books, and Isaac did, and now he's still doing so! Ben was actually a fan artist on TWG, and posted some of the classic fan art of Mistborn (such as this:) And Brandon was so impressed that he decided to ask if he also wanted to help with illustrations. For more specifics, it usually says in the front of each book who helps with what illustrations in what ways. 3
WeiryWriter he/him Posted September 7, 2015 Author Posted September 7, 2015 Isaac is also the Art Director for Dragonsteel Entertainment (which is Brandon's company). He kind of coordinates everything art-related for Brandon, so most of the time Ben is working with him, with Brandon being consulted for early mock-ups/final proofs. 3
Joe ST he/him Posted September 8, 2015 Posted September 8, 2015 *encourage you both to add this info to the Coppermind pages for these awesome people* ;) 1
Botanica she/her Posted September 8, 2015 Posted September 8, 2015 Yes! So we have a chance to pry into future Stormlight artwork! Dying to know more 1
PeterAhlstrom he/him Posted September 8, 2015 Posted September 8, 2015 They're kind of interesting stories to both of them. If I remember right, Brandon saw Isaac sketching when he went to a store, and asked him if he wanted to help make maps for his books, and Isaac did, and now he's still doing so! Brandon knew Isaac already, and he was sketching when Brandon and a group of people went to dinner after his class one day. I think that's how the story goes. Isaac is our art director. So for things like the broadsheets, he tells Ben what to do. Though he started doing that after Way of Kings and Alloy of Law. 3
Oudeis he/him Posted September 9, 2015 Posted September 9, 2015 (edited) Mr. Stewart also does some website administration for brandonsanderson.com, yes? And I believe he's an author in his own right. And I've heard he does some sculpting. Edited September 9, 2015 by Oudeis
WeiryWriter he/him Posted October 6, 2015 Author Posted October 6, 2015 The AMA thread is live! (He won't be answering questions until tonight though)
Guest Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) I've read Ben's answers so far. A very generous guy, I like it. Of course, my eyes fell on that one. I don't know how to link properly, so I'll just dump it here. Have you drawn anything for Stormlight 3 yet? Anything you can tell us without incurring the wrath of the Sanderson? [–]Inkthinker[S] 18 points19 hours ago Ahhhh... you know, I'm not sure I can talk about Stormlight 3. Partly because we're still very early in the draft stages. But I can say we're looking to go new places and see new things. After all, Urithiru was made for travel. [–]Thomniscient 7 points 19 hours ago As expected as this is, this comment still got me all kinds of pumped up! [–]platysaur 3 points8 hours ago Anything new about the Stormlight Archive gets me pumped. Lot's of traveling sounds nice! [–]fakehendo 1 point4 hours ago and the talk of early drafts lol Other authors would still be recharging their batteries So whereas this isn't much it also is quite interesting. Our folks will start to travel a lot starting next book. Kinda of exciting though I'll admit I'll miss the Shattered Plains. Edited October 7, 2015 by maxal
Recommended Posts