Character Appearance

[Gray to]

What are some characters that you imagined very differently in your head, and when you realized what they look like in-world, it completely threw you off?

There are a couple for me

I always imagined that the Parshmen and Parshendi looked like Gorons from Legend of Zelda. 

Taravangian was a midget and looked like the priest in The Princess Bride

Hoid, for me was always a lot shorter than everyone else. Like he went up to Kaladin's and Adolin's shoulder. 

I have this one general image of an important light eyes that I use for all the highprinces that aren't Dalinar, Sadeas, or Sebarial because I can never remember which one is which. Same applies to all the nobles in Sarene's little group. (Makes it kinda weird whenever they all gather for a meeting.)

Actually, Sadeas and Lord Venture have the same face in my mind.

I always imagined the Lord Ruler with a comically large mustache. 

Finally, the weirdest one of all was Zane. For whatever reason, instead of imagining a human, I just imagined a Greninja from Pokemon. I dont know why. Maybe because I read WoA when Pokemon X came out

[Toaster Retribution]

3 hours ago, Gray to said:

I just imagined a Greninja from Pokemon.

This is my new headcanon. Thank you. 

For me... I used to think of Breeze as very thin, as opposed to being portly. I generally thought of Vin as having longer hair than she has on most artwork. Also, Mr T has a long wispy beard in my head. I don´t remember if that is the case in the books. 

[ScarletSabre]

For me, no matter how many times it's described to me, Syl glows with a seafoam green, bluish-tinged light, and is coloured it... And stormlight is white, with golden colourings around the edges, like the colouring of a lightsabre.

I also always imagine Dalinar as having sideburns and fairly short graying hair, making his head look a bit square... There's a character in Vinland Saga who rather looks how I imagine him, I'll get a reference later.

Inquisitor eye-spikes are like railroad spikes, with large, round, nail-like heads in my mind.

I always imagine Taravangean looking almost like the king in Windwaker, at least in general body shape and the beard-style.

Sadeas' soldiers and grunts also seem to wear red in my brain, instead of green... Partly to match his Shardplate, and partly because green is my favourite colour and that son of an axehound's people shouldn't besmirch it xD

The Lord Ruler I always visualise as having a beard, or at least a goatee, and Spook, when he wore his blindfold, didn't have the bumps for his glasses, I just always picture him as having a blindfold for some reason... Oh, and Breeze is Stephen Fry. Nothing can, or ever will, change that mental image of him.

 

[+Sorana]

I also imagined Vin with longer hair.

Vienna had short hair, although it didn't fit the setting in any way, but especially at tje beginning she reminded me of a stern woman with short hair, because she will not be bothered with longer one. That changed, at the end I pictured her hair at shoulder length.

And Shallan has blond hair in my head mit red one.

Wax looks like Kyle McLachlan in Twin Peaks (and I know that's completely Off.. .)

[RShara]

Lots of people imagine the Alethi as Caucasian and Szeth as Asian, when the Alethi actually look Asian/Arabic/Polynesian, and Szeth is Caucasian

[StrikerEZ]

22 minutes ago, RShara said:

Lots of people imagine the Alethi as Caucasian and Szeth as Asian, when the Alethi actually look Asian/Arabic/Polynesian, and Szeth is Caucasian

Well, the Shin are Caucasian-ish. Semantics .

I just have a hard time imagining what anyone looks like in my head. Especially faces. Faces are the worst. 

[SzethIsBadAsHell]

I always imagined Dalinar with a goatee , no matter how many times he is described as clean shaven 

Teravagion I imagined Like Bi -Ming , the white haired old man from martial arts movies that fights the guy with Crane style 

Wit/ Hoid comes up as spike from Buffy the Vampire slayer

Adolin I picture as Ryan gosling

and despite Kaladin being Alethi and suppose to look Arabic / asian I keep seeing a young Mel Gibson with long hair ,kind of how he looked in lethal weapon 

when I read the books that’s the image that pops up in my head 

 

and my favorite charactee Szeth , while he. Is supposed to be white . With his eyes I keep seeing an anime character from one punch! How a Caucasian person is supposed to have epicanthic eyefolds I just don’t get!

[Fezzik]

2 hours ago, SzethIsBadAsHell said:

How a Caucasian person is supposed to have epicanthic eyefolds I just don’t get!

He doesn't. The shin are the only ethnicity on roshar who don't. This is why everyone is always talking about round eyes, and they look like children.

[Toaster Retribution]

7 hours ago, ScarletSabre said:

Oh, and Breeze is Stephen Fry.

Breeze is Eddie Izzard.

[goody153]

I pictured Mr. T as somebody similar to hunchback and has cartoony expressions for some reason.

I was surprised when i saw the picture of Kelsier as blonde. In my mind he's never been not blonde.

Idk why i have the same mental image of Breeze and Sebarial

14 hours ago, ScarletSabre said:

Inquisitor eye-spikes are like railroad spikes, with large, round, nail-like heads in my mind.

Lmao i did the same. When i first saw a picture of Inquisitors i went "that can't be right". Cause i always pictured the spikes being so huge you literally can't ignore it.

 

[Solant]

I always pictured Mr T like King Trode in his human form from Dragon Quest 8. 

http://dragonquest8.wikia.com/wiki/King_Trode

I also could never shake the image of incomplete Elantrians looking like Hollows from the Dark Souls games. I just happened to be playing through one of them at the same time as reading the book the first time and the image just stuck with me.

[Gray to]

11 hours ago, goody153 said:

I was surprised when i saw the picture of Kelsier as blonde. In my mind he's never been not blonde.

Wait, Kelsier is blonde?! Where can I find this picture?

[The Harlem Worldhoppers]

I always imagined Sazed as Benicio Del Toro

 

Edited July 17, 2018 by The Harlem Worldhoppers

[goody153]

10 hours ago, Gray to said:

Wait, Kelsier is blonde?! Where can I find this picture?

Secret History cover shows he's blonde lol

Now i think Marsh might've been blonde as well. No i refuse to follow Sanderson's description even if he was blonde

Edited July 18, 2018 by goody153

[Kramerfarve]

Taln is Arnold Schwarzenegger, change my mind

[Khyrindor]

37 minutes ago, Kramerfarve said:

Taln is Arnold Schwarzenegger, change my mind

Taln is Idris Alba

[Toaster Retribution]

Idris Elba is Nale. Taln is obviously Winston Duke. 

 

[Zath]

Not a character, per se, but when I first read the Mistborn Era 1 books, I imagined the mist on Scadrial to have a pink/purple hue.  Only in certain scenes, though.  In other scenes it was a normal white color.  So weird.  I think it was the cover art on the first book that threw me off. 

[Gray to]

6 hours ago, Zath said:

Not a character, per se, but when I first read the Mistborn Era 1 books, I imagined the mist on Scadrial to have a pink/purple hue.  Only in certain scenes, though.  In other scenes it was a normal white color.  So weird.  I think it was the cover art on the first book that threw me off. 

I always imagined it as a light green mist

[CrazyRioter]

I always imagined it as faintly bluish.

[ScarletSabre]

I always imagine the mist as pure white, wisps and curls of it, overlapping one another, not like a bank of fog but more like individual swirls and distinct patterns....

[+Ark1002]

4 hours ago, ScarletSabre said:

I always imagine the mist as pure white, wisps and curls of it, overlapping one another, not like a bank of fog but more like individual swirls and distinct patterns....

I thought it was a pattern like this, but a pale blue-violet hue to it. Either that, or I imagined it as a whitish-grayish fog, expect moving in all directions quickly, as if strong winds were blowing it in different places.

[Totally_Not_A_Worldhopper]

I always saw Kelsier as having brown hair.

Despite the fact that her eye colour is an important part of her character, I imagine Shallan with dark blue/green eyes.

I also imagined the mists as distinct swirls and patterns, and completely white.

And, I'm not sure if this is different than his description, as I can't actually find a description, but I imagine Spook as tan with dark brown hair (fanart leads me to believe he's blond and quite pale).

Also, does Elend wear glasses, or am I making that up?

The Parshmen/Parshendi aren't quite right too - I imagine the Parshmen as all red and black patterned, and the Parshendi as all red, black, and white.

I don't really imagine characters when I'm reading, so these are all based of me trying to see them in my head as I write this post.