Welcome to another edition of Illustrating Westeros, Thaldir. To begin, tell us how you became an artist, and the influences that have shaped your style.
Thank you, it's great to be here. I sort of was born into it, both my parents were into painting when I was a kid, and although my father soon moved over to photography, my mother kept on (and she still does), so she was both my first teacher and my ‘partner in crime’ in trying out new media and new techniques.
I am a dyed-in-the-wool figurative painter and a RPG player, I would put among my early influences just about all the greats of SFF illustration: Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley, Boris Vallejo, Jim Burns, Luis Royo, Todd Lockwood. Among the colleagues of a younger generation, I feel a great connection to the works of Donato Giancola and Michael Komarck.
Outside of illustration . . . most of the Italian Renaissance painters we, over here, are lucky enough to have in just about every church and museum: Titian and Caravaggio first and foremost. To them, I'd add the pre-Raphaelites, my favorite of whom is Bourne-Jones.
You are an outstanding illustrator of George R. R. Martin's works. When did you read the A Song of Ice and Fire books for the first time, and what was your initial impression?
(Laughs) I must confess I started reading the books when I got my first ASOIAF assignment from FFG. I had heard of the series, of course, and got a gist of 'semi-historical, low fantasy, doesn't pull punches' but . . . I'm a bit of a contrarian, and having just about everyone telling me how great the books were was actually pushing me away from them.
When I finally got to reading them, A Game of Thrones blew me away. I think it's still my favorite. In the whole series, the world is huge and rich, the cast of characters immense and memorable. I'm left with the feeling that I could paint Westeros for the rest of my life and still be left with things to discover about the continent and the world.
Who are some of your favourite characters in the series, and is there a scene that is particularly memorable to you?
How much I enjoyed painting Arianne Martell notwithstanding, my favorites remain Tyrion and Arya. My favorite scene. . . with all else that happened in the show, it's still Tyrion slapping Joffrey. He really had it coming.
You are an official artist for the ASOIAF series, creating illustrations for the renowned Fantasy Flight Games. When did your collaboration with them begin and what's the process of working on a typical assignment? How much does your own mental image of the characters inform your interpretations?
Fantasy Flight Games was my very first industry client, back in 2007, just before they went from the collectible card game format to the living game one.
The work process is pretty straightforward: the illustrators working on the ASOIAF line get a 'call for art' email stating that a new cycle of cards is in the works and giving the deadlines. At that point, one answers stating availability and requesting a number of illustrations. In a few days we get the contract and our assignments.
The first step and, in my opinion, the hardest one is the sketch. Before setting pencil to paper (or stylus to tablet), I feel I have to know the character in his or her looks and psychological make-up; in this my wife helps my research compiling a sort of file on each assigned character. Martin tends to scatter descriptions and psychological insight throughout the books, trying to discover whether he had specified which of Tyrion's eyes was which color almost drove her crazy.
I like to send my sketches in early, the Art Director often reviews them in the order they are received and this could give me a couple of extra days on the finals. It doesn't look much, but it can make all the difference if, like me, one juggles a day job as well as illustrating.
The Art Director sends feedback, either a request for changes or a 'go to final' comment. In the latter case, the finished piece is the next step. There is an 'approval ladder', though, so requests for revisions can come at any time. For instance, the licensor himself might ask for changes, even after the Art Director has greenlighted a piece. All these requests are very art-specific, it is the piece that is discussed, never the illustrator or his ability.
Thank you for your other question. Sometimes, working on a world with such a strong visual identity can become a bit frustrating. I happen to receive comments from fans who say: “Yes, your Tyrion isn't bad . . . but he isn't Dinklage.” Fact is that, when working on official art for FFG, I couldn't paint any of the actors even if I wanted to. Those are two different copyrights and we have to steer very clear from any reference to the TV series, so it is fundamental for each of us to form a clear image of the character we are working on from the books only.
Amongst your prolific artistic output, you have a group of characters whose quiet work usually doesn’t inspire as many artworks as the more epic knights and game-players: the maesters, of which you have the Grand Maester, the maesters of Riverrun and Winterfell plus one anonymous from the Citadel. What are some of the elements and details that you hope viewers value in your images of these scholarly men?
Background characters, like the maesters, often (Pycelle being the obvious exception) tend to fade into each other in the reader's memory, even more so in such an epic saga as ASOIAF. My main objective is to stress the elements that make them individuals: Vyman's sense of duty, Luwin's understated humor, Marwyn's dogged persistence, Pycelle's ambiguity, and that unknown's librarian's habit of surveying the room from his ladder while he sets the books back. Each of them has a story, dreams, quirks, I try to make them noticeable through expression and details.
Another prominent feature of your gallery are the many striking portraits of female characters, women who have powerful and poignant narratives in the text. How much do their personal stories—such as Arianne's desire to protect her birthright, Melisandre's religious fervor, etc.—inform your artistic judgment and representations of them?
They are the fundamental elements on which I base my representation, physical description is a minimal part of what makes a character, in my opinion. For instance, sometimes it feels like half the women in fantasy have red hair (and the other half a platinum-white one), so what makes Melisandre stand out in such a crowded field is her personality, her almost obsessive fervor contrasted with her lush, apparently vulnerable looks. If that doesn't come through to the viewer, then the piece is a failure.
The Laughing Storm is a piece that showcases the excitement and revelry of tournaments, events that have set in motion many significant plots in the main series and side novellas, and that shows your expertise with realistic knightly equipment. Please, share the behind the scenes process of creating this piece, and how you determined such a dynamic composition and perspective.
The Laughing Storm is an unusual card, in that it is the champion card created by 2010 AGOT Joust Champion Alec Irwin. In champion cards, the likeness of the champion has to be included, as a background character (like here), or even as an element (as in Meera Reed, in which the champion stands as the statue of Brandon Stark). So in the illustration I had to keep in balance the two main elements—the fight and the portrait—with neither of them overwhelming the other.
For starters, I went to the books, reading as much as I could find about the Laughing Storm and the Ashford tourney. Having the contestants mounted would have created all sorts of complications for this scene; fortunately, his last bout against Ser Robert Ashford was on foot, and provided me with the perfect moment to illustrate: Ashford's defeat and the exultation of one of Lyonel's fans.
Re-enactment events were a priceless reference. I've my own store of costumes and weapons which I use all the time, but watching trained fighters spar is a whole different level of experience, specifically when one needs to know how weight is distributed during an attack or how does an armored combatant fall in a real-life situation (keep in mind, though, that I reserve the right to change things if they don't work in an illustration, when I paint fantasy my aim is believability rather than absolute realism).
In order to focus on Alec's character and avoid an overcrowded composition I used the lightning, creating a strong haze due to the early afternoon light and the dust raised by the combatants, so that in most of the other spectators the details are obscured and Alec, instead, is almost as detailed as the two knights, making it the secondary focus of the piece.
Another highlight of your gallery are the House cards you were commissioned to design for a player tournament in Milan. What was this event about, and what was your inspiration for reworking each sigil to create such distinct pieces? Do you have any personal favourite in the card set?
From the beginning of my career, I've been 'adopted' by the then very small Italian meta (some of the old hands still reminisce about a tournament we held here, at my home quite a few years ago), so when the Italian leg of the European circuit (the 'Milan goes to Stahleck' tournament) came up, some of the organizing players called me asking whether I could paint the tournament's set of House cards. I agreed, and we started exchanging ideas about the subject. Time was too short to paint a character for each House, something like a House banner felt a bit too . . . 'easy,' so someone, I don't remember who, proposed House jewels instead.
For inspiration, I went to each House's region and history, the same elements that gave them their sigils in the first place also provided me with ideas for background, style, and materials. For instance, the history of the Targaryen makes them the oldest noble house, so I went with an archaic style for their dragon. Their card is also my personal favorite in the set.
Do you have a favourite art technique? And do you have a preference for experimenting with new techniques and styles or for keeping to your established ones?
My favourite among traditional media is oil, in particular my last traditional pieces were painted using water-soluble oils, I really love them both layered and mixed with acrylics. Since I have started working in the industry, though, I went almost wholly digital. It is the ideal medium given the industry's specific requirements, both as final product (you are almost invariably requested to send in a file) and time constraints (it's way faster to make any required adjustment digitally than it is in traditional media).
Nowadays, I don't have as much time as I would like to experiment with different media—although I experimented enough with watercolors to realize it isn't the medium for me—but I like to try new things and experimenting in digital. There's always a lot to learn and, in digital, if an experiment really doesn't work it's easy to go back to a previous stage, unless one has saved over it, that is, always keep a backup file when experimenting.
Is there an ASOIAF artist whose work you admire? And/or a piece of ASOIAF art that you have as a personal favourite?
Just one? That's difficult!
The first whose pieces left me agape was Michael Komarck, among his many stunning pieces my all-time favorite is his version of Jaime mounting the steps to the Iron Throne after killing the Mad King. Among the colleagues I am lucky enough to know in person, I'd say Magali Villeneuve is a great artist who is starting to get the recognition she deserves (her ASOIAF calendar is stunning), and Tomasz Jedruszek (most often found online as Morano), whose Army of Scorpions still makes me shiver in the best possible way.
Please, give us a link or thumbnail from your gallery of:
a) An ASOIAF illustration you are most proud of?
I'd say Grand Maester Pycelle. I was really glad to discover he has been included in the AGOT Second Edition core set.
b) A piece that was the hardest to draw or paint?
This is easy, Quentyn Martell.
I don't have him in my gallery. Quentyn is the ultimate nondescript character both physically ('a prince with a farmer's face,' I recall, is how Martin describes him) and psychologically (he feels the eternal second best and keeps second-guessing everything), so portraying him felt like trying to grab a wet soap bar.
Is there a plotline, whether in the North, the Vale, King’s Landing or Essos that you're anxious to see resolved in the next book?
Well, I'm really curious to see if and how Jon's and Dany's plot arcs will mesh or intersect—and I'd really be disappointed if they don't.
Many fan artists dream of crossing over to do official and licensed work like you’ve done for FFG. Based on your experience, what advice can you offer to those hoping to make the leap one day?
Take stock of your level of skill and the things you need to work on, but also take the plunge and submit a carefully selected portfolio. You don't have to be perfect before starting to look for work and a good art director may take you to the next level of skill, but you must be willing to work in tandem.
A piece may be criticized to death, even in a relatively harsh manner (art directors are very busy people and their job isn't mentoring you for your own sake), but in my experience all criticism pertains to the piece, none of it is directed at the artist as a person.
Again, illustrating for the industry is teamwork; if you resent other people directing you or find deadlines stifling (the first commandment in the industry is 'Thou shalt not blow a deadline'), maybe you'll better off as a fine artist or an hobbyist rather than in the industry.
And lastly, what can you share with us about more FFG pieces in the pipeline? Do you have any plans to venture out from your official duties and work on ASOIAF fan art in the future?
Well, I've one piece painted for the second edition which isn't out yet. Due to my non-disclosure agreement, though, I cannot say anything about it. I'll post it online as soon as I'm able to.
As to ASOIAF fan-art, well, if I do fan art it usually is of intellectual properties I'm not involved in yet, to show prospective clients how I see their characters and worlds, but I'm planning to paint something for the AGOT European Championship Tournament later this year, it will be character art, but the specific character is yet to be determined.
Thank you for talking to us, Thaldir!
Thank you for asking!
You can see more of his art at:
thaldir.deviantart.com/
www.tizianobaracchi.com/
Great interview 