A NEW DIRECTION

A return to mixed media, utilizing my preferred working habits from both the digital and traditional realms. The below abandoned concept of the Game of Thrones character Jon Snow is a holdover from work done for the Game of Thrones card game, licensed by Fantasy Flight Games & based on George R.R. Martin's books. I was fortunate enough to get in early on the artwork being commissioned for the game, starting back in 2002. This was well before the HBO series got its start, and the general public was yet to have their preconceptions of these characters colored by actual actors. Because I had demonstrated some newfound passion for the author's series, the art directors gave me quite a few of the major characters to illustrate, including Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell & Warden of the North. Years later I was given a chance to illustrate his (supposed) bastard son, Jon Snow. I was not able to complete any finished art for the card, unfortunately, but I held on to the basic concept and composition over the years, adding more personally stylized elements to it over time. I finally took an opportunity to bring it all together into the piece you see below.