Very important stuff regarding new Targs portraits

[Amok]

As some of you know Bantam Dell Publishing Group (a division of Random House Inc.) is working on new ASOIAF art book. They asked me for some old portraits (which I provided) and now the time has come for some new ones. The problem is that GRRM is quite busy now (as I'm sure all of you know), so he cannot provide the descriptions for new portraits.

Here's the part of the letter regarding new art:

"I know that you wanted character descriptions from George before you got started on the 22 new portraits we had discussed. But when this was mentioned to George, He did express a firm faith in your ability to search most of this information out in the books for yourself. According to George, this is, in fact, how you had completed the previous portraits which is what drew George to your work in the first place. And although George does acknowledge that there are a few characters for which he will need to give descriptions, he assures me that the majority of these new faces are sufficiently described in the novels".

That's when I thought of you 8-) I remember that we used to cooperate really well, when I did the original portrait gallery, so now I want to check if you want to help to create new Targs portraits. I think it will be fun.

Anyway, here's the list of 22 portraits:

the nine mistresses of King Aegon IV
1. Falena Stokeworth
2. Merry Meg
3. Cassella Vaith
4. Bellegere Otherys, the Black Pearl of Braavos
5. Barba Bracken
6. Mysella (Missy) Blackwood
7. Bethany Bracken
8. Jeyne Lothston
9. Serenei of Lys

some Targaryens as yet undepicted
10. Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, brother to Aegon IV
11. Prince Rhaegar, the Mad King's son (yay!)
12. his wife, Elia Martell, Princess of Dorne, with her two children
13. Baelor Breakspear, son of King Daeron II

various other important players in Westeros, past and present,
12. Serwyn of the Mirror Shield, legendary knight
13. Florian the Fool, legendary knight
14. Garth Greenhand, the gardener king
15. Bran the Builder
16. Lann the Clever
17. Maelys the Monstrous, last of the Blackfyre Pretenders,
18. Harren the Black
19. Torrhen Stark, the King Who Knelt
20. Nymeria of the Ten Thousand Ships
21. Serwyn of the Mirror Shield, legendary knight
22. Florian the Fool, legendary knight

Let me know if you're on board, so we can make this thing work. And please spread the word, because this is really important.

[Galagros]

Cool! :)

You listed these twice, though:
21. Serwyn of the Mirror Shield, legendary knight
22. Florian the Fool, legendary knight

[Winterfell]

Ah this is amazing news!!! I'll work on looking some characters up for you :)

[Winterfell]

This is what I've found so far:

Baelor “breakspear” Targaryen
The Hedge Knight, pg 188

“Even seated he looked to be a head taller than the other, to judge from the long straight legs stretched out before him. His short cropped hair was dark and peppered with grey, his strong jaw clean shaven. His nose looked as though it had been broken more than once. Though he was dressed very plainly, in green doublet, brown mantle, and scuffed boots, there was a weight to him, a sense of power and certainty.”


Rhaegar Targaryen
AFFC (Cersei), pg 361-62

“Many a night she had watched prince Rhaegar in the hall, playing his silver-stringed harp with those long elegant fingers of his. Had any man ever been so beautiful?”

“When she had been presented to him, Cersei had almost drowned in the depths of his sad purple eyes.”

SOS (Daenarys), pg 587

“There was a melancholy to prince Rhaegar, a sense of doom. He was born in grief…and that shadow hung over him all his days.


Elia Martell/Targaryen
AFFC (Cersei), 361

“Feeble Dornish princess with black eyes and a flat chest.”


Florian the Fool
ACOK (Sansa), 286

“Florian was homely too, but not so old." <--referring to Ser Dontos

[Miyax]

I'll try to give a hand, once I get my books out of the moving boxes...

[Pex]

13. Baelor Breakspear, son of King Daeron II

I found the portrait of Baelor Breakspear that you've already done to be very good and quite the way he was described in the Hedge Knight.

As for the others you mentioned, I'll try to look up for them, though I don't remember any description of Aegon's mistresses.

[Dagordur]

whow, looks like it was just the wrong time for me to go awol. I'll see what I can do, though not before tomorrow. this is awesome news anyway 8-)

[Ran]

Amok, I have some private information which I'll be sending you, information Linda and I have had from George previously that concerns Aegon's mistresses.

[Amok]

Thanks guys! I knew we can count on you!

[Lord Varys]

I appreciate that there will be a portrait of the Dragonknight. But there still should be portraits of Prince Duncan the Small (Aegon's V. first son) and Queen Rhaella Targaryen (Aerys II. sister-wife).

As a reader, the only description I can come up with is Rhaegar Targaryen's. I choose to cite the passage where he described as a living man when he appears to Daenerys as a vision from the past in the House of the Undying in ACoK:

Daenerys first takes the image of Rhaegar Targaryen for her brother Viserys, so it's most likely you draw them quite alike, especially their faces.

'The man had her brother's [Viserys's] hair, but he was taller, and his eyes were a dark indigo rather than lilac [as Viserys's had been].' ACoK 701

As Rhaegar Targaryen was a warrior - although he did not like to be it - another difference between Viserys and Rhaegar would be that the latter would have been built stronger than the former.

Little Prince Aegon Targaryen, Rhaegar's son, had the Targaryen looks. So you probably have to paint a babe with purple eyes and thin silver-gold hair.
Princess Rhaenys looked more like her mother. I don't know if we knew the colour of her eyes, but she most likely had dark hair. She should have her kitten with her, the one she named Balerion.
If you draw both children near the Sack of King's Landing then Rhaenys would be a girl between two and three years and Aegon about one year.

[Dagordur]

This is what I found. Some of it has been posted before, some hasn't:

1. Falena Stokeworth
House Stokeworth: A white lamb holding a golden goblet on green

3. Cassella Vaith
her house’s CoA: “Three black leopards standing on a yellow pile on orange”

4. Bellegere Otherys, the Black Pearl of Braavos
all we really learn about her is that she was a pirate queen. A descendant of hears is a famous courtesan in Bravoos.

5. Barba Bracken
Bittersteel’s mum
House Bracken: A red stallion upon a golden escutcheon on brown (http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/Heraldry/Entry/House_Bracken/)

6. Mysella (Missy) Blackwood
House Blackwood: A flock of ravens on scarlet surrounding a dead weirwood upon a black escutcheon (http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/Heraldry/Entry/House_Blackwood/)

7. Bethany Bracken
House Bracken: A red stallion upon a golden escutcheon on brown (http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/Heraldry/Entry/House_Bracken/)

8. Jeyne Lothston
House Lothston: A black bat on per bend silver and gold
(http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/Heraldry/Entry/House_Lothston/)
“He found himself remembering tales he had first heard as a child at Casterly Rock, of mad Lady Lothston who bathed in tubs of blood and presided over feasts of human flesh“ à is this the same Lady Lothston??

11. Prince Rhaegar, the Mad King's son (yay!)
He had a harp with silver strings.

his long hair streaming behind him

“"Not sour, no, but ... there was a melancholy to Prince Rhaegar, a sense . . . " The old man hesitated again.
"Say it," she urged. "A sense ... ?"
". . . of doom. He was born in grief, my queen, and that shadow hung over him all his days."

12. his wife, Elia Martell, Princess of Dorne, with her two children
The Princess Elia was a good and gracious lady, though her health was ever delicate

13. Baelor Breakspear, son of King Daeron II
Even seated, he looked to be a head taller than the other, to judge from the long straight legs stretched out before him. His short-cropped hair was dark and peppered with grey, his strong jaw clean-shaven. His nose looked as though it had been broken more than once. Though he was dressed very plainly, in green doublet, brown mantle, and scuffed boots, there was a weight to him, a sense of power and certainty.
Sunlight flashed golden off the shoulder clasp that held his cloak and the slim coronet about his temples, but otherwise he dressed far more simply than most of the other lords. He does not look a Targaryen in truth, with that dark hair.

12. Serwyn of the Mirror Shield, legendary knight
A knight of the Kingsguard. According to legend, he once saved Princess Daeryssa Targaryen from giants.

14. Garth Greenhand, the gardener king
House Greenhand shows a white hand on green

17. Maelys the Monstrous, last of the Blackfyre Pretenders,
The Blackfyre arms?

18. Harren the Black
His houses’ coat of arms: Per saltire: two heavy silver chains crossing between (clockwise) a gold longship on black , a dark green pine on white, a cluster of red grapes on gold, and a black raven flying in a blue sky

[Amok]

Well, as far as I can tell - not much about their looks 8-/ I don't think that coat of arms will do the job for portraits, since I'm not going to draw coat of arms behind characters as I used to. This sucks 8-(

[Dagordur]

for most of these characters there isn't anyone alive in westeros who's old enough to have known them, and even the Hedge Knight plays a good deal span their lifetime. I fear you'll have to rely on the descriptions you get from GRRM and Ran for everyone except 10-13.

How many characters are there btw - 20 or 22? And if it's 22, which 2 did you forget? Symeon Star Eyes maybe?

[Shadark]

Who was that guy on the old forum that was a walking Westeros archive? Perhaps send a personal correspondence to Goddess, Camel Lord, Aginor, Phlox - just off the top of my head they were fairly good on the character descriptions.

[Rahvin]

I've looked a few times, but there's not much beyond what's already been posted.

[Scafloc]

In the books (ASOIAF) there is nothing about the appearance of the Dragonknight.

Lann the Clever was a trickster who tricked the Casterleys out of the Rock and stole gold to brighten his curly hair. He is a favourite with the singers.

I would picture him as a young, handsome, mischievous man. Tall like his descendents. As a trickster he would not be very lordly. Self confident, maybe with a bit of arrogance but not about rank. He is a self-made man.
He is a bit too smart for his own good. Someone with whom is fun to talk or party but you cannot always rely on. Especially when it's about money, fame or women.

[Garlan Tyrell]

The Targaryens were the blood of lost Valyria across the seas, and their silver-gold hair and violet eyes set them apart from common men. Dunk knew Prince Baelor was older...

Of Prince Maekar he saw no sign, but he recognized Prince Baelor at Lord Ashford’s side. Sunlight flashed golden off the shoulder clasp that held his cloak and the slim coronet about his temples, but otherwise he dressed far more simply than most of the other lords. He does not look a Targaryen in truth, with that dark hair. Dunk said as much to Egg.
“It’s said he favors his mother,” the boy reminded him. “She was a Dornish princess.”

In his day there were still seven kings in the Seven Kingdoms, and Highgarden and the Rock were oft at war. The green kings ruled us then, the Gardeners. They were of the blood of old Garth Greenhand, and a green hand upon a white field was their kingly banner.

Yet when the jousting began, the day belonged to Rhaegar Targaryen. The crown
prince wore the armor he would die in: gleaming black plate with the three-
headed dragon of his House wrought in rubies on the breast. A plume of scarlet
silk streamed behind him when he rode, and it seemed no lance could touch him.

In the songs, Lann was the fellow who winkled the Casterlys out of Casterly Rock with no weapon but his wits, and stole gold from the sun to brighten his curly hair.

The songs about Florian and Jonquil were her very favorites. Florian was homely too, though not so old.

as much as i could find anyhow, but most have already been said already

[Dagordur]

*ignore this post. hail the king of spam!*