Game of Thrones – Oath of the Nightwatch

There’s still some Game of Thrones artwork I have to post.
Actually with this one I should be pretty much finished.

I haven’t been drawing much lately. Which could be a bit depressing if it wasn’t for this post on Muddy Colors by Petar Meseldzija, which cheered me up a little. Apparently even world-class artists regularly go though periods of low productivity, and it’s not always a bad sign.

As a matter of fact, there’s a whole bunch of things I would like to start working on, and a quite ambitious project for which I might have to involve the friend who made this website for me.
(He doesn’t know it yet. So yes, if you’re reading this, there might be work heading your way at some point:)).

In the meantime, alas, I’m actually going through a period of mental laziness. Even at work it’s more Excel spreadsheets than anything else, which usually sucks the creativity out of anyone.
But things are changing fast around me, so we’ll see what happens in the next future.

Anyway. This is one of the last pieces I made for Green Ronin’s Game of Thrones RPG.
They both depict Men of the Night Watch taking their oath.
The recruits on the left hand side are swearing before a Septon, a priest of the Seven Gods.
The Brothers on the right hand side, faithful to the Old Gods, are instead taking their oath before a Heart-Tree.
That’s how Jon Snow took the Blacks, as any Game of Thrones nerd would know.

Both scenes take place at the end of the day, the sun setting and the night approaching, which is obviously a symbol of the kind of life ahead of them.

As I said before, the chapters about the Night Watch were hands down my favourite in the Game of Thrones books.
The constant threat of the cold, and the evil things creeping inside it, the peculiar, unforgiving code of honour of the Wall. And the grudging dedication of the brothers, for whom the Watch was the only meaningful thing left in life.

Also, their Oath always gives me the chills.

Night gathers, and now my watch begins.
It shall not end until my death.
I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children.
I shall wear no crowns and win no glory.
I shall live and die at my post.
I am the sword in the darkness.
I am the watcher on the walls.
I am the shield that guards the realms of men.
I pledge my life and honor to the Night’s Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.

by Paolo Puggioni

Game of Thrones Artwork from The Night Watch

Last year I made a bunch of illustrations for another Game of Thrones RPG rulebook, Green Ronin’s Night’s Watch expansion set.
It’s always a big fat pleasure to be part of something as massively cool as Game of Thrones.
Plus, this time it’s a double pleasure since George R.R. Martin himself mentioned the release on his blog

I know, I’m supposed to act as a professional and consider this as part of the job, nonetheless I couldn’t help giggling like an adolescent when I read that.
I mean, George R.R. Martin put his seal of approval on my stuff:)

Anyway, the drawings.
I’ll post them all in the next few days.
This is a half-page with men of the Night Watch fleeing from a horde of Wildlings descending from the mountains.
I know, I’m being redundant by saying this since the image portrays precisely men of the Night Watch fleeing from a horde of Wildlings descending from the mountains. But in case you were in doubt, that’s exactly what’s happening here.

Now, I was pretty happy about the result when I finished this.
However, looking back at it after all those months there are lots of things I would fix, like the guy’s anatomy (god his posture is awkward), his face and another few things here and there.
The dark side of the hill the chief is standing on could have been lighter, and pushed back in the distance a bit.
Also, the Wildlings are all the same value, with little atmospheric perspective.
Oh well.

While going through George R.R. Martin’s blog posts I also noticed HBO released the teaser for the next season of Game of Thrones.

Nothing much to see, but it does remind me that it’s almost behind the corner.
Damn I can’t wait.
Nonetheless, Mr. Martin, please go back to writing Winds of Winter. That’s the stuff we want!

by Paolo Puggioni