Sure, I could dedicate several weeks to the landscapes and scenery of the world of The Wheel of Time, carefully interspersing weeks dedicated to character studies and action shots so that Fan Art Friday wouldn't lack for variety. But where would be the fun in that? Instead, I'm going to go a little crazy this week and feature all my favorite Wheel of Time landscapes and scenery (allowing for the fact that I haven't seen all the Wheel of Time art ever made and have probably forgotten or missed some really great stuff).

We've got a lot to cover, so I'll skip the flowery expositions this week and just get down to it.

(Note: A few of these break with canon in small ways, or are merely inspired by The Wheel of Time. Feel free to nitpick about canon in the comments, but please do it nicely!)

Dragonmount and Tar Valon

1. Dragonmount by John Irving (~NuttyMonk)

2. Tar Valon by Mike S. Miller and Andrea Di Vito (from the third volume in the comic book adaptation of New Spring)

3. Tar Valon by Henrik Lehtinen (I believe this is official Wheel of Time art, but I can't determine if this is from the computer game, the card game, or what...does anybody know?)

The Aiel Waste

1. Aiel Waste by Medo Farstrider

2. Three Fold Lands by Tyler Nixon (~Gypson)

3. The Threefold Land by ~TheNonSequitur

4. Craptastic Rhuidean by Tanya Wagemann (*fee-absinthe) (The title makes me laugh--sure, it's sketchy, but I love the colors!)

5. Jangai Pass by *Lupus-deus-est (Myfwnwy on Dragonmount)

Tear

1. Heart of the Stone II by Jared Magneson (~lordstormdragon)

2. Stone of Tear storeroom painting 2 by archedtin

Andor

1. Caemlyn from Tar Valon gate by Joe Trimarchi (*artguyjoe)

2. Winternight in the Westwood by *Lupus-deus-est (She also did the rendering of the Jangai Pass above!)

3. WoT-Westwood by Chase Conley (*saintchase)

4. Tower of Ghenjei by Drew

I never expected to dedicate an entire week to a single character, especially not a single bad guy. But Lanfear's stunning beauty has inspired so many stunningly beautiful works that I felt it would be a disservice not to feature them.

During the Age of Legends, Mierin Eronaile was one of the two researchers responsible for accidentally drilling the Bore in the Dark One's prison. Before this, she was briefly involved with Lews Therin Telamon, who she viewed as a path to power. After drilling the Bore, her ambition and jealousy towards Lews Therin's wife, Ilyena Moerelle Dalisar, drove her to swear loyalty to the Dark One. She took the name Lanfear, meaning "Daughter of the Night," and went on to become the most powerful of the female Forsaken, as well as a master of Tel'aran'rhiod. She was sealed into the Dark One's prison at the end of the War of the Shadow, when Lews Therin and the Hundred Companions marched on Shayol Ghul.

The seals on the prison weakened at the end of the Third Age, eventually allowing her to escape. Under the guise of the Lady Selene, she then attempted to convert Rand to the Shadow. Her stalking and manipulations came to a head in Rhuidean, where Moiraine famously saved Rand from her fury by tackling her, throwing her through the stone doorway ter'angreal, and trapping them both in the land of the Finns.

Lanfear has since been reincarnated as the Darkfriend Cyndane ("Last Chance"), who Moridin controls with a mindtrap. Her stated intent has always been to enlist Rand's help in using the Choedan Kal to destroy both the Dark One and the Creator. However, both her desire to see Rand dead and her subjugation by Moridin confuse the issue of her current intentions.

1. Lanfear by ~kotian82:

This artist is a master of light and composition. The opulent details and silvery light emphasize the ephemeral beauty and power Lanfear personifies. Her association with the night is beautifully conveyed.

2. Xmas Gift: Lanfear by =trishna87:

The flawless simplicity of this work--particularly the sparse use of color--strikes a perfect chord. Lanfear's coy smile and hipshot pose perfectly convey her sensuality and arrogance.

3. Selene by *EdselArnold (Edsel J. Arnold):

I really thought this work was done in watercolor with gold foil, and I was completely floored when I realized it was digital. In any medium, it's a carefully balanced, flawless example of Art Nouveau.

4. Daughter of the Night by Zephyrus (Zephyrus at Dragonmount, ~Gorgaidon at deviantART, and here's her online portfolio and blog):

In terms of the sheer physical beauty of the subject, this is one of the most beautiful depictions of Lanfear I've seen. The washed out colors used here have a sinister feel--appropriate given Lanfear's darker (or shall I say manipulative, sociopathic, and power-crazed) qualities.

5. WoT - Lanfear by *Rakiah:

I feel a little guilty because I just featured another one of *Rakiah's works last week. But beautiful work deserves praise, and the time is right!

I particularly like the costuming details in this depiction of Lanfear.

Physical and mental bonds are a recurring theme in The Wheel of Time. This week, the Fan Art Friday spotlight is on the four types of bonds that shape destiny in the world of the Wheel.

1. Prisons and Imprisonment

These bonds may be entirely physical, but they have a powerful mental effect on the imprisoned. Perhaps the greatest example of this is the subjugation of the marath'damane by the Seanchan, which (especially in Egwene's case) may yet impact the world in ways we haven't even foreseen. For better or worse, imprisonment plays an essential role in the personal development of many of the characters. Egwene's imprisonment in the White Tower was essential to her development as Amyrlin and the mending of the rifts between the Aes Sedai factions, Rand's imprisonment in the events leading to the Battle of Dumai's Wells didn't do his sanity any favors and most certainly precipitated his trust issues, and Faile's kidnapping at the hands of the Shaido Aiel forced Perrin to accept command. Then, of course, there is the most famous prison of all--the Dark One's prison in Shayol Ghul, where He was "bound at the moment of Creation."

Above: Red Ajah by ~leilasedai

Below: Defeat in the Stone Stand by *faile35 (Jeff Fairbourn)

2. Treaties and Oaths

Many of the oaths sworn in The Wheel of Time, including oaths of fealty and all those promises Mat always ends up regretting, can be broken at will (albeit at the oath-breaker's peril). Others, such as treaties made with the Snakes and Foxes in the Chamber of Bonds, oaths sworn on the Oath Rod, and the oaths sworn by Darkfriends, are virtually inescapable. These bonds exact a terrible price.

Above: Son of Battles by ~aiconx (Amanda Elm)

Below: Seanchan Propaganda Poster by ~minniearts

3. Relationships

Love, friendship, and fealty take on a whole new meaning in a world with Warders and Aes Sedai, first-sisters, and Compulsion. For me, the most interesting person-to-person bonds in the series are those between Rand and Moridin and those between Rand, Mat, and Perrin. In the case of the three ta'veren, they are not only bound together mentally (as evidenced by the flashes of color they see when they think of each other) but are also bound together physically, as threads in the Pattern.

Above: WoT: Hold over Caemlyn (Rahvin and Morgase) by *Rakiah

Middle: Moiraine and Lan by Cicely Combs

Below: Tarmon Gai'don by ~ReddEra (Ariel Burgess)

4. Ta'maral'ailen (Web of Destiny)

Most of the heroes in the world of the Wheel are reluctant heroes, and most of the series concerns each character's struggle to accept his or her fate. Eventually, though, even Mat realizes some things are just meant to be.

Below: One Seanchan to go, please ... by Forbis

This week, I continue my ham-handed but humble exploration of multi-panel Wheel of Time art. Here's a link to Part 1, in case you missed it.

1. Rhuidean by Toraneko Studios (Stephanie Chan)

Scene: The Shadow Rising, Chapter 24, "Rhuidean." Rand and Mat walk into Rhuidean, where Rand enters the circle of glass columns and gains the knowledge (and tattoos) that mark him as the Car'a'carn. Here, Mat debates following Rand into the glass columns.

With a Dragonmount gallery (woohoo!), a deviantART gallery, an independent website, and accounts on Tumblr and Fur Affinity, this Aussie art student is enviably entrenched in the Internet art community. It's also worth noting that she takes commissions (If you check out her gallery and like what you see, you can go here for details).

2. WT Comic Commish 1 by RoseMuse

RoseMuse isn't likely to produce much more Wheel of Time fan art, and she's currently closed for commissions. But that's okay, since I'm more than happy to dig through her old stuff. Here's the first part of a four-part comic she did of Moiraine and Siuan getting into trouble as novices in the White Tower (Story by Vorador2. If you're curious, here are parts two, three, and four).

3. Father of Lies webcomic No. 1. Story by Clytemnestra215, art by Sasha-Melrai.

This was going to be the first page of an unofficial webcomic based on the world of The Wheel of Time, but it doesn't look like the project took off. Still, I love the concept and it was executed beautifully.

4. Darkhounds--Storyboard by kaikonen (Thomas Kaikonen Pettersen)

Scene: The Fires of Heaven, Chapter 6, "Gateways." Rand is attacked by Darkhounds in Rhuidean.

This Norwegian artist isn't one to shy from an artistic challenge or settle into a routine. He's tackled portraits, landscapes, and interiors, as well as written and illustrated multiple pages of an unofficial graphic novel based on Chapter 33 of Winter's Heart ("Blue Carp Street"). Here's the storyboard he did for an animation of Rand channeling (click on the image or the title for the full-size version!).

To preface, I know almost nothing about comic strips, comic books, storyboarding, and the difference between Japanese manga and the American graphic novel. If you're deeply passionate about the distinction between these unique and beautiful forms of storytelling-through-art, you may be appalled by my treatment of them over the next two weeks. Being the ignoramus that I am, I plan to just lump them all together to bring you the best of what I'm going to call "multi-panel" Wheel of Time art.

Each of the works featured today and next week either represents or reinterprets a scene from The Wheel of Time. Follow the links or click on the images for the full-size versions.

1. Maradon by liruichen

Scene: Towers of Midnight, Chapter 32, "A Storm of Light". Rand rescues the city of Maradon by singlehandedly destroying an army of Shadowspawn.

The artist submitted this for the "Badassery" contest hosted last summer by the Wheel of Time fan art group on deviantART. I have to say, it was one of my favorite submissions. This painting gives me more chills than the scene in the books did.

2. Apocalypse Perrin: Redux by johnplaystuba

Scene: Knife of Dreams, Chapter 30, "Outside the Gates," and Towers of Midnight, Chapter 47, "A Teaching Chamber." Perrin rescues Faile from Malden. Later, he recounts his adventures to Mat and Thom.

If you liked Perrin's story arc in the middle of the series (what the artist refers to as the "Plotline of Doom"), you may not want to read this hilarious reinterpretation of it. BE WARNED--his construal is probably not for diehard fans.

3. Page 100--The Shadow Rising by Kimiko (Nadia Attlee):

Scene: The Shadow Rising, Chapter 4, "Strings." Mat moans to Thom about being stuck in Tear.

Just a bit of well-executed cuteness.

4. Wheel of Time 10 page 2. Lines by Andy Tong, colors by Nicolas Chapuis (BoOoM)

Scene: The Eye of the World, Chapter 14, "The Stag and Lion." In one of the many dreams the three boys have of Ba'alzamon, he attempts to turn Rand to the Shadow by encouraging him to drink from a jeweled goblet.

A discussion of multi-panel adaptations of the Wheel of Time wouldn't be complete without including a page from the official Wheel of Time comic book adaptation by Dynamite Entertainment. This is my favorite of the pages posted online by the colorist before the text was added.

I'm afraid it's been a hectic week, so the best I can do is feature the best anonymous Wheel of Time painting I've ever accidentally stumbled across. Have you seen it before?

I found an unattributed thumbnail of this emotionally charged depiction of Rand while reading the post on angreal in the Wheel of Time wiki earlier this week. It took me a while to puzzle out the signature, which just says "SCRAPS." It took me a bit longer to hunt down the artist's blog, which appears to be entirely anonymous.

As of the time I am writing this, the blog has been visited only 183 times since 2008, and a handful of those visits are mine. The painting itself, which has been online since 2010, only has one comment, which (startling to me, but then again I'm not one to split hairs about canon) is only lukewarm. Since I've dedicated this entire week to this single painting, you can probably guess my opinions on it. Basically, I think it's genius. Also, it gives me the willies.

With a little help from Google, I actually did manage to find out more about the artist. However, the fact that I had to go digging in the first place suggests he has an interest in keeping his professional and Internet personas separate, so I think I'll play it safe and keep mum on that topic. Besides, it adds to the mystery, doesn't it?

Speaking of impressive artists that are virtually unknown in the Wheel of Time fan art community, I'd like to thank everyone for your enthusiastic reception of Josh Hass's amazing painting of the Myrddraal. Your praise has inspired him to do a second Wheel of Time piece, which I will undoubtedly feature when (and if--no pressure, Josh!) it is finished (for details, see the comments from that post). It's extremely exciting to see Dragonmount and Fan Art Friday foster the creation of new art.

If you know of other paintings like this one or the one by Josh Hass (i.e. those by stunningly talented artists on the edges of the Wheel of Time fanverse), please leave a comment with a link!

Lastly, I apologize for my brevity (by which I am of course referring to the lack of images, not a lack of words). Next week, we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming.

While I applaud the Wheel of Time art community for its inexhaustible creativity, the pace with which it produces works that reduce me to a doe-eyed fangirl does hamper my plan to eventually feature every great Wheel of Time fan artist out there. For this very reason, I have not yet had the pleasure of featuring any art by Tanya Wagemann, a.k.a. fee-absinthe. Stumbling across one of this Chilean artist's perky, colorful character studies always brightens my day.

Since yinz don't read the Fan Art Friday blog to hear me wax poetic, I'll go ahead and (mostly) let her work speak for itself!

1. Wonder Trio

These portraits really highlight the artist's ability to capture the essence of each character. I'm also impressed by her attention to detail in the costuming.

2. Leane

This one stands out for me because of its use of textures and patterns.

3. Elayne doodles

What can I say? All these expressions are just so Elayne.

4. Hedonism

This is the first of two depictions she's done of Graendal. I can't feature the second because it contains mature content, but if you're curious and are not put off by busty-yet-tastefully-rendered women in diaphanous gowns, you can find it here (You may need a deviantART account to view it. Go ahead and sign up! It's easily worth the cost, which is nothing at all ).

Not only is fee-absinthe actively producing fan art for the series (something that sadly cannot be said of many of my other favorite Wheel of Time artists), she also takes commissions. Unfortunately, her journal on deviantART indicates she currently has tendonitis and has had to take a break from new commissions. We hope she gets better soon! If you have an original character you've invented and would like to see painted, be sure to keep an eye on her journal for updates.

Warning: This post contains significant spoilers up through and including Towers of Midnight.

We all remember the moment we discovered Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time. I started reading the series in seventh grade, after I stumbled across a copy of From the Two Rivers: Part One of The Eye of the World in the young adult section of Barnes & Noble. I picked it up on a whim because I liked the cover art, which just goes to show that some things never change.

Still, just about everything else has changed since then. I'm married and in grad school. That old book is still on my shelf, but the pages have turned yellow and it smells like my version of heaven. And whether you started reading the series a year ago or in 1990, I'm willing to bet you've changed since then too.

The greatest thing is that the characters have changed right along with us. By the end of the thirteenth book, the three ta'veren are virtually unrecognizable as the country boys Moiraine convinced to run away from home. In hindsight, Egwene's characterization of the three in the prologue of From the Two Rivers ("Ravens") is brimming with sad irony:

Let's see how far the boys have come. The art on the left is from my copy of From the Two Rivers (illustrations by Sally Wern Comport and Wizards of the Coast, Inc.). On the right (scroll! -->) are recent fan interpretations of the characters.

Rand al'Thor: From shepherd to Dragon Reborn (and, as an afterthought, King of Illian). Not quite as mild-mannered as he used to be. Art on the right by Astriex.

Mat Cauthon: From the son of a horse trader to the Prince of the Ravens, commander of the Shen an Calhar, and sounder of the Horn of Valere. At this point, he may have saved one too many Aes Sedai for his own good. Art on the right by Swedish artist G-a-t-i-n-h-a.

Perrin Aybara: From blacksmith's apprentice to Wolfbrother and Steward of the Two Rivers. Art on the right by Bulgarian artist Lims-Kraghma.

Two weeks back, I featured a handful of less-than-dignified yet irresistibly adorable artistic reimaginings of the slimy, sightless fiends known as Myrddraal. Sadly, it appears my desire to first invent and then snuggle with the entire collectible set of the Dark One's Army stuffed animals is something of an idiosyncrasy. In honor of your requests for fairer treatment of these petrifying creatures, I've decided to give the Halfmen a second chance.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Lurks are back by popular demand!

1. Myrddraal by Josh Hass:

To the best of my knowledge, this is the only Wheel of Time art Josh Hass has ever created. Maybe if we show him lots of love in the comments we can convince him to make more.

I love how he puts us in the position of the fallen soldier.

2. Fade by Jeremy Saliba:

Jeremy Saliba is one of a handful of licensed Wheel of Time artists. He's contributed cover art to the comic book adaptations of The Eye of the World and also sells prints separately. In fact, if you want this bloodstained monster hanging from your bedroom walls, you can purchase a print here.

3. Myrddraal by solitarium:

I've featured solitarium before and I'd bet a Tar Valon mark against Mat that I'll do it again. I love this stylistic representation, though I do think a darker crimson background would have a creepier effect. Then again, maybe I just need to adjust the color balance on my Mac.

4. The Host by Ashley Luttrell (PollyUranus):

For some reason, photomanipulations rarely impress me. When they do, PollyUranus often turns out to be the artist.

My fascination with this one crept up slowly. Something about the sickly-colored landscape and the Fade's confident march really freaks me out. I wasn't initially sure how I felt about the pumpkins, but after you stare at it a while, they just seem to belong there.

This week, I had the privilege of interviewing Matt Nicholson of Dim Horizon Studio. Matt and his wife Nicole are the driving force behind this ingenious photography studio, which hooked up with some incredible cosplayers for JordanCon this year in order to bring The Wheel of TIme to life in the backwoods of the Southeastern U.S.

The full gallery for the promotional photo shoot can be found here.

Perrin, modeled by John F. Strangeway (and Odin!)

Q: You were the photographer on the JordanCon shoot, right?

A: That I was! Dim Horizon Studio was contacted months prior to JordanCon 2012 with the idea to host a large photo shoot with a collection of local talent specifically for the JordanCon 2012 art show and convention promotion.

Q: Do you do all the photography for Dim Horizon Studio?

A: Dim Horizon Studio began in 2002 as a creative outlet for me and throughout the years has grown into a husband-wife duo set on tackling our clients’ photography needs with our creative style & vision. We do bring in additional talent from time to time, but primarily it's myself (Matthew Nicholson & Nicole Nicholson).

Q: Have you been a photographer your whole life?

A: I’ve been involved in a myriad of creative pursuits my entire life. From mineral specimen hunting to a dabble in video game design, I’ve done a little bit of everything but settled on photography in 2002 as it enabled me to capture as well as express the world as I see it.

Q: When did you know you wanted to pursue it as a career?

A: In roughly 2008, I incorporated Dim Horizon Studio, as the demands for my services started to branch out from servicing a close circle of friends to quite a wide audience. It was a big choice at the time, as it inspired me to truly take my work to the next level and transition from more of a hobbyist mentality to a true profession.

A Maiden of the Spear, modeled by Paige Gardner Smith

Q: What inspired you to focus on cosplay?

A: We truly focus on creatively addressing the needs of our clients. This lends us to be closely involved in the cosplay / prop production community as their skills enable us to tell rich stories while focusing on their talents in costume design & construction. While there are quite a few companies that may specialize in a more documentation-oriented photography, we aim to take it all to the next level and do more than just capture a good costume--we want to communicate a strong story as well.

Q: How did you get involved with JordanCon?

A: We’ve had the pleasure of working with quite a few of the individuals intimately related to JordanCon. Dim Horizon Studio as a whole bases its business model around supporting locals (specifically in the southeastern USA) as well as supporting our growing network of clients. In the end, one of our clients (Cliff Tunnell) suggested diving into hosting a large shoot for JordanCon and we couldn’t pass the opportunity up!

Rand, modeled by Paul Bielaczyc. The coat had sleeves at the beginning of the shoot!

Q: Are you a big fan of The Wheel of Time?

A: Comically, I’ve never actually read any of the Wheel of Time books but it’s certainly now on my MUST READ list. As a photographer in this community, I get challenged often to try to portray a clients’ character that I may have had no exposure to. We always try to do a little research beforehand and, while it does help, there is always some level of my own personal style or take integrated into the session based upon what I do (or in some cases don’t) know.

Q: Did the models make their own costumes?

A: Yes, each of the models made their own costumes. We had quite a bit of talent on set that day, and here’s a laundry list of where you might find them.

· Cliff Tunnell – Talented Gentleman behind Steampunk Ash

· James Atkins – Actor/Costumer/Family Man (IMDb profile)

· Paul Bielaczyc – Creative Mind behind Aradani Studios

· John F. Strangeway – Media Dept. Head at Penny Dreadful Productions

· Odin – Dog of the Day!

Q: How did you (the studio and the models) find each other?

A: We find most of our models through our network of professionals and/or messages through our Facebook page or our contact page. For other projects, we occasionally make announcements through our Facebook page on where to access our casting calls. We also use networking sites such as Model Mayhem to specifically target a look or concept. For this specific project, we’ve worked quite a bit with all of the talent previously, with the exception of Paul. We do have quite a bit of plans for collaboration in the future with him, though!

Q: Are they affiliated with the studio?

A: Only as our client. They each have all sorts of talent to offer the community, and if you have any questions you should definitely reach out to each of them in turn!

Mats, modeled by James Atkins (left) and Cliff Tunnell (right). I guess you can never have too many!

By a serendipitious twist of fate, Tor.com just featured Dim Horizon Studio on Wednesday. Check out their article here for more photos from the shoot!

"He scared me," Rand said faintly. "He just looked at me, and…" He shivered.

"No need for shame, sheepherder. They scare me, too. I've seen men who have been soldiers all their lives freeze like a bird facing a snake when they confronted a Halfman. In the north, in the Borderlands along the Great Blight, there is a saying. The look of the Eyeless is fear."

~Chapter 8 ("A Place of Safety"), The Eye of the World

Oh, for the days when Rand was still afraid of things. But that's a topic for another day. Today, the Fan Art Friday spotlight is on the eyeless, soulless captains of the Dark One's army known alternatively as Myrddraal, Lurks, Fades, Halfmen, or Ringwraiths (Whoops, wrong series!). These spine-chilling, slithery monster-men are my favorite Wheel of Time minions.

...Or should I say "mini-ons?"

1. Chibi Myrddraal by John Michael Emanuel Harfouche (Jonmkl):

This daunting beastie sends soldiers running with a single toss of his carefully arranged emo hairstyle.

2. Myrddraal in Tree by Heather Soiferman:

Even Myrddraal need downtime sometimes. I mean, it's not like they're going to cook the soldier stew themselves. That's what trollocs are for.

3. Myrddraal Fella by swidhalm:

Apparently the deviantArt mascot (Fella) is a fan of The Wheel of Time. He'd better be, since I'm always featuring work from his site!

4. Myrddraal by firheruwen:

Nothing says "sinister" like Sculpey®!

5. Myrddraal by hmuraS:

This Australian fan artist's playful style is pitch-perfect, as always.

Usually, fan art or fiction in which characters from fantasy worlds are transplanted into the modern day would be labeled "AU" (meaning "Alternate Universe"). That's not exactly the case for The Wheel of Time, since Earth as we know it is both a past and future incarnation of the world of the Wheel.

So, who knows? Maybe, in a previous life, Rand was a hipster with a penchant for PBR and ramblings on Taoist philosophy. Or maybe he was a fantasy fan just like the rest of us, wasting many an afternoon browsing the Dragonmount forums instead of studying for his final exams, or getting the car fixed, or doing his laundry, or...

...or maybe not. But in the spirit of time-twisting silliness, here's a taste of what The Wheel of Time might look like today.

1. Mat's Inbox by sleepinghour:

Fortuona made Mat get an account in the hope it would help him get organized. She just hasn't figured out how to make him check it.

2. WoT-Pod... by RoseMuse:

Mat's "hip" friends can't understand his love for traditional Celtic jigs, or why he dances like a seventeenth-century yokel. They forgive him, though, because his fashion sense is to die for.

3. Wheel of Time Magazine by Dragonmount's own sus-b (using the e-book cover for The Shadow Rising by Sam Weber and the Wheel and the Great Serpent chapter icon):

The editor is going to wish he had a copy of Mat's ter'angreal when Siuan, Elaida, and Egwene get a hold of the poll results in this issue of Randland magazine.

4. Sea Folk Porcelain by minniearts:

Sales spiked when the merchants discovered the wonders of advertising.

Most people hear the word "foreshortening" and go, "Huh?"

Most artists hear the word "foreshortening" and run for the hills.

Perspective drawing tricks like foreshortening are some of the most powerful tools in an artist's toolbox, and the most difficult to use. They differentiate the masters from the mere mortals like myself.

This week, I've decided to face my fear of foreshortening and get a little perspective.

1. No Crying over Spilt Peas by Makena:

Here's an ambitious and beautifully executed depiction of Mat's inability to stay out of trouble.

The scene shown here is from Chapter 2 of The Shadow Rising, in which a bubble of evil strikes and his playing cards attack him.

2. Lan Mandragoran by solitarium:

This amazing Malaysian fan artist isn't afraid of perspective (and here's another great one he did of Birgitte Silverbow).

3. Race to the Stone by Forbis:

I will never get tired of featuring this artist's work. Here's a fun one she did of Mat breaking into the Stone of Tear (Chapter 54, The Dragon Reborn).

4. Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn by Ariel Burgess (ReddEra on deviantART, and here is her Facebook page):

The perspective on this painting is pretty subtle. Why have I chosen it for this week's theme? Two reasons:

1. Sometimes a subtle use of perspective is all that's needed. Notice how we're looking up at Rand, rather than dead-on. This technique forces us to take a subservient position, making him appear more powerful. The artist's flawless use of perspective and posture (and Rand's crazed expression) makes this my favorite depiction of Rand--not just of ReddEra's works, but of all the depictions of Rand that have landed in my Wheel of Time art collection over the last ten or so years.

2. Ta'veren Tees just announced they will be producing and selling official Wheel of Time playing cards featuring this artist's work. So, a celebratory feature was definitely in order!

Last week, I featured some serious (and seriously amazing) group portraits and sketch dumps. This week, I thought I'd lighten the mood.

In accordance with this week's theme (All Together Now, Take Two), here are four group portraits that made me do a double take.

1. Wheel of Time Chars by Sir-Heartsalot

Not only is the style flawless and fun, but the interpretations are hilarious (just keep scrollin' -->).

2. WoT Puppet Theatre No. 1 by shorelle

What's cuter than the Wheel of Time characters as hand puppets?

I feel a meme coming on ...

3. Sparkles by RoseMuse

I've read Stephanie Meyers' Twilight series and don't have anything against it (we all need a little romantic fluff now and then), but I still think RoseMuse's crossover of Wheel of Time, Twilight, Sabriel, Pride and Prejudice, and Lord of the Rings is pretty darn funny.

4. Re-Employment by Zorm

Another crossover! Maybe that should have been this week's theme ...

That poor Myrddraal just wanted a role in My Little Pony.

With 2,641 named characters, 13 volumes, 11,308 pages, 44 million copies sold worldwide, and audiobooks that would take 17 days, 11 hours, and 30 minutes to listen to back-to-back from beginning to end (and counting!) [source], the Wheel of Time sets a standard for immersive high fantasy that's hard to beat. In honor of Robert Jordan's prodigious mind and prolific pen, this week's theme is quality in quantity.

1. Wheel of Time Sketch Cards by Adam Masterman (Mahasiddha):

I love this artist's sharp, clean style. I also think the juxtaposition of the first two cards is pretty funny (It's pre-Towers of Midnight "Crazy Rand" and post-Towers of Midnight "Enlightened Rand!").

2. Wheel of Time Character Design 2 by Chase Conley (saintchase):

Dynamite Entertainment acquired the rights to Dabel Brothers Productions' comic book rendition of The Eye of the World in 2009. Chase Conley is one of the amazing artists behind these comics. Here's a sketch dump he did in preparation for his seven-issue run. I recommend checking out the original post to see the characters full-size.

3. Wheel of Time by Niklas Tarpila (Nether83):

This ambitious work was done for fun by a Finnish graphic artist. The characters aren't exactly how I picture them, but I really admire his coloring skill. I can't imagine how long it took to make this.

4. Teeny-Tiny WoT People by Forbis:

Forbis is one of my all-time favorite Wheel of Time fan artists. Her depictions of the Two Rivers folk early on in the series strike a nostalgic cord with me, both because they were just so darn young and innocent back then and because Forbis hasn't been active in the Wheel of Time art community for years.

Here's a sketch dump she did of Rand (the first three rows) and the Aiel (most of the last two rows). Again, you might want to follow the link to see this full-size--and check out the rest of her gallery while you're at it!

As a fan artist, there's nothing more daunting than trying to capture the emotional intensity and technical complexity of an action scene. For my first week as the new "Fan Art Friday" blogger (hello, everybody!), I thought I'd hit the ground running by featuring some of the most action-packed artwork in the Wheel of Time fanverse.

Without further ado, here are five of my favorites.

1. Wheel of Time color composition by Thadeoradicarlous:

This color study perfectly captures the intensity of the scene in The Great Hunt (Chapter 19) in which Rand sneaks into the Trolloc camp and (a bit too calmly) walks out with the Horn of Valere (As Loial says, "If you must go mad, could it at least wait until we are back with the Lady Selene and Hurin?").

I love the bold, quick style and contrasting colors of this work.

2. Perrin and Gaul by liruichen:

This artist is great at capturing action scenes from the Wheel of Time (including one of Rand filching the Horn from the Trollocs). Here's one of Perrin freeing Gaul in Remen (The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 34).

I particularly like the guy flying in sideways from the right.

3. Mat vs. Couladin by Hamdiggy:

Poor Mat just wants a kiss and cuddle. Instead, he gets dragged into a fight to the death with a False Dragon, and an Aiel clan chief to boot (The Fires of Heaven, Chapter 45). Just once, he wishes the Wheel would weave as he willed.

I'm a big fan of Hamdiggy's comic book style. The perspective on Couladin was executed perfectly here.

4. Egwene al'Vere by Joe O'Hara:

Joe will be an Attending Artist at JordanCon this year. He's also one of the hosts of Twotcast, a Wheel of Time re-read podcast. Here's his painting of Egwene taking on the Seanchan with the help of Vora's sa'angreal during the raid on the White Tower (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 40). In an age of digital painting, beautifully executed watercolors like this one really stand out.

5. Channeling by melh2o:

Moiraine Damodred, back from the dead and ready to take on a Forsaken. Or five. I just love the intensity of her pose and the way the composition is balanced.

That's all for this week! Tune in over the next couple weeks for some of my favorite (conventional and not-so-conventional!) group portraits.

It's winter holiday time! Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, or "Saturday," we can all agree that December is a depressing time of year unless you hang up some shiny decorations and eat some cookies. Unfortunately, there is not much in the way of holiday fan art, so this is a short entry this week.

Ravenwing136 has this cute sketch of Rand and Egwene dancing together at Bel Tine. In the series, Bel Tine represents the beginning of spring. It's a time of hope and renewal. I'm sure Linda Taglieri would have something clever to say about the symbolism of the story beginning with an interrupted Bel Tine festival, but I'll leave that for her. (P.S. Go check out Linda's blog. It is amazing.)

The picture itself has a great composition, with Egwene and Rand front and center. You can see the joy they feel while dancing. I believe this is a couple that cares for each other very much, as Egwene and Rand do at the beginning of the story. The background is full of nice details, like banners billowing in the wind and Two Rivers folk cleaning out their homes to get ready for Winternight. You can even see Cenn Buie lurking in a doorway as some goodwife fusses over him.

And that's all I was able to find. Hopefully, some of you will get inspired and create some new art for me next winter.

I had a hard time this week settling on a theme for Fan Art Friday. I'm fried from grad school, and it's the end of the semester at work too. (For those who don't know, I work at a small, private school for kids with autism spectrum disorders. My day is not boring.) So, instead of beating my head against the wall, I'm just going to browse Dragonmount's Gallery and see what folks have uploaded recently.

And immediately, I am rewarded! Check out this beautiful black and white digital sketch by Mandersen. This is such a great depiction of Mat and Tuon, and their courtship throughout Crossroads of Twilight and Knife of Dreams are some of my favorite scenes in the series. Well done.

Ooh. I really like this version of Moiraine by Zephyrus. The textures and shading on this one really bring it to life. Those are such small details, but they matter so much.

Here's a really nice painting of Egwene al'Vere by KatrinSedai. I don't usually picture Egwene wearing a slinky, off the shoulder number like this, but other than that, it's a very well done piece. The eyes are very striking, which I think is perfect. Egwene's eyes are her most frequently mentioned physical feature. KatrinSedai nailed that.

And speaking of browsing...Did you know there used to be a Wheel of Time collectible card game? And did you know that we have high res images of all 500 cards in our gallery? If you've got a free hour or two, you should check it out.

It was with shock and sadness that we marked the passing of Darrell K. Sweet this week. While I usually focus this blog on fan artists, this seemed like a good opportunity to spend some time looking at Sweet's work.

Sweet was an extraordinarily prolific artist. In his hey-day, he was the go-to guy for fantasy illustration. His book covers have been a part of my life, even before the Wheel of Time. His style was distinctive and eye catching. When he was a guest at Dragon*Con 2005, he told us that he considered his covers to be "billboards" for the books and wanted them to be visible from across a bookstore. Tor commissioning Sweet for The Wheel of Time was a mark of how much they wanted it to succeed, much as it was that they asked Michael Whelan to do the cover for Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings last year.

We've all taken our share of cracks at "Romance Novel Rand" on this cover, but one of the things we overlook is the sense of grand scale this painting evokes. Sweet used lots of big, bold brush strokes on this one. There's a lot of movement and lurid colors used to bring a sense of the wreckage after Dumai's Wells. Sure, there's some weird details like the random Draghkar flying overhead, but the overall tone fits the book pretty well.

This is probably my favorite of all Sweet's covers. Put your inner fanboy away and ignore the Trollocs-are-just-dudes-with-horned-helmets for a minute. This perfectly matches how I picture Rhuidean. And this depiction of Mat has become iconic, repeated endlessly across fanart. Sweet was spot on here.

For most of us, this was our first encounter with The Wheel of Time. For me, it was seeing this book cover on the kitchen counter when I was in the sixth grade. My mom is also a fantasy fan and bought the first three books for me, thinking it was the complete series. Ha ha. Anyway, this cover drew us in and made us open that book. Who is this woman on a horse? And what's up with that samurai looking dude? Read and find out.

So, what's up with all the hate? Why do we bag on Sweet's art so much? (And believe me, I've made my share of cracks too.) There's a couple reasons, I think. The first and biggest, I think, is that this is the Internet. Internet people love to hate things. I don't know why. But complaining about things on the Internet is just a thing. We all do it. Second, as the fantasy market matured, Sweet's lurid, outsized style became dated. A more realistic style became popular, Sweet got older, and his work started to slip. Put all these together, and you get a climate where it seems like Sweet is the guy we love to hate.

But consider this: Despite all the bashing, Sweet was still considered one of the top illustrators up until his death. Brandon Sanderson posted an excellent essay about his influence on illustration. He was nominated for a Hugo award in 1983, he was scheduled to be the Artist Guest of Honor for the upcoming WorldCon in 2013, and was nominated for a lifetime achievement award this year by the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists. These are not small honors.

If you'd like to look at more Darrell Sweet's art, we have a complete gallery of his Wheel of Time covers here. He also did some of the cards for the WoT CCG ten years ago. And you can see more of his art on his official website (along with his son, artist Darrell R. Sweet). He did lots of Western art, which is displayed there.

Thank you for your work, Darrell. May the last embrace of the Mother welcome you home.

Since it's almost Halloween, I thought I'd dip into my mailbag of requests and take a look at one of the most iconic-and puzzling- villains in the Wheel of Time series. So today we're taking a look at Padan Fain.

This is a fantastically creepy version of Fain by Mandersen. I think the decision to make this image black and white really adds to evilness. The shadows always seem a little deeper in black and white.

This portrait is by Luketarig on DeviantArt. According to his comments, it was done digitally. I really like the murky, impressionistic take on Fain.

Moesymoe took a few liberties with his version of Fain, by adding tattoos and shaving his head. However, I think it still captures the sense of the character. Fain has a creeping menace to him and a sense of wrongness. This fits that perfectly.

On a side note, JordanCon, a non-profit fantasy literature convention founded in honor of Robert Jordan, is currently running a drawing with the prize being a chance to get your name in A Memory of Light. The money is going to help defray JordanCon's operating costs, with a percentage being set aside for the Mayo Clinic's Amyloidosis research fund. The drawing runs until December, but Brandon Sanderson is already choosing names. If you'd like to enter, please visit www.jordancon.org.

And that's all I've got time for today. Thanks for reading!

So my inbox has been flooded lately with a ton of "Have you seen this???" kind of emails. What are they buzzing about? The art of Ariel Burgess, also known as Reddera in our Gallery and on DeviantArt, of course!

According to her website, Ariel is a professional working artist who accepts commissions for a wide variety of work. That makes her fan art extra special to me. For professional artists, their time is money and any time spent working on unpaid projects is time that could have been spent working on a commission. So you know someone is truly interested in creating awesome fan art when they do that.

Ariel has been working for several months on creating character portraits for what she hopes will eventually become a Wheel of Time themed deck of cards. I have no idea if she's in touch with Team Jordan regarding this, but I hope she is. The quality of the art is excellent and I feel a need to encourage her with money.

My only quibble is that the watermark she puts on these is very big and distracting. Oh well. You can see more of Ariel's fan art and get the latest updates on her project by following her on Facebook.

On a side note, Brandon Sanderson and JordanCon are holding another one of those "Get your name in a Wheel of Time book" thingies. You can get more information about how to participate here.

Yeah, sorry about the lame title. I'm about to fly out to FenCon this weekend where JordanCon is bidding to host the 51st DeepSouthCon in 2013 and I didn't want to skip two weeks in a row. Anyways, you aren't here for my tired excuses, you are here for some sweet, sweet fan art love. Onward!

Is that Min wearing a crop top and leather pants? Regardless, this is a pretty bad ass picture of Our Heroes gearing up for the Last Battle by Webcomicfan. It looks like a movie poster!

I first saw this picture at the Atlanta signing for The Gathering Storm tour in 2009. The artist brought the original to show Harriet and Brandon. At the time, I kicked myself for not getting contact info from Edsel, so I'm very glad to see he decided to upload it to Dragonmount.

I don't really think this needs commentary from me. Good job Sus_b.

And that's all I've got for tonight. I've got to finish packing now.

Hello all! I'm back from Dragon*Con and slightly more together than I have been for the last month. And as promised, I have a special treat to make up for being as flaky as I've been recently.

As previously covered on Dragonmount, Tor Books has been re-releasing the series as eBooks. The original plan was to release all the main series books, along with the prequel novel New Spring AND the young adult editions as eBooks complete with new cover art. For the young adult editions, they also commissioned new interior art.

To catch everyone up who might not know, The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt were each split into two books and marketed as young adult editions. Not only was new cover art painted by Charles Keegan, but interior art was commissioned as well.

Unfortunately, Tor has decided not to publish these editions as eBooks after all. Luckily for us though, Charles Vess and Tor Books have graciously given permission for Dragonmount to host these images in our gallery for fans to enjoy. I've selected a few to highlight for Fan Art Friday this week.

This is what would have been the "cover" of the eBook. It looks like it features all three ta'veren plus Egwene fighting Trollocs. One of the things I like about these images is the very old fashioned fairy-tale illustration quality they have. I'm not sure if it's as good a fit for the tone of the story, but it's very striking and distinctive. I particularly like the contrast between the brightly colored figures in the foreground, and the more drab Trollocs in the background. It makes things really pop.

This one looks like Trollocs attacking Emond's Field or the al'Thor farmhouse. The expression on the Trolloc's face is adorable. "Come back!" he says. "I just want to snuggle!" The detail of shading and line on this is just amazing. I keep stopping to look at it again.

Rand eavesdropping on Moiraine and Egwene. I love how it manages to be detailed and yet ethereal at once.

Ahhh! Moiraine! Scary, spooky Moiraine! This one is my favorite. I love her "This is totally no thing, guys. I do it all the time." half smile.

To see the other images (there are eleven total) please visit our gallery. http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/gallery/album/137-charles-vess-album/

Alright, so I've been busy lately. I'm teaching again, which obviously keeps me busy all day. I'm also in my final semester of grad school (I'm getting my M. Ed. in Special Education), I just got home from WorldCon and I'm running the Wheel of Time track at Dragon*Con next week. So hopefully, you all can excuse my slackerness here recently.

To make up for it, I am working on something super cool that you'll get to see after Dragon*Con.

Anyways, I still don't have time to update here, but I didn't want to leave you hanging. So consider this an open fan art thread. Have an awesome piece of art (yours or someone else's)? Post it in the comments for all to see. I'll probably end up mining this thread later for ideas, so if you've ever wanted me to feature something, now's a good time to post it.

See you at Dragon*Con!

It's been one of those weeks, you know? So if it's cool with everyone, instead of doing a theme, I'll just be posting random things I like. Here we go!

Check this out. It's Dragonmount and the city of Tar Valon in what looks like salt dough. I'd like to see more detail, but considering how little Wheel of Time 3D art there is, I'm not going to be picky. This is by Ruggiero93.

I really like this poster by p-lukeThe layout is really nice and he picked nice art to go with it. I could see something like this hanging up in my house.

This is "United Against the Shadow" by Zephyrus in Dragonmount's gallery. These are fantastic portraits of the main characters. I love seeing this one every time it pops up in my art searches.

And that's it. I'm going back to bed. See you next week!