HBO invites artists to make their favourite Game of Thrones props

Home Box Office has been promoting the final season of Game of Thrones quite aggressively, and rightfully so. The show deserves all the credit it can get and more. The #ForTheThrone initiative proved that fans share a similar sentiment as they went to various lengths to prove their love for the show. This time around, HBO decided to ask 18 artists from around the world to make their renditions of the most iconic props from the show. The results are stunning.

While the official Game of Thrones blog only featured four of the works done by 18 artists, they are all equally beautiful. Four of the most stunning works of art include an ice sculpture of the Night King, Jon Snow’s Lord Commander Cloak, Dragon Glass Daggers, and Beric’s Flaming Sword.

The artists faced various challenges while creating these spectacular works of art, and therein lies the achievements behind them. The entire process and the challenges faced by the artists are recorded on the blog post.

Shintaro Okamoto, the artist who made the ice sculpture of the Night King had to properly think his course of action through. Ice tends to be quite fragile and isn’t really easy to shape and chisel much unlike a rock. He had to be extra careful in getting the proper dimensions to the sculpture down right all the way. After that, he stacked blocks of ice and hacked away at them with an electric chainsaw. The finer details like the texture of the armour and the face were added later with chisels. He also had to spend some time thinking about how to make sure that the statue stands while holding the sword firmly in a safe manner.

“It was natural to sculpt the Night King himself out of real ice. I spent hours studying the reference images and rewatching the show,” says Okamoto. “Ice is fragile and evanescent so the biggest challenge was the commitment to getting the details right: the dimples of the armor, the curvatures, facial expression and the horns of the Night King. It was important to capture it all to satisfy the audience.”

Sarah Symes, the artist behind Jon Snow’s Lord Commander Cloak wanted her art to tell a story instead of just being an addition to the wardrobe. She reportedly used four distinct shades for the cloak which represented different aspects of the show. While Black represented the Night’s Watch, White represents the White Walkers beyond the Wall. Furthermore, Blue was used to represent the frozen landscape and pink was used to represent the hope and warmth of a winter sunset. For her, it was more about the experience behind the cloak instead of the cloak itself.

“I used pour-and-splash dye techniques that left marks similar to the dirt on the cloak,” says Symes. “Seen from a distance, I wanted the patchwork of fabrics to speak to the viewer with one cohesive voice, but stand alone up close. I overcame the challenges of this project by seeking truth, instead of beauty.”

Similarly, Kris Kuksi, the artist who made the Dragon Glass Daggers had his own set of challenges to face. While he wanted to make the daggers look more ‘Wintry,’ he had other sorts of problems, the most persistent of which was designing the knife such that it is just as beautiful as it is practical. A knife fit for both display and use.

“Making a functioning component of artistic cabinetry involves a little more focus on the practicality of its use,” said Kuksi. “It was challenging to be mindful of any decorative elements that were purely for the visual aspects so not to complicate the use of the moving parts involved.”

Finally, Beric’s Flaming Sword turned out to a problem of pure and simple applications of physics. Something which the artist had to figure out for himself rather extensively. This piece of art was made in Brooklyn Glass, and it would suffice to say that it is a Glassbender’s nightmare in the least.

“It’s always interesting to see behind the curtain of TV magic. The original design required some finesse in order to make it ‘neonable.’ We spent a good amount of time figuring out how to configure the wiring, but once the logistics were worked out it was smooth sailing. Our design was incredibly complex and required our most skilled benders to nail the intricacies of the lettering while maintaining its structural integrity —  it was an exciting challenge to say the least.”

In the end, many other artists also made their beautiful works of art to promote the upcoming Season 8 of Game of Thrones. Seeing how this is the final season to the show, these works of art will carry even more importance in the hearts of fans across all areas of the globe. Catch the premiere of the final season this April 14.