Well found, sers

With the release of 'Here to Serve' here comes Ser Gerold Hightower, aka the White Bull. Hope you'll like him.

As usual, click to enlarge, please

Gorgeous art that really captures how I imagined this character. Well done sir!

Oooo cool art. Though I must admit, he holds the sword somwhat akwardly.

Kingsguard said:

That's what I thought. Admittedly, I know nothing about sword fighting, but it does look a little odd.

What you're missing is that he's so awesome, he only needs to hold a sword between thumb and forefinger! I figure he's changing his grip mid-swing/parry/etc, but, still, it does look strange.

There's still a spot in my Kingsguard deck reserved for him, though!

What's also strange is that what you see between the thumb of his left hand and the sword grip doesn't match the background that should be there. But aside from that, I think it's a cool piece of art. Can't wait to see it on the card.

Well, that's a technique of old sword-fighting as far as I know (my source was a re-enactor), the right hand carries most of the weight, the pommel is in the palm of the left hand and the fingers give the direction, it's a point strike (BTW in the HBO series Jaime uses a similar technique at one point), uncommon since the sword was mostly a slashing weapon (but yet te pommel could be used as a sobstitute for a warhammer ot mace, pivoting the sword with an hand holding it by 'the strong third' the third of the blade nearest to the haft that wasn't keen).

Maybe a detail may make things clearer. Between the thumb and the sword grip there's no space, what you see is the leather glove he wears beneath the steel.

Tiziano said:

Oh right, now I see it. Looks a lot less awkward now

Nice detail there with the engraved bull's head, by the way

Is this computer art, oil or acrylic ?

Cheers

M

Tiziano said:

I can see where you're going with that. Aim the sword with your right, jam it forward with the left for a strong maybe armor penetrating thrust. I could see that working. I've done my share of fencing and research on different styles but I've not seen that sort of move in longsword fighting before. Any idea which style uses it? Or if it has a name at all?

Kingsguard said:

I definitely got the impression that this is what was going on, the White Bull delivering a strong, pin-point thrust to a vulnerable spot. What i want to know is, is that other sword falling from a lifeless hand, or is that the Tower of Joy in the background, and Hightower is trading deadly blows?

The close-up just makes the work that much more impressive. You never cease to deliver excellent artwork.

thejibboo said:

Oh yeah wouldn't that be cool if that is Ser Gerold Hightower as he was making his last stand against Eddard Stark and his companions.

The detailed picture is impressive!

LaughingTree : thank you very much, I'm honored.

Saturnine said:

Thank you, and no problem, I should have pushed values a bit more there to make it easier to 'read' the glove.

Mykel It's computer-painted, but I've painted in acrylics and oils for about 15 years before turning digital for the industry. I'm glad the old training still shows .

Kingsguard , sorry, I don't know either the specific style or the name, here in Italy the most quoted book for ancient sword training is the Flos Duellatorum by Fiore dei Liberi, maybe it was found there...

Another possible surce is the sword-trainer for the HBO series, in one of the episodes (I think it's the 5th but I'm not 100% sure) Jaime uses a similar thrust.

thejibboo The art order wasn't specific about the location, here there are two different opinions: I think this is the Tower of Joy, my wife says it's the Red Keep and the White Bull is teaching a few tricks to a newly-raised Jamie Lannister.

JerusalemJones , Gualdo : Thank you! Given that you both like the detail this much, here comes another, this time at work-size (as usual click, please):

Tiziano said:

The Tower of Joy is supposed to be round, I think, so I guess your wife is right

The Art is very well done as usual, Tiziano. Huge fan of your work.

I got one beef with this one, though. I can't remember if the books give any hints about Gerold's age at the time of Robert's Rebellion, but the guy in the picture looks way younger than I imagined Gerold to be. I'd put this guy in his late twenties tops, whereas I always figured Gerold to be in his late thirties/early forties maybe, him being the Lord Commander and all. But I may just be way off here.

Ratatoskr said:

Well, I suppose the picture could be from a time way before Robert's Rebellion. I don't think we ever learn the age at which he joined the Kingsguard or how old he is at the time of the Rebellion. But given that he was the uncle of Leyton Hightower (who is called The Old Man of Oldtown), and his stature in Aerys's Kingsguard, he was likely 40-ish or older at the time of his death, as you estimated.

Saturnine said:

Hnh. If that's the case, I don't like it. The card art should depict the characters at the age they have in the books. You wouldn't have a card that shows Maester Aemon as a student at the Citadel, or Cersei as a twelve-year old. Same with the characters from before the time frame of the main series. The art on Balerion rightfully doesn't show him as a hatchling, and if we ever get a card for Aegon the conqueror, I'm sure he'll neither be depicted as a pimply teenager nor as an old geezer. So Gerold should be depicted at roughly the age he had at the time of Robert's Rebellion. But who knows, maybe he was younger than we think, or he just held up exceptionally well. ~I guess that comes from not being married and having no children...

The age Gerold Hightower has in the books is "dead." In my mind, there's nothing wrong in showing characters "in their prime", particularly when they have been dead for a while. Hell, we got full grown Rhaegals and Drogons and Viserions when they were mere baby dragons in the book.

Sure Gerold is a figure of the past of the current time frame of the main series. But Gerold Hightower as Lord Commander of Aerys's Kingsguard, Gerold at the Tower of Joy is the "version" of the character, so to speak, that has impact on the current story line, and that's the version of the character that should show up on the card. Sure we could have a card of Balerion as a hatchling or Aegon the Conqueror at age 16 or Donald Noye as an apprentice smith or Tyrion as a baby or the Mad King as a pouting boy, but what would be the point?