(Just as an aside, it's most unlikely they would have anyone alter a Sweet painting - even a work in progress - if any such thing existed. That is pretty much anathema in the visual arts world, considered pretty much on an equal footing with destructing a work. If an unfinished work exists, it will be worth much to fans of Sweet and art historians interested in his work - and not in terms of money as such - Harriet gets the paintings as I understand - but for what it reveals of his method as a painter and such. At best they'd have someone work on a new work based on his unfinished work, but that too would be a bit odd nowadays. A more proper way to pay homage to Sweet would be to reproduce the unfinished work in the book, and use something else for the cover - not that I'm saying it's too likely to happen even if there is an unfinished cover.)
Tor's Art Dir.'s formulation is a bit ambiguous, but she doesn't seem to speak about a painting for AMOL that is now left unfinished, rather than saying Sweet won't be able to see the series to completion and get his wish to have provided a painting for each book. Irene Gallo would likely have mentionned the work in progress, even if only to say a few general elogious words about it and that she's sad he died without completing it.
Normally it's too early for Sweet to have started on anything before his passing. Harriet has not even seen a first draft yet (she won't see anything from AMOL until around New Year) and it's always been her who picked from the first finished draft of a WOT book the scene that in her opinion fitted best and that Sweet would illustrate. The cover's done during the six months of editing, normally.
It's not impossible I guess Harriet has long had a scene from the outline in her mind for the last cover, but that sounds fairly unlikely she didn't wait to get the complete first draft before she got Sweet start working (no one can be sure Brandon won't be forced to move things around until he's done).
It's not like the situation was new or a surprise either. Harriet was asked on a panel a few years ago (pre-TGS) if she was considering modernizing/redesigning the WOT books or if Sweet would provide the cover again, and she said a revamping was fairly likely to happen after the series was complete, but unless Sweet's health prevented him from finishing - and she (with Doherty at her side adding his own comments) said this was alas possible as he was an old man and had been too sick to work lately and they had not even sure he would be able to do TGS until it was time to work on it, she planned to keep the old look and the same artist to the last book.
A repackaging of the series earlier than planned is certainly a likely option now, especially if they opt to go with the new design supervised by Irene Gallo for the ebooks rather than go with a whole new one - Harriet neither said that would or wouldn't be her and Tor's choice down the line - and perhaps more likely than keeping the old look when there's no point anymore with Sweet's passing. That would let Tor near a full year to gradually introduce the redesigned books on the market as the stock of books for each WOT title runs out, to familiarize people with them. Next fall, they'll have displays with all the redesigned books alongside AMOL, thus mitigating their loss of brand recognition (long time casual fans won't associate the new look with WOT yet, but they will recognize the titles). Mind you, for best selling series like WOT visual brand recognition is a bit secondary, especially when less and less people buy their books in a physical store.
Tor's Art Dir.'s formulation is a bit ambiguous, but she doesn't seem to speak about a painting for AMOL that is now left unfinished, rather than saying Sweet won't be able to see the series to completion and get his wish to have provided a painting for each book. Irene Gallo would likely have mentionned the work in progress, even if only to say a few general elogious words about it and that she's sad he died without completing it.
Normally it's too early for Sweet to have started on anything before his passing. Harriet has not even seen a first draft yet (she won't see anything from AMOL until around New Year) and it's always been her who picked from the first finished draft of a WOT book the scene that in her opinion fitted best and that Sweet would illustrate. The cover's done during the six months of editing, normally.
It's not impossible I guess Harriet has long had a scene from the outline in her mind for the last cover, but that sounds fairly unlikely she didn't wait to get the complete first draft before she got Sweet start working (no one can be sure Brandon won't be forced to move things around until he's done).
It's not like the situation was new or a surprise either. Harriet was asked on a panel a few years ago (pre-TGS) if she was considering modernizing/redesigning the WOT books or if Sweet would provide the cover again, and she said a revamping was fairly likely to happen after the series was complete, but unless Sweet's health prevented him from finishing - and she (with Doherty at her side adding his own comments) said this was alas possible as he was an old man and had been too sick to work lately and they had not even sure he would be able to do TGS until it was time to work on it, she planned to keep the old look and the same artist to the last book.
A repackaging of the series earlier than planned is certainly a likely option now, especially if they opt to go with the new design supervised by Irene Gallo for the ebooks rather than go with a whole new one - Harriet neither said that would or wouldn't be her and Tor's choice down the line - and perhaps more likely than keeping the old look when there's no point anymore with Sweet's passing. That would let Tor near a full year to gradually introduce the redesigned books on the market as the stock of books for each WOT title runs out, to familiarize people with them. Next fall, they'll have displays with all the redesigned books alongside AMOL, thus mitigating their loss of brand recognition (long time casual fans won't associate the new look with WOT yet, but they will recognize the titles). Mind you, for best selling series like WOT visual brand recognition is a bit secondary, especially when less and less people buy their books in a physical store.
Nothing yet about the passing of Darrel K Sweet?
06/12/2011 12:45:36 AM
- 1905 Views
Sad to hear it. AMOL won't be the same without his art gracing the cover *NM*
06/12/2011 01:52:40 AM
- 379 Views
Yes, AMOL won't be the same. I guess we'll have to find someone else to do the cover
06/12/2011 01:56:29 PM
- 785 Views
I'm wondering if he's got MOST of it done, if they'll just have someone finish.
06/12/2011 04:21:09 PM
- 837 Views
And the new artist will find the task too daunting and split it into THREE covers! *NM*
06/12/2011 04:52:38 PM
- 353 Views
lol. actually, I don't think I'd mind that. I would frame them and put them on the wall all together *NM*
06/12/2011 05:41:28 PM
- 430 Views
I think I was too subtle. I really, really dislike the WoT covers
06/12/2011 07:10:25 PM
- 744 Views
Not really "errors" just "wtf is going on, who are these people, what does this have to do with WoT? *NM*
06/12/2011 07:57:16 PM
- 329 Views
no, i read you I was just curious in general if they would have someone "finish" them instead. *NM*
07/12/2011 02:34:54 AM
- 294 Views
I don't think he has even started
07/12/2011 12:03:43 PM
- 883 Views
Sanderson says Sweet finished a concept, but not the entire illustration.
07/12/2011 03:25:43 PM
- 1229 Views
Re: Sanderson says Sweet finished a concept, but not the entire illustration.
07/12/2011 08:17:11 PM
- 995 Views
Whoops, I was thinking LE Modesitt and wondering why this was here.
06/12/2011 04:15:07 AM
- 796 Views
Yeah, I remember back in the day thinking a new WoT book was out when I saw Modesitt's covers..
07/12/2011 12:25:50 AM
- 924 Views
Is it wrong of me to to think "I hope he didn't already do the cover art for AMoL?" *NM*
06/12/2011 07:07:15 PM
- 340 Views
It's certainly too bad he died, but I can't say I'll miss his...er..."distinctive" cover art
06/12/2011 07:30:02 PM
- 773 Views
RIP Darrel. Tor should put whatever Sweet had done so far on the cover of AMOL.
07/12/2011 06:15:51 AM
- 687 Views
Re: RIP Darrel. Tor should put whatever Sweet had done so far on the cover of AMOL.
09/12/2011 01:09:11 PM
- 794 Views
I'm sorry to hear that he died, and my condolences to his family.
09/12/2011 01:57:09 PM
- 694 Views