The final couple episodes of Game of Thrones were among the most visually splendid ever, rather a tall claim given that has long been the best-looking show on TV.
But images like that don’t just happen. It takes a long time to conceive, put together, and finalize them. Longtime Game of Thrones concept artist Kieran Belshaw comes along pretty early in the process, but given how closely the final product hews to his work, he’s obviously very important. For example, take a look at the photo from the show above, where Daenerys gives her warmongering speech to the Unsullied and Dothraki outside the ruined Red Keep. And now look at Belshaw’s concept image:
An earlier version shows the work Belshaw put in getting from points A to B…or maybe D or F, I don’t know how many versions there were in between:
Another great side-by-side is this shot of Daenerys addresses her public…
…with the concept art:
Once again, it’s interesting to see that the original concept had a much warmer color palette, perhaps before they added in the falling ash:
There’s a treasure trove of this stuff over at Belshaw’s website. Here’s Drogon shuffling out of the ash and confronting Jon Snow…
…Jaime and Cersei preparing for the end…
…and of course, CLEGANEBOWL:
Tremendous! It always pays to remember how much labor went into every episode before it aired.
By the by, Belshaw will be at this year’s Con of Thrones, if that appeals to you. Otherwise, there’s always his website!
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