Kaladin is an epic fantasy, cinematic-style book soundtrack inspired by Brandon Sanderson's bestselling novel, The Way of Kings. Blending gritty styles that are heavily influenced by the epic music of Two Steps From Hell and Steve Jablonski (Transformers) with piercing beauty influenced by James Horner (Avatar) and Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings), the album tells a tale of a harsh world where storms ravage the earth, spirits assist humanity, and hope, beauty, and honor exist as delicate wisps on the wind.
The album connects with the imaginations of fans in an exciting way. It enhances the listener's experience of the story without getting in the way of their imagination, enabling them to picture their favorite moments in vivid detail. For those who haven't read the book, the music deftly captures the sting of betrayal, the horror of fighting a war on the front lines, the whispers of a spiritual awakening, and the strength of friendship so that the listener may become familiar with the story on a human level. The music invites all listeners to to join the magic of a world that needs heroes to stand and accept the call to unite.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Kaladin Art Book: Sketch to Artwork (cont.)
over 3 years ago
– Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 05:09:37 PM
Hi everyone,
I hope you're having a great week!
I just want to show you another great Sketch -> Artwork piece. This one is Esther Schrader ("Zirael Art")'s illustration of Sas Nahn from the Kaladin album. You've seen the sketch previously, but I'd love to highlight a little piece of the finished illustration:
Esther Schrader: Sas Nahn - Sketch
Esther Schrader: Sas Nahn - Amaram
I know it's only a tiny piece , but I hope it's enough to give you a good taste of what is to come in Esther's marvelous final illustration!
That's all for now - more soon!
All the best,
The Team @ The Black Piper
Kaladin Art Book: Sketch to Artwork
over 3 years ago
– Wed, Apr 21, 2021 at 01:56:55 AM
Hi all,
Just a quick update today. I'll send you some info soon about the progress and timeline, but for now I just want to show a tiny bit of the process, since we have some great finished artwork. Today, we'll highlight Petar Penev's piece for You're In My Spot from the Kaladin album.
We're going to take his early sketch as a reference and "zoom in" on a piece of the finished illustration.
Petar Penev: You're In My Spot sketch
Petar Penev: You're In My Spot - Rock
Looking at an up-close portion of the final image, I find it easier to appreciate the magnitude of what went into each of these illustrations. We'll show you a few more of these as we prepare the final book for distribution and printing, and hopefully you'll be able to get a small sense of the scope.
That's all for now, but more soon!
All the best,
The Team @ The Black Piper
Kaladin Art Book: Progress + a Few Illustrations
over 3 years ago
– Wed, Mar 31, 2021 at 07:11:12 AM
Hi all!
We hope your week was wonderful!
We're a little late with our update this Tuesday, because, guess what? We're in the home stretch! Today, we are wrapping up with the text and some minor formatting fixes for the art book, after which we will compile everything together to send off to Dragonsteel!
Just a reminder: the approval process for the art book will take some time. There will most likely be some back-and-forth changes on text, layout, and other things. But it feels wonderful to be this close!
So, on that exciting note, let's take a look at a few great pieces in the book.
First up is a sketch by Esther Schrader (Zirael Art) depicting the scene that Alethi Codes of War covers in the Kaladin album. This scene juxtoposes Dalinar (in the background - it's harder to see in the sketch), trying to teach his men the Codes by strictness and rules with Kaladin teaching his men the same codes, but by example:
Esther Schrader (Zirael Art) - Alethi Codes of War
Next up, we have a work-in-progress by Antti Hakosaari. This one is an illustration covering the scene depicted in the song Bridge Four. We see Kaladin on the right on one of his first bridge runs:
Antti Hakosaari - Bridge Four
Lastly, this is an image that Ari Ibarra released earlier that we have licensed, with a commission for an added "extension". The extension goes out to the left of what you see here, and will show some more of Hearthstone. The feeling in this image just hit me when I first saw it on Twitter, and I knew I had to convince Ari to let use the image for Hearthstone (Tien's Theme)! Petar had the same thought, and Ari graciously worked with us on extending it:
Ari Ibarra - Tien
Well, we can't wait to share more, and we'll keep you updated over the next while as things progress. We are considering continuing our Tuesday update tradition with some sketches and works-in-progress. What do you think? Would you like to see more as we are wrapping things up?
Let us know in the comments!
In the meantime - have a GREAT week!
All the best,
Michael and Petar
Kaladin Art Book: Artist Feature - Jessica Liu + Some Bonus Sketches
over 3 years ago
– Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 02:20:31 PM
Hi all!
We hope you've had a good week! We're continuing our wrap up on the principal production, but in the meantime we'd love to introduce another artist.
Artist Feature - Jessica Liu
Jessica Liu (aka @jessichenliu) is an illustrator based in San Francisco. She first began creating digital art over 15 years ago. As a self-taught artist, she learned much of her craft from online communities: from her earliest days on Oekaki boards and Deviantart, to present day Instagram. She grew up an avid reader of fantasy and loves bringing characters to life through illustration. Her work features vibrant color and light, and often focuses on those little moments of love, friendship, and camaraderie.
Jessica has illustrated a lovely version of Wandersail for us for the Kaladin album art book, but before I show you a sketch of that, let me show you some of her existing work:
And here's her sketch of Wandersail!
I think Jessica just has a lovely style, and I know you'll be happy with her finished illustration!
A Few Bonuses
We gave you some bonuses last week, and we couldn't leave again today without a few more.
First up is Rysn by Botanica Xu. The final version departs somewhat from Botanica's typical style, and I've gotta say - I love it! I can't wait for you to see for yourself, but here's her early sketch:
Rysn by Botanica Xu
And last but not least is a finished extension of The Blackthorn by Caio Santos. I'll let the illustration speak for itself!
The Blackthorn by Caio Santos
That's all for now - have a great week!
Michael and Petar
Kaladin Art Book: Schedule Updates
over 3 years ago
– Fri, Mar 19, 2021 at 03:22:26 PM
Hi all!
I hope you've been loving all the sketches and extensions we've been sharing. It's been exhilarating working with Petar and all these amazing artists, and the quality and caliber of what we have been receiving has been top tier! We hope that you will love the finished product as much as we are loving these illustrations.
I know the question many of you are asking is: When will it be done? When can I get this into my hands?
Well, here is a small update to our schedule to help answer that.
Digital Art Books
When Sae Sae was still a member of The Black Piper, she had promised to get you all the digital art books first. She had made the decision to focus on bringing in more quality artwork and commissions and working with amazing artists over completing physical production sooner. As part of that promise, she committed to giving all of you who ordered an art book digital copies. And sooner than later.
Now with Sae Sae gone, I have strived to maintain those commitments. I hired Petar Penev as an Art Director after I worked with him on the first commission - the one for Oathpact Abandoned. He knows the community and his attention to good artwork and especially to detail would serve to elevate the art and the book as a whole. I knew that he would hold what we were doing to the highest standards.
Not only has he worked as the Art Director, but he is also taking his role to the next level and has worked to design the book. In place of blank white pages with images slapped on them (as you may have ended up with, were I to design it), he will be giving us some beautifully designed layouts and pages. The mockups he has presented have all been phenomenal.
Q: So, what does this all mean?
It means that you will be getting a professionally designed art book - and you will receive the digital version sooner than later.
Q: Define "sooner"
Sure! Petar and I are wrapping up principal production on the digital art books this month!
Q: Wait, what?
That's right. We will be wrapping up principal production on the digital art books this month and sending them to Dragonsteel for approval. I can't say exactly how long that approval process will take, as there will likely be back and forth fixes and tweaks to text, layout, etc. (The illustrations will have all been approved before we send the full book for final approval.) So, we're confident that with all of the amazing work done on this so far that the changes will be minimal.
Q: So....
OK, so if all goes smoothly, you'll get your digital version by early summer, after we have gone through the full approval and finalization process.
Physical Art Books
Regarding the physical art books, the timeline is less certain, and there are bound to be delays due to COVID and the needs of production. I don't have anything definite yet, and I am actually right now in the process of reaching out to potential printers, getting estimates and timelines. Most likely we won't go directly to print once we have approval on the digitals, but we are aiming to go to print within a couple of months of releasing the digitals. Regardless, as I have more information, I will share it with you.
In the meantime, we hope that your excitement is mounting. Ours surely is! We really can't wait to deliver this amazing book that we've spent so much love and attention on these past several months.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out or leave a comment.
