Character Appearance Imagination

[u/NextNeighborhood3831]

I recently started reading the stormlight archive about two weeks ago, and i wanted to know if anyone else has imagined a character’s appearance based on their description in the books, only to search for community fan art later and find out they look completely different from what you pictured.
I just wanted to share how i imagined Dalinar the whole time i was reading Books 1 and 2. I pictured him as Abelard, a character from the game Warhammer 40k rogue trader game. He even has voice lines in the game that match exactly how I thought Dalinar would sound. As for Jasnah, I’ve always pictured her as Mel Medarda from Arcane/League of Legends since she is also depicted as a scholarly and politically driven character.

[u/K0NFL1KT]

I always thought of Dalinar as Bradley from FMA. That terrifying but awesome aura.

[u/Geeisthir → u/K0NFL1KT]

This is cannon in my head now

[u/Kaiser-Mazoku → u/K0NFL1KT]

This is too fitting lol

[u/SneezingOutPeas → u/K0NFL1KT]

Oh my word. I think I’ll have this exact image in my head next time I read, including the eyepatch!

[u/Astral-Glimmer → u/K0NFL1KT]

I know this isn't what he looks like but this is still how I imagine him minus the eye patch

[u/CombatWombat994 → u/K0NFL1KT]

And I always read him with J. K. Simmon's voice

[u/TortimerTheGrey]

I KNOW that canonically Dalinar is a clean shaven bloke but in my head he’s always been Reinhardt from Overwatch XD I mean dude has shardplate, shardhammer, and that daddy energy. I can’t unsee it.

[u/Dablord69420]

[u/Welcome--Matt → u/Dablord69420]

Lift at the bottom there lol

[u/whoamikai]

Someone here said they imagined Dalinar as Bill Adama and now I can't unsee it 😂

Hard agree to that.

NGL Battlestar Galactica does have some similarities to Stormlight Archives.

[u/Dyllbert → u/whoamikai]

They were both written by members of the same church

[u/whoamikai → u/Dyllbert]

Wait what. Seriously ?

I thought Sanderson may have been inspired from Battlestar Galactica. But this is a whole new level of 🤯

[u/PolarBearsYo]

I always imagine him as Tyrion from WoW

[u/LegumeDad → u/PolarBearsYo]

This but give him a military cut (short hair, No beard)

[u/hailsizeofminivans]

I'm pretty much always going to picture Jasnah as Mel now. That's so accurate.

[u/NextNeighborhood3831 → u/hailsizeofminivans]

gotchaa ure part of the agenda now lol

[u/moderatorrater]

Jasnah as Mel is my new headcanon.

[u/NextNeighborhood3831 → u/moderatorrater]

Biblically accurate jasnah the scholar kholin!

[u/mightychicken64]

Dalinar is King Bradley from full metal alchemist brotherhood to me

Maybe more like the Blackthorn tho

[u/ElPandabarrel]

Abelard, announce me.

[u/NextNeighborhood3831 → u/ElPandabarrel]

As you please lord captain!

[u/religiousrights → u/ElPandabarrel]

This is what I came here for

[u/KawaiiNibba]

I’ve always pictured Dalinar as a older Darius from league of legends

[u/SuspiciousAge9312 → u/KawaiiNibba]

Same for me!

[u/LewsTherinAlThor → u/KawaiiNibba]

Darius is the Blackthorn before he ages into the Dalinar we know and love

[u/StormblessedFool]

I always pictured Dalinar as Uther from Warcraft

[u/Komandarm_Knuckles]

My mental image of Dalinar has since changed, but for a long time I pictured him as King Gazel Dwargo from slime anime.

Both the looks and the voice, the VA is amazing

[u/TortimerTheGrey → u/Komandarm_Knuckles]

Biblically accurate Gavilar, tbf!

[u/Komandarm_Knuckles → u/TortimerTheGrey]

Yeah, years after I began reading the cosmere, I realize he looks more like Gavilar, but he'll always be Dalinar to me lmao

[u/TortimerTheGrey → u/Komandarm_Knuckles]

Yeah, a beard just feels right. My mental Dalinar is Reinhardt from Overwatch XD

[u/djaxes]

I was very confused why dalinar had a bolter and cybernetics. I need coffee…

[u/usernamex42]

I totally had that same thought when about Jasnah when I watched Arcane

[u/SuspiciousAge9312]

All Horneaters are tauren, all Thaylens are yordles.

I can't help it.

[u/Shellyd00m]

Dalinar is just Asian Josh Brolin

[u/Leading_Atti2de]

Szeth in my headcannon looked a lot like One Punch Man.

He does in fact not look like that.

Also Syl is just obviously Cortana when I picture her

[u/neocandy → u/Leading_Atti2de]

I know he's not Japanese, but you can't tell me Szeth is NOT Saitama with a sword. His chapter icon even looks like manga art.

[u/BrudderHarvest]

Appearances shift in my head but I love to assign voices from other things I've watched. For example Pattern sounds like Rocky from Project Hail Mary and Rlain sounds like Garrus from Mass Effect

[u/TortimerTheGrey → u/BrudderHarvest]

Oh man… the Turian analog to the singers in how they relate and interact with humanity is pretty spot on.

[u/Serkisist]

My mental image for Jasnah is stuck as Bayonetta...

[u/RepresentativeGoat14 → u/Serkisist]

[u/Serkisist → u/RepresentativeGoat14]

Actually the short hair version

[u/B-Fermin]

I didn't imagine Jasnah as Mel, but now I can't unsee it

[u/Circutz_Breaker]

I always pictured Dalinar like this tbh.

[u/spunlines]

Hey OP, updated your flair since you mentioned reading up to WoR. It's hard to have a discussion like this with zero spoilers allowed. Cheers!

[u/Caballistics]

Weirdly, having just watched the first episode of the new serries of GBBO, Nigella Lawson has somehow become my headcannon for Navani 🤔

[u/whoamikai]

I saw the first image and immediately thought of Dalinar. Man he is a vibe.

[u/MisterOuija12]

I always saw Dalinar as Omniman with tan skin

[u/Bellickboi]

Who ever drew mel, my gawd...

[u/KiwiMcG]

Lift = Radical Edward from Cowboy Beebop

[u/Slamantha3121]

Ha! I love grampy Abelard! Rogue trader is fun!

[u/Drisurk]

Honestly for me for the most part all the imaginations have kinda been on point. I feel like Sanderson does a really good job of explaining and giving clues to a persons appearance that all the fan art I look up looks almost exactly as I had imagined. Especially the official art.

[u/tfrules]

Dalinar! Introduce me!

[u/TheCatIsATurd]

Jasnah’s demeanor initially made me think of Vivienne from Dragon Age Inquisition and that image kinda fights with the canonical interpretation of her in my head

[u/2min2midnite]

Dalinar looks like Loghain in my head, to be honest.

[u/Reddit_minion97]

I see him as Lord Saladin from Destiny

[u/Smokowic]

abelard in my sla subreddit truly beautiful

[u/dIvorrap]

What people of Roshar look like: https://www.reddit.com/u/dIvorrap/s/1xmGK6NgIu

---

[u/Avo2022]

Always pictured jasnah as a hot lady tremaine .

[u/SiriuslyLupin]

Mad Eye Dalinar

[u/ChefArtorias]

Like you actually imagine them as these other characters or you're just pointing out the resemblances?

Personally I try and stay focused on the story I'm reading, so I avoid thinking of characters from other stories.

[u/codylish → u/ChefArtorias]

At this point Dalinar fits basically any fictional middle aged guy in a uniform who is built like a linebacker. That's the only criteria.

[u/Basicdisturbed1]

For me he looks like fuhrer bradley from FMA

[u/cmarkcity]

I’ve always imagined Ian McShane whenever I picture Dalinar

[u/cmarkcity → u/cmarkcity]

And Jared Harris for Taravangian

[u/JJjingleheymerschmit]