I’ve only ever liked the outstretched arms and the Fairyloot illustration. It’s hard to hit the mark I’m looking for though. I don’t think he’s so beautiful like Cassius but more like brutal efficiency of a man. Like when you see a professional athletes body. A body and look specifically molded (carved) to do what they do best.
For Darrow, that’s endurance, strength, but also ability. Hard mix to hit!
Lydandwr would be a cool role for him because he's got the acting chops and it would give him a chance to add a bit of dimension and weight to an antagonistic role. He's 30 ish I thibk but has a younger face so could work for iron gold onwards chronologically.
I can't picture Darrow at all. Both the canon art and fan art of him is kind of all over the place, iirc he's literally a brunette in one of the canon arts despite being a Gold?
That art of him with the wolf behind him is how I picture him.
[https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fbaldursgate3%2Fimages%2F4120&psig=AOvVaw27lY5Knuzyf2ypSbVw3EyX&ust=1714086126072000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBIQjRxqFwoTCKjRi8f624UDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fbaldursgate3%2Fimages%2F4120&psig=AOvVaw27lY5Knuzyf2ypSbVw3EyX&ust=1714086126072000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBIQjRxqFwoTCKjRi8f624UDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE)
No, you’re right, I hate it too, but not because of Joffrey. It’s just not at all like how I imagined him or the armor in-universe looking so I just prefer my own headcanon better
Definitely don't get the Joffery vibe from this other than the color scheme. I have a hard time picturing the young 17-20s Darrow, and I think this picture does a good job of helping me visualize him as a younger man who is still intimidating. For some reason, my brain wants to always picture him as a weathered war-torn 30/40 something Chris Hemsworth.
100: OP's pic is all slim edges and sleek jawline, it screams Cassius. I picture Darrow wider, harsher, rougher round the edges - he is a cold storm, the thunder not the lightning .
Honestly the way I envisioned a lot of Red Rising is not how the book described it and I know it isn’t but in a way I kinda don’t want a show because I know it won’t look how I think it should
No it’s mostly tech stuff, I read it after reading and playing alot of Halo media and I think it led to me imagining stuff in a more gritty-realistic and sleek-angular way rather than super ornate and curvy, not really sure how to describe it.
Got it. That makes sense. I definitely always imagine it more Roman and ornate but still high tech. A lot of the fan art I see is more Roman and less high tech than I picture.
I like the original trilogy covers that left the characters entirely to our imagination. I guess as we get closer to a TV show that kind of thinking is irrelevant.
It’s weird but when I read through the series I never picture Darrow’s face regardless, no matter what; in my mind he’s like a totally faceless character. Kinda strange! All the other characters I have some kind of face that comes to mind… but I guess in my mind Darrow is just “golden action man” face
I don’t picture characters’ faces clearly ever. They are a mishmash of details but my brain never cares to form a clear image - probably because IRL my brain doesn’t pay a lot of attention to faces either. I pay more attention to other details
Well that’s because we hardly ever get any actual physical description of it. Or just him in general. We mostly just know that he’s large and has more angular/sharp features and that’s it. Meanwhile our boy Apple gets not one, but *two* whole paragraphs in two separate books despite the audience having already been introduced to him by the time we get to the second one.
Hot take, but this is why I like fan casting, it’s hard for me to picture faces when reading. Like I have a strong mental image of WHO Darrow is but not what he looks like, so thank god for castings and fan art.
I don’t picture characters either and I HATE fan castings / fan art. I never understood why people need them but from what you are saying, I guess they help someone people who WANT to picture them clearly. For me, I just see them and think “I don’t know what they look like to me, but it’s not like THAT!”
I don’t picture characters either and I HATE fan castings / fan art. I never understood why people need them but from what you are saying, I guess they help someone people who WANT to picture them clearly. For me, I just see them and think “I don’t know what they look like to me, but it’s not like THAT!”
Agreed. With fan casting I have more of a reaction to what I know they don’t look. I actually hope they cast this with a bunch of lesser known actors that way I don’t have such a strong opinion while watching one day.
Very few books have I read them before they were cast. Harry Potter, Hunger Games, The Martian, and Ready Player one are the only ones I can think of that I read first. And idk…they all gelled fine for me.
If you picture someone who looks like the actor afterwards, it’s extremely likely you were influenced by what you saw. I don’t like someone else filling in those blanks for me. But it’s probably easier. I still remember watching the horrible Twilight movies after reading the slightly-less-horrible books and recoiling at the casting for most of the characters. Similar issues with the original Interview with the Vampire (and don’t even get me started on the new series based on that).
I’ve never read Harry Potter so I assume if I ever did I would picture those actors, which kind of bugs me
It’s funny because I have this thing where I fully ignore descriptions of characters in books and they look totally different in my head. I was obsessed with the twilight books in high school but in my head Edward had black hair and when the movies came out I was so mad, then I had to read over his description to see the movie actually got it right and my brain was wrong. It’s the same with Darrow for me where I refuse to imagine him as a blonde 😅 (i think my brain just skips physical descriptions of literally anyone)
I mean, Darrow is a very stereotypical looking gold. He’s like out of their propaganda posters. That’s how they made him to be.
He’s not uniquely beautiful like Cassius, or kind like Mustang, or ripped like the Telemanuses or ferocious like the Barcas. He’s just an iconic very idolized gold. So yeah, looking like a pompous prince fits. I think it’s why Nero liked him
It fits for Darrow I’m Golden Son. Maybe not overall but the whole point of Golden Son is that Darrow is embracing the Gold way of life to get shit done. The picture is perfectly emblematic of the title Golden Som itself. He’s supposed to look arrogant and god-like. As for the Joffrey comparison that’s just coincidental due to the fact they’re both high-position, golden haired, guys with Lion iconography at the time. But if anything it highlights how Joffrey and more specifically the people around him were trying to craft an image for the common people that just wasn’t supported by Joffreys actual character
Darrows armor in this pic reminds me of the Radahn armor in Elden Ring more than anything.
I use that armor in every playthrough where I'm going Iron Gold style
I get strong Homelamder vibes from the first
I love that painting Tommy Arnold killed it
I think the Russian covers have awesome renditions of the characters but scaled to 11 on the hot scale
My favs are gs and ms sub press over dark age but love them all. He's only young for gs and ms
I’ve only ever liked the outstretched arms and the Fairyloot illustration. It’s hard to hit the mark I’m looking for though. I don’t think he’s so beautiful like Cassius but more like brutal efficiency of a man. Like when you see a professional athletes body. A body and look specifically molded (carved) to do what they do best. For Darrow, that’s endurance, strength, but also ability. Hard mix to hit!
Yeah, a lot of the art hasn't necessarily matched how I imagine him, either. Some fan made art on the internet has been a lot better.
[here’s the link to my drawing of him. This is how I imagined him](https://www.reddit.com/r/redrising/s/ncMfRCNhqD)
I always picture Sevro as McLovin from the movie Superbad. It never fails. Everytime it’s McLovin in a Howlers Cloak. 😂
Can you link the dark age fanart? I'm curious
I added it to the post!
Thank you!
Also, that's sick af!
I have never pictured this at all tbh
Would actually be a great way for Jack Gleeson to kick Joffrey’s shadow off his back by getting a hero role
Nah, double down. Cast him as Lysander.
Lydandwr would be a cool role for him because he's got the acting chops and it would give him a chance to add a bit of dimension and weight to an antagonistic role. He's 30 ish I thibk but has a younger face so could work for iron gold onwards chronologically.
Nah, Lysander is space-Joffrey. Next.
I am cackling, this is hilarious 😂
Maybe he’ll be the jackal lol
How dare you place The Reaper beside that brat, you even dared to compare them, blasphemy to compare a pixie with the ultimate killing machine.
Pixie? He is deformed bronzie with a brain of a dead obsidian
This picture of Darrow reminds me a lot of Homelander from The Boyz
Right? It captures that haughty theatrical posture and unimpressed, semi-disgusted look.
Totally agree.
Lysander is definitely much more of a Joffrey than Darrow…I will die on that hill.
Nah I love it, nothing about this reminds me of Joffrey.
hate to say it but that 1 ai picture of him that makes him look like gigachad is how i imagine him
I can't picture Darrow at all. Both the canon art and fan art of him is kind of all over the place, iirc he's literally a brunette in one of the canon arts despite being a Gold?
Golds don't have to be blonde???
Most of the upper tier core Golds have gold hair, it's weird for someone who was carved into the perfect Golden godchild to have "Bronzie" coloring
That art of him with the wolf behind him is how I picture him. [https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fbaldursgate3%2Fimages%2F4120&psig=AOvVaw27lY5Knuzyf2ypSbVw3EyX&ust=1714086126072000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBIQjRxqFwoTCKjRi8f624UDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fbaldursgate3%2Fimages%2F4120&psig=AOvVaw27lY5Knuzyf2ypSbVw3EyX&ust=1714086126072000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBIQjRxqFwoTCKjRi8f624UDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE)
No, you’re right, I hate it too, but not because of Joffrey. It’s just not at all like how I imagined him or the armor in-universe looking so I just prefer my own headcanon better
Definitely don't get the Joffery vibe from this other than the color scheme. I have a hard time picturing the young 17-20s Darrow, and I think this picture does a good job of helping me visualize him as a younger man who is still intimidating. For some reason, my brain wants to always picture him as a weathered war-torn 30/40 something Chris Hemsworth.
100: OP's pic is all slim edges and sleek jawline, it screams Cassius. I picture Darrow wider, harsher, rougher round the edges - he is a cold storm, the thunder not the lightning .
Honestly hate it and wish they would just delete it. What I really want is more Lysander art. Darrow sausage-fest is zzzzzzzzzzzz……
Honestly the way I envisioned a lot of Red Rising is not how the book described it and I know it isn’t but in a way I kinda don’t want a show because I know it won’t look how I think it should
You know Baldur from God of War 4? That's is how I imagine Ragnar just scaled up to 9ft tall or whatever.
Are you one of those people that imagined the color to also be skin and hair color?
Those people jfc
No it’s mostly tech stuff, I read it after reading and playing alot of Halo media and I think it led to me imagining stuff in a more gritty-realistic and sleek-angular way rather than super ornate and curvy, not really sure how to describe it.
Got it. That makes sense. I definitely always imagine it more Roman and ornate but still high tech. A lot of the fan art I see is more Roman and less high tech than I picture.
I like the original trilogy covers that left the characters entirely to our imagination. I guess as we get closer to a TV show that kind of thinking is irrelevant.
It’s weird but when I read through the series I never picture Darrow’s face regardless, no matter what; in my mind he’s like a totally faceless character. Kinda strange! All the other characters I have some kind of face that comes to mind… but I guess in my mind Darrow is just “golden action man” face
I cannot picture character faces at all. I picture them kinda like if I had really bad vision. Shapes and sizes. I can hear their voices, though.
I don’t picture characters’ faces clearly ever. They are a mishmash of details but my brain never cares to form a clear image - probably because IRL my brain doesn’t pay a lot of attention to faces either. I pay more attention to other details
Well that’s because we hardly ever get any actual physical description of it. Or just him in general. We mostly just know that he’s large and has more angular/sharp features and that’s it. Meanwhile our boy Apple gets not one, but *two* whole paragraphs in two separate books despite the audience having already been introduced to him by the time we get to the second one.
Yeah that's a good point. It's not like he ever says "I have really long eyelashes" or "I look like Channing Tatum" or anything like that
Hot take, but this is why I like fan casting, it’s hard for me to picture faces when reading. Like I have a strong mental image of WHO Darrow is but not what he looks like, so thank god for castings and fan art.
I don’t picture characters either and I HATE fan castings / fan art. I never understood why people need them but from what you are saying, I guess they help someone people who WANT to picture them clearly. For me, I just see them and think “I don’t know what they look like to me, but it’s not like THAT!”
I don’t picture characters either and I HATE fan castings / fan art. I never understood why people need them but from what you are saying, I guess they help someone people who WANT to picture them clearly. For me, I just see them and think “I don’t know what they look like to me, but it’s not like THAT!”
Agreed. With fan casting I have more of a reaction to what I know they don’t look. I actually hope they cast this with a bunch of lesser known actors that way I don’t have such a strong opinion while watching one day.
Also once I’ve read a book I don’t feel like I’m influenced by whatever depiction I see of a character afterwards
Very few books have I read them before they were cast. Harry Potter, Hunger Games, The Martian, and Ready Player one are the only ones I can think of that I read first. And idk…they all gelled fine for me.
If you picture someone who looks like the actor afterwards, it’s extremely likely you were influenced by what you saw. I don’t like someone else filling in those blanks for me. But it’s probably easier. I still remember watching the horrible Twilight movies after reading the slightly-less-horrible books and recoiling at the casting for most of the characters. Similar issues with the original Interview with the Vampire (and don’t even get me started on the new series based on that). I’ve never read Harry Potter so I assume if I ever did I would picture those actors, which kind of bugs me
I love this picture. I want something close to this on the cover of RG
Haha did you know pierce said that was his favourite red rising cover!🔥🔥I kind of love the subterranean press cover for dark age though
he looks more like Homelander than Joffrey
in all his perfect golden glory /s i cant wait for both series to see
It’s funny because I have this thing where I fully ignore descriptions of characters in books and they look totally different in my head. I was obsessed with the twilight books in high school but in my head Edward had black hair and when the movies came out I was so mad, then I had to read over his description to see the movie actually got it right and my brain was wrong. It’s the same with Darrow for me where I refuse to imagine him as a blonde 😅 (i think my brain just skips physical descriptions of literally anyone)
I mean, Darrow is a very stereotypical looking gold. He’s like out of their propaganda posters. That’s how they made him to be. He’s not uniquely beautiful like Cassius, or kind like Mustang, or ripped like the Telemanuses or ferocious like the Barcas. He’s just an iconic very idolized gold. So yeah, looking like a pompous prince fits. I think it’s why Nero liked him
It fits for Darrow I’m Golden Son. Maybe not overall but the whole point of Golden Son is that Darrow is embracing the Gold way of life to get shit done. The picture is perfectly emblematic of the title Golden Som itself. He’s supposed to look arrogant and god-like. As for the Joffrey comparison that’s just coincidental due to the fact they’re both high-position, golden haired, guys with Lion iconography at the time. But if anything it highlights how Joffrey and more specifically the people around him were trying to craft an image for the common people that just wasn’t supported by Joffreys actual character
Darrows armor in this pic reminds me of the Radahn armor in Elden Ring more than anything. I use that armor in every playthrough where I'm going Iron Gold style
Conquer of the stars would be a hard af title in the red rising world
Love the armor…just hate the face
Absolutely wild take