The Stormlight Archive - To Kill (Animatic)

Szeth-son-son Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king.
Animatic adaptation of the Prologue of "The Way of Kings" by Brandon Sanderson. Thanks for watching!
If you wanna see more of my Stormlight doodles/animations, check out my Instagram here: margarethou...

[@lushedleshen]

Brandon Sanderson once said that the best Book to Film works are *adaptations* This is a perfect example of adapting the source material to the medium. You cut things out, added things, changed things, and ultimately this project is stronger for it. 11/10, will show to literally everyone I know.

[@sahibjotsingh8238]

Great animatic, but you forgot the part where Gavilar tells Szeth to tell his brother "to find the most important words a man can say".

[@meghowes3544]

some of this was cut down for clarity! this is ultimately a piece for my portfolio so it had to be viewed out of context, but what I would give to have the time to just...make a stormlight anime

[@FedericoRodriguezRamanash]

@@meghowes3544 a stormlight anime?? LET'S FUCKING GO

[@SneakyTogedemaru]

@@meghowes3544 It would be great if you find time to animate the prologue thoroughly, it looks great, and your stile looks amazing, and a bit more details would lift this to masterpiece level. It's great preview of the book as well, definitely saving this to drag my friends into Sanderson's wonderworld of desperate suffering and hopefull determination, thanks )

[@cameroncall5163]

"Worcestershire sauce?"

[@virgurilla4084]

Im down to write that and I have an entire intro memorized@@meghowes3544

[@themuzzy5092]

I absolutely love that you didn’t have any dialogue for the moment he realized who the Shardbearer is. Awesome visual storytelling.

[@tommynanto5498]

Man, Aang looks so depressed. Awesome job!

[@upside_you_mop]

Lmao

[@GhostKingDeAngelo]

Aang if he was never a pacifist and the air nomads sent him to go kill people

[@kavlan453]

WAIT I DIDN’T EVEN REALIZE GAVILAR MENTIONS THAIDAKAR, THAT WAS SO LONG AGO Thank you for helping me see a detail I missed 👀

[@DeltaYT_Aarav]

I miss when kellogs(not gonna say his actual name) had screentime:(

[@lucasriddle3431]

Weird that this animatic omits so many of the details of the prologue (for brevity/ease of animation, and understandably), but that one detail that was left in was the one you missed

[@javierlozano8890]

@@DeltaYT_Aarav I just laughed so loud when I read "Kellogs"

[@maggie2556]

As one post put it, “genuinely hilarious that one of the first things written in the stormlight archives is gavilar being killed and going ‘surely kelsier did this’ as he dies”

[@MichChats]

Can you just send this to brando and have him fund the first season of the anime please this was amazing.

[@BL4RG4N]

Great animation! I like how you can infer much of the information that's available in the prologue. You introduced Szeth absorbing Stormlight perfectly. Also, the beggar was a nice touch.

[@kevinboehm8346]

The “beggar”

[@jamesmanger4392]

This looks amazing! You captured such action and expressiveness and yet your animation style isn't cluttered or overdetailed. Fantastic job! I love all the little nods, details, and easter eggs you scattered throughout the short. Also, changing the camera angle to signify the lashings? Brilliant! And that's not even touching on the dynamism of your fight choreography.

[@grumpydumpling7024]

Bruh this is exactly how I pictured this scene when I first read it. So good

[@MrManlify]

After book 4, "Szeth Son-Son Valano, Truthless of Shinovar wore white on the day he did everyone a big storming favor"

[@quietviridian]

In awe of how you managed to perfectly convey the characters' emotions and movements with such a simple design and set. And others have already said it but the way you adapted it to fit the medium totally worked! Literal chills

[@eliasgorauskas9422]

Reading the books I always imagined lashings being shown on screen as the camera rotating and it looks just as cool in practice as when I imagined it. Great job!

[@ervinoribiana4059]

oh wow this is amazing now I want to watch it but with sound effects and voice acting

[@kaponkie05]

This has to be one of the most brilliant storming animatics I’ve seen, and definitely the most animated. You’re going places, journey before destination radiant!

[@definitelynotalightweaver8739]

This is incredible! Makes me want some sort of adaptation for Stormlight even more so I can share it with my friends and family that don't want to read thousands of pages of epic fantasy 😅

[@allieasbill2055]

I LOVE that you have Syl put up a title card! Very good segue into the rest of the story.

[@marl3ymarl3y86]

I saw the previews for the storyboard and some snippets of this but I was unprepared for how good this was! I was blown away by the amount of detail and motion in the video, your work is really professional, and though some things were cut for time, everything works so well together and is really smooth, I'm really impressed and I'm sure people looking at your portfolio would be as well. This might be my favorite piece of fanart for the stormlight archive I've seen, thank you.

[@meghowes3544]

omg thank you! what a nice comment :)

[@jlklai98]

This is incredible, holy shit!! The way you "tilt" the camera to show how the lashing reorient the surgbinder was so cool! And the beats and the way you show the animation of Szeth compared to everyone else is so, so impressive. Rally really well done, i love it!

[@precisa_]

Amazing work, I love it. now I can't stop wondering how this would feel like with music and voicelines

[@freethekingfisher6032]

I'm very tempted make a version adding SFX to it, if the creator is ok with it of course

[@jpdixon]

this is so cool! I would love to see this recreated in a fully finished animation ! Though I always imagined Szeth's blade much longer

[@joshuadaquin2343]

Great job! Don't forget though that when a blade passes through living flesh like the guards neck, it doesn't mark. Also when Szeth's blade was thrown, it wouldn't have caused blood.

[@animalobsessed1]

I love how you manage to express Szeth's feelings even though you don't have any of the inner monologue. His discomfort is so clear in all his expressions!

[@TheWorldPillow]

That was actually really great. The shots, the directing the implicit storytelling - the entire time, I thought there was going to be some catch, but no, it was just a great animatic of the Stormlight Archive prologue. I thought the way you brought in Stormlight and did the lashings and gravity was very beautiful and expressive, it's exactly how I'd imagine it in my mind like with the screen turning too. The sticky lashings tightening like bindings was a nice touch, making the purpose very visually clear. Also Szeth's whole expression when he said - "I'm... sorry" - it got to me all over again! Except now the guards had faces. And now I feel like I really understood how sorry Szeth was in this scene, especially because I /know/ and a reread is never quite the same as the first time. And the drunk. My gosh, this honestly is just great - thank you for making this.

[@freethekingfisher6032]

This is beyond amazing, would love to see a version with sound effects in the future

[@maggie2556]

At least get “The Assassin In White” song from the Kaladin soundtrack in there

[@benjamincameron3427]

At times this barely looked like an animatic, this is so well done and I love Szeth-son-son Vallano's reactions and faces. Especially when he was waiting for the "guard" to chase him as he went after the "king". Just like the single frame glance back and fourth sent me lol

[@szeth-son-son-vallano4937]

YORE GETTING A SUBSCRIPTION this is awesome. The lashings and combats are really good. Though my only feedback is the end part of Gavilars words to Dailnar. Overall advanced.

[@mozzy9727]

5 seconds in i literally said "OH THAT'S NIFTY" out loud sdkvbdsvhkbsdv this is incredibly well done-the angles, the expressions, everything! thank you for sharing!!!

[@nutsinmabasket]

I'm certainly not the only one impressed ;) I hope you'll continue making these for the Cosmere universe (in particular :P)

[@NaiadVT]

GOOD SHIT GOOD SHIT!!!!!!!! Always love to see a new cosmere animatic!!!!!!!!

[@jhoelescobar578]

Todopoderoso que bien hecho está, de seguro eres una tejedora de luz

[@gandalfthegray7349]

Holy crap! Your style and the fluidity of your animations have improved drastically. I LOVE your TAZ videos, and I recently started reading the Stormlight Archive. I'm about 60 pages in, and I almost DNFd it yesterday. After I saw this, my interest was piqued and now I'm going to keep reading. Thank you.

[@meghowes3544]

omg yay!!! i was completely hooked after the bridge four chapter of wok but they are HUGE books

[@hazamax2139]

Loved it, specially the angles following the lashings. The only thing is the banding like animation but I'm willing to give that away for non readers to grasp what's going on when this eventually gets an adaptation.

[@olivia8243]

AMAZING!! i would LOVE to see something almost exactly like this as the opening scene of a Stormlight Archive animated series. you convey so much through your animation, it's awesome

[@jamesmurray3021]

2:17 Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Happiest of Shinovar, wore a grin on the day he was to kill a king

[@that_nerdy_hylian]

Ah, here it is! This is such a great animation, I love it. I watched the one with sound twice before I found this.

[@alaska4939]

I like showing Syl at the end searching for Kaladin.

[@IlsaTheArtist]

I finally had the time to sit and watch this, and I’m very glad that I did! You did great justice to the scene, with “Can you see me!?” man(avoiding overt spoilers) lying at the feet of the Herald’s statue. The guards were fantastic, and every emotion on Szeth’s face was masterful; you took the time to do intricate details, like when he flinches at the falling guards, or his eyes widen slightly before narrowing in determination after “I’m sorry.” So much effort, time, skill, and thought went into this, not to mention passion. This is fantastic, and I love it!

[@Kenwood_DigitalArt]

Every scene was exactly like I'd pictured as I read from the book, great job ❤

[@Kyrbi0]

This is really quite impressive. Found the version with sound first (he should've linked to it IMO), but I'm glad I searched this out.

[@capn_toad]

holy moly! I'm so glad to have such talented artists in this fandom to bring cool scenes like this to life :O

[@StarkTrist]

This is really awesome! Thanks for making it! Good work!

[@ashlancrow6561]

This is the level of quality that i want to see these adapted in. There's so many little details that you managed to caputure and your style is amazing! plz make more

[@Robinsonero]

Really cool. Reminicent of last airbender but you definetly have your own voice. It's simple and expressive and the action works, even in this animatic. I interpret posting a work in progress as an invitation for criticism. I think Szeth drawing stormlight the first time could be a bit more subtle. You can characterize him, show his mastery over stormlight, imagine he nonchalantly walks past, the light instantly going black as he draws it it. Maybe you could save some time from that scene and instead add Gavilar's last request, which might be important for the plot. Great work, thanks for sharing.

[@theninjalion2811]

This is phenomenal

[@wintershafts5024]

Yo this is absolutely amazing! Keep up the great work!

[@IAmDukeSilver]

I love this. The way he breathes in the stormlight is awesome, so cinematic and otherworldly looking to the guards. Excellent work!

[@arenkai]

This is excellent ! Definitely got the chills ! Thank you for your hard work

[@avirusjareesum8979]

"Have you seen me? Have you seen me??" Yes, Jezrien, I've seen you.

[@freethekingfisher6032]

Don't spoil bruh

[@esquirla4179]

Dam i had only read Edgedancer and then I see this

[@connorolsen6667]

Wow. This was really well done and very fun to watch

[@juliakra01]

This is absolutely beautiful. Its so detailed and accurate. Well done

[@ColladoG]

I can't believe how well made this was, omg

[@Proka95]

It's perfect!!!! You are amazing, hope to see more of stormlight archive. Kingkiller chronicle would look amazing on this format too!

[@victoriajacobs6588]

This is incredible! Just finished Way of Kings and am looking to read the next book. Please do more!

[@afasdfasafd314]

this what i always wanted to see and more! thanks!

[@wolfipibe7938]

astouning work, so faithful to the book's sequence

[@spencerwilkinson5622]

Very well made! I really enjoyed how you used the camera to explain his powers. Well done!

[@spockledorfplays]

That was amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing your talents! 😊 I really enjoy your style! It totally threw me back into the story 😁

[@boyscouts4ever]

That's amazing! Great work

[@joshrombro910]

Whoever dislikes this because it's a little bit off really needs to lighten up. This was awesome

[@silasdresser7533]

This is soo amazing I love this!

[@nickl9776]

Awesome animation! Great visualization for the intro!!!

[@quipgaming1790]

I’ve been waiting for this for so long.

[@semelecook3623]

That was seriously amazing.

[@daskfour7134]

This is amazing I loved it!

[@jsigg4106]

Im a little late, but wanted to stop by and say how much i LOVE this! Its so expressive and dynamic. I'm not sure why, but i get ATLA vibes from the style. Maybe its the bald guy in robes flying around that does it

[@Volkmargrim]

Looks good! Really capture the pained look of Szeth, but feels abit short Gavilar did put up a pretty good fight from what i remember.

[@dylancooper8807]

Great work!

[@nikitamalikov6683]

Alors... c'est magnifique. Very well done.

[@sjsamphex]

Loved this!

[@benjaminyoung7153]

This is amazing

[@PetrosofSparta]

Visually this looks incredible and now I want to film it

[@archietaylor7729]

This is amazing!

[@JL-cy1ks]

Wow, done in great style :)

[@estebanr457]

Stormlight animatics? YES YES YES GOD YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@CiaranTyre]

This is awesome good job

[@lukeroberts8016]

I love this thank you so much this is my favorite chapter in book one and your attention to detail was amazing I love that in the statue room I love there’s a gab between to statues and I won’t give away who it is because spoilers but that’s a wonderful attention to detail also the drunk under Jezrien’s statue which was amazing. Also I love the change of Szeth breathing in Stormlight rather than touching the gems that I love but if I one nitpick well two actually is I kinda wish Szeth’s shardblade was more book accurate I always pictured it as a curved saber and I kinda wish you showed the Parshendi at the banquet because it a banquet in there honor but still great job.

[@giancarlojimenez1541]

amazing!

[@cytonicstarspren4384]

Stunning!!!!!!

[@vanessathenavigator]

This is great!

[@ningenshot650]

amazing 🤩

[@Abraham-books]

That is some fucking awesome work right there

[@egehantufekci2208]

I love it. Keep it up!

[@neptunite5973]

so cool!

[@ShaleNoms]

great job

[@elementalacior1603]

Great stuff

[@balefulviking6334]

Critical role AND stormlight animations??? this is amazing

[@gecko4878]

Its amazing

[@jackwagon573]

OMG I LOVED IT 😍 it was well animated and I think u nailed Seth 👌. I wanted to make my own animatic of the stormlight series but it seems that idea has already been taken 😉

[@meghowes3544]

Thank you!! And please make more stormlight animatics there are not enough out there!

[@Ayman-Animatix]

Amazing Animatic

[@jaimebarrios7074]

Gracias por hacer esta animación. Vida antes que muerte.

[@SashyyKane]

THIS IS SO COOL!!

[@pallasnelli1091]

holy shit this is incredible

[@avonzapper]

I recently caught up on the storm light archive, so seeing this feels a bit surreal to me...

[@zachtaylor8222]

honestly, after seeing this, i think i prefer it this way, without the whole "you must find the most important words a man can say". i dont feel like the payoff to that quote is very good, but not having it looks really smooth

[@Vaxilium_Ladrian]

¡Que genialidad!

[@isabellebangerter4011]

So cool! What I would do for a stormlight animated series

[@margo2441]

Я тільки сьогодні нарешті купила книжку й я дуже рада, що навколо хронік є фандом! Аніматик чудовий!!

[@facu_avm]

THAT WAS AWESOME!! 👏🏼👏🏼😆😆🔥

[@totalitarochka]

Hello from Russia! You’re amazing! Thank you for such an incredible animatic! Keep doing, I’ll watch everything you do! ❤️

[@facu_avm]

That was awesome!! 👏🏼👏🏼😆😆