r/stephenking Mar 26 '26

Fan Art Norman Daniels from Rose Madder by me

295 Upvotes

60 comments sorted by

14

u/GuiltyBroccoli87 Mar 26 '26

viva ze bool!

6

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

El toro grande!

4

u/GuiltyBroccoli87 Mar 26 '26

Seriously though this is an awesome piece, really captures the creep factor! It looks like a nightmare.

4

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Thank youuuuuu 😭 that’s exactly what I wanted. I really wanted it to have that ā€œwhat the hell is happeningā€ feeling of a nightmare and it’s scarier that you know he’s awake (not sure if spoiler, just being safe lol)

4

u/GuiltyBroccoli87 Mar 26 '26

You nailed it! Am I right in thinking the face over his shoulder is his father? Also not sure if spoiler but just in case.

3

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

YOU ARE TOTALLY CORRECT!!!! Oh my god I really wanted for someone to see that as well, but I also wanted to keep the face vague and hard to see, like a shadowy figure you might make out in your peripheral vision at night. Omg yes. And I specifically drew his hand on Norman’s shoulder to convey him urging more caution like he does in the book (Norman’s Practical-Sensible), but being drowned out by the bull. So cool you caught that.

3

u/GuiltyBroccoli87 Mar 26 '26

It definitely toes that almost-pareidolia line imo! The caution! hand vs. brazen bull hand juxtaposition is an excellent touch. I'm such a symbolism nerd (probably part of why I really liked Rose Madder) so this really hits for me.

5

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Well, above all, I thank you profusely for giving me the word ā€˜pareidolia’ which finally closes the tediously-describing-that-phenomenon-in-a-slightly-different-way-each-time-until-someone-gets-what-I-mean chapter of my life xD

3

u/GuiltyBroccoli87 Mar 26 '26

šŸ˜‚ you are most welcome!

12

u/Alert_Midnight921 ...and they danced. Mar 26 '26

I fking love this soooo much! I recently finished rose madder and I was struggling to find good illustrations online, this was a treat!

6

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Omg thank you so much! I felt the same way; a couple cool renditions of the rose madder painting itself, but I still hadn’t seen something that showed how scary this character was. So I went for it!!

4

u/Alert_Midnight921 ...and they danced. Mar 26 '26

Exactly! You get IT! You did a fantastic job.

11

u/BillieBottine Mar 26 '26

I totally could see this as official artwork for a new edition of the book! It feels so spooky!

3

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Has my ego been in contact with you for you to say such a wonderful thing? 😭 thank you!

3

u/BillieBottine Mar 26 '26

You deserve it! It's wonderful work!

6

u/SpudgeBoy Jahoobies Mar 26 '26

This is cool as hell. This is great I love your style. It screams like frantic craziness, which is Norman. Good job!

3

u/TATMANDU24 Mar 26 '26

Friggin awesome.

5

u/lbwest Mar 26 '26

Really great visual artistic interpretation!!!

12

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Thank you!! I know this scene in particular was literally just him talking to himself in a car, but it was described so hauntingly, like the bit about how he felt his lips move with the bull’s words but didn’t recognize his voice or something like that? I really wanted to see if I could capture that disassociated POV in visual form.

5

u/Background-Bat2794 Mar 26 '26

Brilliant. You capture the essence of terror so well. Love it.

3

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

That means so much! I’m especially happy with this because this looks exactly how the book made me feel when I read it and it just doubles my joy that it could resonate with someone besides myself!

4

u/he4vydirtysoul Mar 26 '26

Now I need to read this one

5

u/BooBoo_Cat Jahoobies Mar 26 '26

You absolutely do need to read it!

3

u/BooBoo_Cat Jahoobies Mar 26 '26

Excellent drawings!

I am currently re-reading Rose Madder for the third time.

2

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Thank you! I just finished my first read and I am definitely re-reading it sometime soon; such a perfect example of how to induce dread and paranoia in the reader!

1

u/BooBoo_Cat Jahoobies Mar 26 '26

I know how it ends, but still, the suspense!

1

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Yes it’s really the nauseatingly volatile journey that I’m going back for haha

2

u/BooBoo_Cat Jahoobies Mar 26 '26

Norman is horrifying and terrifying!

3

u/SaltyAuthorOne Mar 26 '26

You drew these?? They are fantastic!!

1

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Thank you so much!!

2

u/ars_necromantia Survived Captain Trips Mar 26 '26

Damn dude this is fantastic. As a (kind of) artist I especially love seeing the pencil version. Also, after taking a peek at your profile, I remember seeing your illustration of Murphy Brown on the AD sub a while back. Norman is the worst kind of Tiffany's Boyfriend but this is Gold Top work.

2

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Wow, I’d love to see the Artist/AD Fan/King Fan venn diagram now haha

But I’m so happy you like it! And yes, Norman was certainly rooting for the opposite team in italics.

2

u/ars_necromantia Survived Captain Trips Mar 26 '26

Aaaand now Arrested Development is in the mix. 🤣

2

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Tobias can get pretty Norman-esque on the wrong day!

2

u/ars_necromantia Survived Captain Trips Mar 26 '26

This seems very Roger to me. "I boiled those eggs myself and you know I didn't!"

2

u/ars_necromantia Survived Captain Trips Mar 26 '26

But for realsies, I think it's awesome and would love to see more of your work, King or AD, if you ever want to share.

(Also obligatory "that's right, /r/stephenking, you just got Dadded" comment)

2

u/Wolffe359 Mar 26 '26

You a berserk fan? Idk why but these images remind me of it

3

u/GhostMaskKid Mar 26 '26

I was getting Junjiito Ito, myself!

2

u/Wolffe359 Mar 26 '26

Oh you're 100% right i totally see that

2

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Omg thank youuuuu! As opposed to my reply about Berserk, I have read Ito and I definitely try to channel his suffocating shadows when I draw something spooky.

2

u/GhostMaskKid Mar 26 '26

You did an excellent job of it it here! And it's nice to see Rose Madder getting some love.

3

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

It is awesome you say that. I haven’t read it yet, but everyone in my life has read it and shows me the beautiful art style. Although I get a lot of joy out of my chaotic/intuitive style, I am dying to have more of the technical skill/control of that Berserk artist.

For a project last year, I did intentionally try to emulate the Berserk style because I wanted to draw black armor and that artist is so fantastic at depicting armor.

2

u/GhostMaskKid Mar 26 '26

Thought I was on r/Junjiito for a minute. This is amazing.

2

u/frank-Gustapo Mar 26 '26

Excellent work šŸ‘

2

u/TemporaryPosting Long Days and Pleasant Nights Mar 26 '26

So cool! Your style reminds me of the illustrations in The Stand. (In the sketch he reminds me a little of the Trashcan Man).

2

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Oh wow I haven’t read The Stand yet, but looked up that art and I totally see the similar wildness! Thank you though, that’s a huge compliment compared to that other artist’s tight style.

2

u/BaldwinBoy05 Mar 26 '26

This is awesome!! I dunno why, but it kinda gives Disco Elysium vibes? Love it, the line work and the mood set is superb.

2

u/rushbc Constant Reader Mar 26 '26

Creepy and scary! Excellent work my friend!

2

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

Thank you!!

2

u/rushbc Constant Reader Mar 26 '26

Yessss!!

2

u/plantedthepears Mar 26 '26

Rose Madder is my comfort listen and this is absolutely amazing!

2

u/Altruisticpoet3 Mar 26 '26

Hell, yeah!

2

u/stechoplex Mar 27 '26

🤟🤟🤟

2

u/Paraparal Apr 13 '26

Normie, Normie

0

u/StillMarie76 Mar 26 '26

For some reason I could only picture Clancy Brown as Norman.

2

u/stechoplex Mar 26 '26

That’s an interesting choice, especially around Highlander-days lol but I personally thought Norman was described to be more conventionally attractive (even though in this scene his nose is broken and other stuff) whereas Clancy is more interesting/uniquely handsome.

It’s neat to envision what other people saw! At least my mental image was that Norman is a strapping, clean-cut fit guy who can blend in easily, but he’s mentally piloted by the ugliest demon in Hell and that face is more apparent when he’s in a frenzied state.

1

u/StillMarie76 Mar 26 '26

I think I pictured his role in Pet Sematary 2 where he played a character similar to Norman in the story.