Picacio’s Song of Ice & Fire Calendar Drops Today

John Picacio’s much anticipated 2012 A Song of Ice and Fire calendar hits North American stores today and we have a sneak preview directly from the source! Picacio worked on this calendar for a year creating twelve gorgeous images of George R.R. Martin’s detailed fantasy world. The calendar from Bantam presents Picacio’s view of the the characters and events in the books with his own interpretation, differing in varying degrees from that seen in HBO’s Game of Thrones series. Different, and awesome! Granted, we’re biased because we know John and love his work. And we’ve totally imbibed the GRRM kool-aid. But that doesn’t take away from this stunning portfolio of memorable images.

You will find many of your favorite characters depicted including Jon Snow, Ned Stark, Tyrion Lanister, Jaime Lanister, Arya Stark, Sansa Stark and the Hound; but Picacio also shows some of the second tier players like Gregor Clegane, the Red Viper and Melisandre. This calendar is the perfect way to rest your eyes when taking a break from long passages of GRRM’s new A Dance with Dragons.

John Picacio has posted all twelve images on his blog, but you’ll still want to get the calendar and see all the detail in these images. And if you will be attending San Diego Comic Con, Picacio will be appearing with George R.R. Martin at AA21 from 3p-5p on Friday. He will also have calendars available at his booth (#4600) all weekend and Random House (booth #1515) will have them as well. All ASoIaF and Game of Thrones fans should stop by and visit.

On his blog, Picacio has this to say about his work and his time in Westeros:

All of my artworks in this calendar are a hybrid of traditional pencil drawing and traditional paint, digitally composited together. I love drawing with pencils on a piece of good Strathmore illustration board. Working up those original underdrawings, through the buildups of color, and on to the final layerings, was a labor of love.

I lived in Westeros for many months while doing this work. It was one of the greatest trips of my life, to date. I learned a lot. I would return again in a heartbeat. Thanks to the family members and friends who were my reference models and helped me channel my visions into better drawings and paintings.

John Picacio's 'The Others'

We’ve got more…after the jump…

John Snow & Ghost

Bran Stark

Looking for more? Picacio discusses each image in greater detail on his blog so head over to John Picacio’s blog for the full collection! You can also read a sweet and timely interview with John Picacio on SF Signal. And let us know what you think and which one is your favorite.