Sylvan Sketches: The Sylvan Sword

Here's what the famous weapon might look like

Before we get started, we’d better get an important detail straight. When we talk about this particular piece of weaponry, we usually say “Casey’s sword,” but that’s not exactly right. Alert readers—like Ryan, who mentioned this when he sent his artwork over—know the truth: This sword originally belonged to Gloria, and she was kind enough to let her brother use it. (Extra points if you remember what happened to Casey’s first sword.) Nice work with the Grimes trivia, Ryan. If you’re wondering, all this happens in Casey Grimes #1, The Mostly Invisible Boy.

In later novels, Casey keeps the sword under his bed and continues to act as if it belongs to him. In reality, he’s hoping Gloria forgets to ask for it back.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the drawings. It was cool to see a few more people join in this time around. The Sylvan Sketches seem to be picking up speed. As a reminder, here’s what our artists had to work with:

And here’s our first sketch:

This sketch from Flannery really emphasizes the value of this “priceless Sylvan relic.” Look at that solid gold hilt, which would make you feel very bling and cool. As if that’s not enough, there are gems sprinkled across the hand guard. Bonus, gold being heavy, it would pack a punch if you had to clout a monster with it. Since gold is softer than some other metals, I’d be willing to bet this gold has been magically protected in a way that has kept it dent-free over the years.

Miles obviously had big plans, and I like that. His ambitions for this sword turned out to be bigger than his paper, and it worked out fine. You can tell this is an enormous, beast-hashing weapon that would make monsters think twice about picking a fight. No wonder Gloria was happy to loan it to Casey. This sword would be taller than she is! Nice detail work with the engraved vines on the hilt and the ghostly blue glow around the blade. I’m guessing it would take about four more pieces of paper to draw the rest of it.

This sketch from Isaiah has some amazing detail. We’ve got multiple gemstones, a two-handed grip, streamlined hand-guard, and a fantastic engraved blade. Are those overlapping leaves at the bottom? The sword is so elegant, and at the same time so cool, you could see yourself yanking it off your backpack in a dangerous moment in the woods, carrying it at the ready through an underground cavern, or wearing it to a fancy Sylvan party. But if you took it to the party, you’d find an excuse to take it out of the sheath so your friends could admire it.

This edition from Ryan is straight-up deadly. Great use of color, emphasizing those sharp edges and the leather-wrapped grip that would be easy to hang onto even if your hands were sweaty in a situation involving Sebastian Drooce or a Butcher Beast. The hand-guard and spiky pommel are brutish in the best possible way. Enemies would take a step back. Friends would take notice. This is a fearsome, attention-getting blade.

This is an impressive take from Ezra. The precision of the multiple bloodlines on the blade are next level, and since I’ve encountered this artist before, I’m pretty sure he used a ruler or triangle to achieve those razor-sharp edges. Frankly, this is not a blade you would want to test with your finger. Let me restate that. If I saw someone stretching a hand toward the sharp end of this sword, and I liked that person, I would yell, NOOO! If I was Robert Pierce, I might say, “Wouldn’t do that if I were you.” With a blade that cool and clinical, you might think the weapon would be for lab use only. But nope, the warm glow of the wood pommel and the green-blue highlights give the sword a personality for everyday use.

This gleaming death-ray of a sword is from Asher, and we’ve seen his work before. In case you don’t know, he illustrated the Gloria Grimes picture book and he has a way of making art look easy. Whether this was light work for him or not, he’s added some high-impact details. That blueish blade looks magically charged. The pommel at the bottom of the leather-wrapped handle has an emerald carved to look like a leaf, which is a great idea. Finally, the whole weapon looks so formidable, like something Aragorn or Prince Caspian would carry, that it’s no wonder he added a gold-banded sheath. That would add even more value, and it would also keep you from stubbing your toe on this sword and slicing your foot off.

Our final entry is from me, and I wanted to try a couple things. First, we’ve got the wicked curve at the end of the blade but I’m not sure I got the dimensions right. After staring at it for a few minutes, I don’t think the real Sylvan Sword curves like that. For one thing, it would be extra work to store. You’d need a sheath that folded into place with snaps or buttons, and good luck getting the sword out in a hurry. My other experiment, which I kind of like, was to put the SW engraving on the bottom. Maybe that would explain why Casey didn’t notice it for so long? Something to think about.

And that’s a wrap. Thanks for sending in your sketches! Hope you’ll join us next time—parents and teachers, feel free to share with your young artists. On that note…here’s the clue for our next Sylvan Sketch. You can send your artwork over anytime. We’ve done the WheelWraith. We’ve done the Sylvan Sword. Next up is a…