Forum:KB:Essential Reader's Companion art

Having seen the previous Talk:Brian Rood page before Culator deleted it has got me wondering, Rood's work on The Essential Reader's Companion does indeed lend to character likenesses differing significantly from those previously established; specifically Mirax Terrik. Mike A. Stackpole has said in the past that the Decipher version of Mirax is how he originally pictured her in his mind.

It does appear that (as quoted) "Rood has traced the facial features of prominent Lucasfilm employees and fans from photos publicly available online when designing the final character layouts rather than adhering to established canon depictions. Examples include Slave Leia cosplayer www.leiasmetalbikini.com/members/christy.html Christy depicted as Aryn Leneer, Lucasfilm's Leland Chee as Nuru Kungurama and Wookieepedia's own Bella'Mia as Mirta Gev."

The user who posted this questioned whether permission was granted by individuals to have their likenesses used in this manner. Is anyone able to confirm that Rood did indeed copy the likeness of fans? And if so what his motivation was for doing this?

CuriousLucGeorge ( Say What? ) 14:37, January 10, 2012 (UTC)