The Trio in Fanart: A Study in Reader's Perception

Continuing on with the theme of my life the week, today's post is devoted to my mental images of the three main characters, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. When I first read the books in November of 2000, the films were still a year away and I was free to picture the characters as I pleased. With the exception of Evanna Lynch as Luna and maybe Matthew Lewis as Neville, none of the actors have changed the way I see the characters in my head. I think this is probably because I see the films as a separate entity entirely. Anyway, this will be a long, image-heavy entry. All the artists whose work is shown are credited, with their real names if they have identified themselves as such online, or with their screennames otherwise. Here are the characters as I see them:

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" by Marta Tieves, artdungeon.net

"Our Home" by *Catching-Smoke

"Ron and Hermione, First Year" by cambryn

"Harry Potter" by Marta Tieves

"Ronald Weasley" by Marta Tieves

"Hermione Granger" by Marta Tieves

"First Meeting" by Marta Tieves

"Chess" by Marta Tieves

"Ron and Hermione Playing in the Snow" by Marta Tieves

"Philosopher's Stone" by mudblood428

"Hermione" by briarthorn

I may edit this post or do another shortly, but as you can see, Marta Tieves's Trio basically is my own. She was basically the first talented artist I came across in fandom, and while I'm not quite as enamored with her work as I once was (her characters often have stiff expressions, whereas those of artists like mudblood428 are more emotional), no one has really quite matched her drawings of the Trio in my head. Her Harry has messy hair, her Ron is long and lanky, and her Hermione is bookish and pretty in an understated way, unlike Emma Watson's bombshell, leading lady looks. At least to me, the Trio as portrayed in the art above feels far more like the Trio in Rowling's novels, and it is these characters I love so deeply, not the ones played by Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson. I encourage you to check out deviantart.com and browse the Harry Potter art sometime. It's a massive (and spoiler-filled) collection, and while there's a lot of poor-quality work, there are also some real gems.

How do you see the Harry Potter characters?