I’ve been neglecting tumblr and I’m sorry! I should be able to get to my inbox this weekend, and more tutorials I swearrrr. I’m working on stuff, and I can’t disclose what, but I should be done this week!<3 HUZZAH. So have an old Thorin drawing in the meantime. Influenced by Aubrey Beardsley!
“Thorin Oakenshield” by Matchack.
Thorin’s Company. Everyone else can be an elf, I will die a dwarf. I am completely enamored with Tolkien’s Dwarves, or any dwarf really… Hands down my favorite subject to draw.
I was doing this project right as Peter Jackson was releasing the photos of the dwarves, I managed to avoid seeing any since I didn’t want the influence…Until I saw Dwalin (my favorite of the company) and I had to give him similar tattoos. I loved his character design. Anyway, I tried to maintain some similarity in appearance to the Dwarves that are closely related. Those swatches of color represent the color of their cloaks.
Just got back from The Hobbit. No words.
Well, I have words, but you know. I just really need to fucking draw/paint Tolkien forever until my hands fall off.
* reblogging this to remind myself to put it on my Dwarf blog*
“Thranduil” V. Giordano. Ink on Board.
I just entered him in The Hobbit Design Contest. I almost made him look too sassy. Almost.
Number 81 of the Fantasy Prompts: Siblings
“Éowyn, Éowyn!” he cried at last. “Éowyn, how come you here? What madness or devilry is this? Death, death, death! Death take us all!”
A really rough sketch that will hopefully be a painting.
Oh shit guys. I found my old photobucket account. The first is from 2008, right before I started school at Art Center, and the second is from 2012, after I graduated. Both are Gimli.
This makes me laugh so hard. I can’t even tell you.
I was recently asked what my favorite book was. The Hobbit. Now, I’m used to the occasional weird look, but this person got straight to the fucking point, “No. I mean like, a real book.” I get this reaction a lot unfortunately, and I know why I get that reaction, but I’m still pretty sick of it.
Fantasy and Science Fiction are escapist in nature, and it may not be so visible here on Tumblr, but to the majority of the “adult” world, a love of Fantasy speaks to arrested development. You read Fairy Tales as a child, and that’s where they belong: childhood. If you’re reading Fantasy, let alone immersing yourself in other ways, then you’re probably used to weird looks and teasing, or worse.
See, you are defying some social norms and behavioral codes, however small, and society remedies that in two ways: satire or violence. So if you get made fun of enough, or beat up enough, maybe you’ll wise up and start acting like a real adult. Right?
Thankfully wrong, because Fantasy was built to withstand that shitty flaw in society. Fantasy comes self-equipped to shield you from every blow, while simultaneously wrapping you in a warm embrace of acceptance and validation. It is nothing short of magic. Fantasy is escapist, true, but it is the single greatest device for handling the society and the reality that you are escaping from.
I immerse myself in Fantasy, yes to escape the world for a time, but is doesn’t end there. Every time I visit Middle-earth I bring something back. A better vocabulary, higher confidence, insights, questions, courage, ideas, and the occasional epiphany, all of which act as tools I can use here in the real world.And I do use them. I am constantly using them. I look to Fantasy so I can build a better reality.
So if people don’t understand why I devote myself to Fantasy, it’s okay because I am Barrel-Rider, a light from the shadow, an assistant Pig-Keeper (formerly), the mother of Dragons, the brightest witch of my age, I am Dovahkiin, daughter of Eve, a companion, a Browncoat, a Sailor Scout, a Starfleet graduate, I survived the Legacy Virus, I have been through the looking glass, I sit at the Round Table, my name is a killing word, and my Midi-chlorian count is very fucking high.
Those are my tools, I am the reality I built for myself, I am still building, I will keep building and insults will fall deafly on my pointed motherfucking ears.
“Concerning Hobbits” Ink. Virginia Giordano.
Oh man. Finally done. Though I might do color washes later…So, the work of J.R.R. Tolkien is my life, and I’m constantly attempting to pay homage in my own work. This time however, I felt like paying a little homage to Peter Jackson and the cast. I’m a huge fan of the movies and I don’t really believe in the “one or the other” mentality.
The piece in general is about Hobbits and their relationship with nature and their ability to remain unseen. I gave each Hobbit an item relating to the four elements, which also happen to reflect their personalities, for Pippin: Beer/Water, Merry: Pipe/Air, Samwise: Athelas/Earth, and Frodo: The One Ring forged in Fire.
Ummm what are you guys doing on the Saturday the 22nd?
I think we should have a drunken Hobbit tumblr party.
I was supposed to be doing comps for a collaboration piece but it turned into Barrow Wights and Oathbreakers.
I love them. They’re one of my favorite things to draw (second to dwarves!), and I think Tolkien says a lot about redemption with these guys, maybe with them more so than Gollum? For the Oathbreakers of Dunharrow at least. Sorry Barrow wights, you just get repeatedly schooled by Bombadil.
Okay, my shop of the week is late for a good reason. I intended on featuring Stitchy Button yesterday, and as fate would have it, the surprise birthday gift Brian got me from Stitchy Button arrived in the mail yesterday!
Catherine Boucher, the talented lady behind Stitchy Button, made me the custom Dwalin doll pictured above. I cannot even explain to you how much I love it. I literally cried. I CRIED. The detail is perfect. He’s wearing the green hood that he hangs up in Bag End, and the golden belt and even a little warhammer! So magical. I think I might commission her to make me a giant Dwalin that will soak up my tears when The Hobbit comes out.
ANYWAY. Just look at the amazing. She can do anything, from Game of Thrones, to Doctor Who, Harry Potter, The Avengers, Lord of the Rings, Zelda, Star Wars, scarves and bunnies and back again. She is capable of magical, magical things.
Commissions begin at $65 dollars and dolls are typically 16 inches tall (13 for Halfings)! Contact her at The Stitchy Button, and be sure to follow her Tumblr account Stitchnik, to get a sneak peak at all the new stuff in the works!
FINALLY HOBBITS. I hardly ever draw Hobbits and I never draw characters from the films, but I kind of get annoyed when people stay away from the trilogy because they’re worried about the actors replacing their view of the characters when reading the books. Develop a stronger imagination, bro.
I think it’s possible to appreciate the books and movies as separate entities, right? Anyway, this is just a work in progress, I want to spend a lot fo time on this piece. And yeah, they’ll probably have eyes. I guess. I love that you guys never judge me when I draw everything with soulless demon eyes though. <3
Fingolfin! Because so much Blind Guardian! I feel like I overworked the face. But I had to because he was looking like Kristen Stewart.
Fun story! When we saw Blind Guardian they played Time Stands Still (a song about the battle between Morgoth and Fingolfin) and Hansi announced it by saying something like “This is a song about Morgoth!” and everyone freaked out and screamed and cheered. And for like a second he just looked so disappointed and he was like “No…why do you guys like Morgoth?” And nervous laughter was had. But then it took them like a littttle too long to come back on stage for the encore, so for a split second I was like, “Fucking Morgoth. Thanks for making me look like an asshole in front of Blind Guardian.” Then they came out and all was well.
So, let’s review: the One Ring lets you
1) turn invisible,
2) have incredible power, and
3) see dead(ish) people.
Meanwhile, in a SUPPOSEDLY completely unrelated canon, the three Deathly Hallows let you:
1) turn invisible (Invisibility Cloak),
2) have incredible power…
Plagiarizing? That’s pretty damn harsh. Firstly, I challenge you to find any fantasy author (obviously not including authors that pre-date Tolkien) that is not influenced by Tolkien. He changed the game. Terry Pratchett said it best when he compared Fantasy works to Japanese art:
“Tolkien appears in the fantasy universe in the same way that Mount Fuji appeared in old Japanese prints. Sometimes small, in the distance, and sometimes big and close-to, and sometimes not there at all, and that’s because the artist is standing on Mount Fuji.”
Secondly, Tolkien did not invent the idea of an all powerful ring. To know Tolkien is to know how much he was influenced by history. So if you call JK Rowling a plagiarist, then Tolkien is plagiarizing Plato and the Ring of Gyges or Sir Yvain’s ring from Arthurian legend. Or Draupnir and Andvarinaut from Norse legend. And so on and so on and so on.
So yeah, it’s cool you don’t enjoy the Harry Potter series, but it’s a little naive to claim that JK Rowling’s works promote plagiarism. The magical thing about works of art is that they don’t exist in a vacuum. No one is exempt from influence. And no two pieces of art need compete.
Lastly, Tolkien loved the idea of his work influencing and affecting others, and in turn, creating more art to send out into the world. It’s something to celebrate, not condemn.
Has everyone seen this incredible piece of amazing? This woman is my hero and I want to retire at age 25 and just attempt to make these for the rest of my damn life.
Maddie Chambers completed this insane work of art, which was acquired by Fortinbras Proudfoot Esq., a children’s literacy foundation, and it’s now touring libraries across Australia!
