Let’s get some more art in here! I’ve got quite a few Elves to show off. I don’t just write about Lord of the Rings, you know~.
Content note depictions of alcohol and scars.
First up is an Elf people know about: Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm.
The picture on the left is in color. The picture on the right is in black-and-white, minus the crystals.
I made the outline in a program called Stitch Fiddle, and then took it over to Pixlr E for coloring. Stitch Fiddle is intended for crocheters, knitters, and other yarn-based craftsmen. It took me five days just to do the outline. Partially due to Stitch Fiddle’s line tool erasing lines when you click on them again, and also due to me being fiddly as usual. It took me two days to do the coloring. By the time I finished coloring Thranduil and the crystals, I’d had enough of this nonsense and just left the background blank. Besides, the stained glass style gets busy-looking quickly, and I wanted the focus to be on the subject: the King of the Woodland Realm.
Purple Elf is wearing a scarf while Another Purple Elf has a notch in his hairline along his forehead.
They’re not dated in the image proper, but these were also made during 2020.
I call this “Dear God, Help Me” Legolas. I actually found the notes I made while making this.
God, even in just what I’ve got saved on my computer, I got so many good Legolas expressions to choose from.
Think I’ll go with the the one where’s he’s like: …please no…
Oh that’s right, it’s a three-quarters view.
God.
Fuck Legolas’s braid.
I think I designed something that looks like his braid.
It goes behind his ear and joins the rest of the bundle in front of his shoulders.
Oh god I just realized I have to draw his fucking clothes.
Fuuuuuuuuck.
I mean the audience might appreciate Legolas with his shirt off.
Oh god what have I done?
He’s got scales and leather and layers, oh god.
Oh noooooooo.
What did I rush into?
Oh god.
The tricks I’ve learned is 1) dat hair, and 2) draw him making one of three expressions:
1) dear god help me!
2) what the fuck?
3) playful smug.
He’s not condescending like his father, he’s playfully smug.
I mean you can draw him in whatever expression you want, but it won’t be instantly recognizable as Legolas.
Fuck does Leg Day have two braids on each side?
Fuuuuuuuuck!
No, it’s just one.
Thank god.
Everything I do with the tunic whatever the fuck he’s wearing just makes him look like he’s in university.
HFE, March 5th, 2020.
Keep in mind, these were the observations I made two years ago, when I was even more generous with his character. While the 3 Basic Expressions Theory holds true, now, I say he is condescending. The problem is, he doesn’t have the aristocratic bearing necessary to pull it off properly, so he just comes across as a pale imitation of his father.
This image also features the one and only time I ever did anything with linework / line weight.
Picrew’s great for people who need help making design decisions and color palette choices, although generally, I use a site called coolers for the latter task now.
Half of her hair is braided while the other half is shaved close to her scalp. The foremost braid features a diamond patterning. The background is a hazy, silver gradient. She has a beauty mark by her left eye.
This one’s named Nestoril. Nestoril is Sindarin for “healer”. I created her for a fanfiction called The Star-Jewel of Mirkwood, which was going to be a much longer work, but I shelved it. She’s in chapter 3.
Three images of the same scarred child. The left most image has blond hair, the center image has red hair and more Hobbit-ish qualities (especially in regards to his more plump face), the right most image is an outline. Scars cover the right side of the child's face. His right eye is white. His left eye is green in both colored pictures.
This child is the titular star-jewel of Mirkwood: Elmir. The reason Solnishko uses this name in Muindyr is because Elmir is essentially a Middle-Earth Solnishko. Besides, Solnishko has starry aesthetics! He needs a starry name―and I can’t find any lightning-related names on RealElvish.net. His story was the first story I created and posted to AO3, of course I consider him precious.
“HFE, why don’t you just give him a speed-related name, since he’s a speedster? He already has a starry name via Solnishko.”
That’s a great suggestion, actually. There’s a lot of power in a name in Middle-Earth!
This Elf, Faradir, was going to show up in later chapters of The Star-Jewel of Mirkwood. Basically, Legolas was gonna be such a bad babysitter that he landed himself and Elmir into some trouble with the spiders. Then Faradir was going to need to rush Legolas to the Healing Halls on Thranduil’s Elk.
Was the prince still breathing!?
The prince was still breathing!
Faradir needed another day off.
“Clear the halls!” Faradir shouted as Arodaras galloped through the citadel. “Clear the halls!!”
“What happened!?!”
“Clear the halls!!!”
Was that the king? Oh, good…
The Flight of Faradir.
“HFE, why was a prince put in charge of babysitting instead of any of the dozens of servants a king would’ve had to babysit instead?”
Long story short: Legolas needed to spend time with his new little brother!
Last but not least, quite possibly the only person in all of Mirkwood who’s even less appreciated than Captain Tauriel: Galion! He’s the butler. Thranduil’s butler, no less!
That’s not intended to be a scar on his cheek, by the way. It was intended to be a cheek / chin / chisel line. This guy’s got quite a face, alright.
“So, HFE, how do we give you some money for all this content you’re creating and sharing for free? We want you to make this a full-time gig rather than a passion project!”
I’m glad you asked!
If you can give me a one-time tip, you can head over to ko-fi.
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