"Erebor had been sacked many years ago. Thror, now old, poor, and desperate left the Dunland, heading to Khazad-Dum with his only companion Nar, and crossing the Redhorn Pass came down into Azanulbizar.
When Thror came to Moria the Gate was open. Nar begged him to beware, but he took no heed of him, and walked proudly in as an heir that returns. But he did not come back. One day Nar heard a loud shout and the blare of a horn, and a body was flung out on the steps. Fearing that it was Thror, he began to creep near, but there came a voice from within the gate:
"Come on, beardling! We can see you. But there's no need to be afraid today. We need you as messenger."
Then Nar came up, and found that it was indeed the body of Thror, but the head was severed and lay face downwards. As he knelt there, he heard orc-laughter in the shadows.
Nar turned the head and saw branded on the brow in Dwarf-runes so that he could read it the name AZOG. That name was branded in his heart and in the hearts of all dwarves afterwards.
That was the beginning of the War of the Dwarves and the Orcs, which was long and deadly, and fought for the most part in deep places beneath the earth."
___
Pen & Ink work, a quick illustration. First illustration to my "war of the dwarves and orcs" - serie.
`anmari has been spreading her infectious positivity throughout our community for over 6 years. Throughout this time Ana has been at the core of all things devious, passionately developing an eclectic gallery, helping organise devmeets, participating in chat events and also recently completed dedicating her time as a Community Volunteer. We are absolutely delighted to bestow the Deviousness Award for May 2013 to `anmari, congratulations! Read More
Sta.sh
Your drawing is still awesome though, I like how Moria looks in the same time amazing and real in your drawings, and I have to say that even knowing it I can't prevent myself from seeing bald-dwarves in my head.
Don't get nightmares there, ha ha, for that's what artist's liberty can cause. I personally regret the day when I carelessly clicked lotr-images under tag "bishie Sauron"
Bishie Sauron ? You are speaking about this : [link] ? It's not that chocking though. Not like "chibi Sauron", with those my eyes are bleeding...
But I was not kiddding.
"The Making of Appendix A" Part IV:
Durin's Folk suggests different Dwarf "breeds" vary in longevity, giving an average life expectancy of 250 years in the Third Age, though some made it to 300. Dwarves are said to "harden" and gain the appearance of age (by human standards) quickly. Between the ages of 40 and 240 was their prime, and they looked much alike in age. During this time their capacity for toil and fighting was equally great amongst most Dwarves. After 240 they began to age, wrinkle, and go white quickly (though they don't go bald). While immune to the diseases that affected Men and Halflings, they could suffer from corpulence (a danger when they had stable lodgings), and if they grew very fat at 200 or before, they couldn't do much except eat afterwards."
Sorry :/
On bearded Dunedain it's also an interisting subject (I saw you commenting long time ago about that on one of Merlkir's drwaings). Here is what I know :
- Tolkien never said "all Dunedain". The only Dunedain we know with elvish blood are the line of Elros and the Princes of Dol Amroth. All the others are not concerned.
- But it's true that Tolkien said that. You can find it at the End of the texy called "of Amroth and Nimrodel" in the Unfinished tales II (I only have a french version so you'll have to look by yourself) : the elvish blood could be seen in some men cause they didn't have beard (an elvish thing) or something like that. Unfortunately it's only a resume from Cristopher and not the exact words of Tolkien, so it's difficult to know if Tolkien was speaking about ALL men with Elvish blood or just some.
- Cause Tolkien don't tell anything for Boromir or Aragorn for example. But we know two "men" with Elves ancestors and beards (as I said to Merlkir) : Theoden with a long white beard and the statue of the King of Gondor, at the Cross-roads.
So I don't know about that, I prefer to say nothing as long as nobody said "Dunedain don't have beards".
No I don't have answers to everything. Yes I still like your drawing.
Have a good day (or a good night, I don't know)
Also, I'm fond of the way you depicted the orcs/goblins. Of all things Tolkien-related, they seem to be among the most mysterious as far as appearances go. They're shady in the book; we don't really know what they look like aside from subtle hints that could be interpreted in so many ways. It's hard for me to come across an orc picture that I like, but yours is one of them.
Ah, orcs and goblins. Tolkien masterfully left enough room for imagination when describing certain locations and creatures. There are surely as many versions of orcs as there are artists! I think my version is strongly influenced by the great artist Ian Miller, like my style altogether.
Thank you very much for the comment!
Great job all around!
It isnt easy to "add" some emotions to illustration, as facial expressions are still hard to draw... so I wouldnt brag myself and tell I have succeeded in that aspect. Its up to viewer to decide. But when you tell it works, it naturally adds my confidence.