//“You might try to aim at the target this time.” Maedhros chuckled in mockery, as he watched his young cousin with judgement like that of an older brother. “Or would you want me to show you, yet again?” Fingon snorted humourlessly through clenched teeth as he drew the arrow to his ear as taught, the exertion of the act making the muscles of his shoulder and arm vibrate in objection after many such motions. The last arrow he had imbedded but a hand-length from the mark, and the frustration was clear in his tightened jaw and narrowingeyes. The young elf inhaled deeply, this time determined to shoot straight. He exhaled slowly, releasing the arrow to fly through the air as the last of his breath left his lunges. It hit the mark with a twack as the metal tip drove into the plate of straw with force. Fingon exclaimed in a cry of victory, and turned to his cousin with a smug grin stapled on his face. “What were you saying, cousin? Perhaps you should not be so swift to disregard my quickness in learning.” Maedhros raised a brow unimpressed. “This is a testimate to my teachings, if anything. If I can teach you, then your baby sister will be next. It will not be so much harder a task, I should think.” He flashed Fingon a challenging grin. The youngster grimaced mockingly in return and held out his hand. “Be quiet and give me another arrow, old man.”//
(I wrote the text now to go with the drawing and to underline my idea; it is rushed but I liked it.)
Idea Do not ask me how this idea came into my mind, but I enjoyed drawing it thoroughly. I simply loved the idea of a fully matured Maedhros teaching his adolescent cousin to shoot with bow and arrow. My last time of reading the silmarillion I understood that at the time of Finwe’s remariage with Indis, Fëanor was already grown and married to Nerdanel, so he would get Maedhros at aprox the time that Indis would have Fingolfin, which would mean that Fingon is quite younger than Maedhros. I do not know in years, but I’d guess half a dozen decades at least. So, it is definitely a headcanon of mine that Mae would enjoy the tutoring of his younger cousin. He always seemed the most sympathetic of the Feanorians, especially in his friendship with Fingon.
Some of you may also know that I have a headcanon of the dress evolution of the elves through the ages. In early Valinor I imagine them wearing something like the ancient egyptians did, it being a land of beauty and comfort, I see it as sunny and warm, even before the rising of the sun. So that is the explanation for their attires. There is nothing sexual about it.
Technique I drew this exclusively with an 8H pencil, and tuned the contrast some in photoshop after scanning–btw, if anyone has a good scanner to recommend, which is not too expensive, I would gladly hear it as mine is terrible. I used a smudge stick for the shading, and it was indeed my first attempt at using one, so I instantly fell in love with the technique, so the shading was a surprisingly easy process, even with the two months grace period–which is my way of categorising my terrible anxiety of finishing drawings I have used much too long time on. The anatomy obviously is not perfect, but this is still one of the best drawings I have made with two people in it–I even drew feet! YAY! And of course I managed to misplace them on the page so I could not finish the top of Fingon’s bow and the end of Maedhros’. But I could still stare at them both all day, as they turned out perfectly to my vision(!!). Conclusion It awes me whenever I don’t hate what I draw, and lately I have hated very little of my art. It is slightly unsettling, to be honest, and it makes me put a lot of pressure on my art, which in return makes me procrastinate. Its a bad circle, but I do love this drawing, with all its flaws, and I was very happy and excited to finish it. It is rather sketchy in style, but I like that as well, and I enjoyed drawing something completely different for once.
I hope you like it too, and let me know what you think, of the idea and the drawing!^^
Love, Iggy
PS. I cannot stress enough that I do not ship them romantically, and I would very much appreciate if you do not sexualize this drawing of mine. I respect that people have different impressions than me, but I also hope you will respect mine and focus on the art itself. Thank you! <3
I don’t mean to sound like a cliche, but I seriously had not expected this drawing to be so good so quickly… I am absolutely in love!!
I fixed Mae’s face, which was most crucial to me, and then the shading took a life if its own.
I can’t wait to add a bit more details and finish this shortly! It will not have more background than this, but I think the two of them looks complex enough for me to get away with!
Despite the bad positioning on the page, and the struggle to make the two of them correct compared to each other, I’m rather happy with this rough sketch of Maedhros and Fingon!
It’s still early, so I’m not sure how far I’ll take it yet, but it felt good to draw my favorite elves again!
(And Maedhros and Fingons friendship will always get me! I imagine this scene where Maedhros teaches Fingon to shoot, being the eldest!) ✨
I really can’t express how much I love this drawing, and how happy it makes me to finally be inspired again. It’s been a while since I have been this inspired to draw, and especially anything Tolkien, so I am very excited!
I haven’t told you about the idea behind the drawing, but this seems the perfect timing. You see, when the couple meet and they freeze for years, I imagine how the forest grows in around them, that vines envelop them, like statues in an old graveyard, which also inspired me to use Greek style for their clothes, as if they are statues themselves. I really love the idea, which is why I have such a strong inspiration for this now, I never was able to draw anything without a very clear idea, so hopefully this opens for more ideas to come for more Tolkien art! ✨
So, guys, I know it’s been a while since my last post, but tbh I have been focused on my original work and it doesn’t seem it’s all that interesting to you, so I keep all of that art over at my Instagram (if you are interested, go check out my account, IngvildSchageArt).
Some days ago I held a poll there and they wanted me to redraw my old Thingol and Melian drawing, so I have been planning and here is the first wip, a very light sketch drawn with 8H pencil, using references from the Art Model app and I really like the look of it so far.
The idea I have always had is that Maiar are taller than Elves, the way elves are taller than humans, and I really love to see the height difference between them, here at the moment of their meeting! I wanted something soft and romantic, and a change on the usual profile drawing I always do.. (It was also something of a curious coincidence that Valentine’s right around the corner.)
Let me know what you think, and I’ll try to keep you posted on the progress, but there’s lots of stuff happening now so I’m not certain how much I’ll be able to draw in the days ahead! Still, I love to hear from you guys, even if I have been total awol lately, but your comments make me want to hang out here more so you know what to do!
Today I posted this oldie as a #fanartfriday on Instagram, and joked that I’d been wanting to renew it and make it into a painting.
Turns out, the way to get inspiration to draw more fanart, is to post old fanart! I found that I couldn’t go another day before actually trying for the painting, so here is the sketch planning it. (No they are not supposed to be naked, but I couldn’t bother with the clothes in first round, and I don’t complain honestly, so in love with Maglor, it’s not good! )
I also added the hair color roughly to make it easier to see who’s who, and I also tried to make their expressions and grief kind of symbolise their personalities, and I’m quite happy with how individual they all are! (And yes, only one twin, had no room for a second )
From left: Maedhros, Celegorm, Caranthir, Maglor , Curufin and Amrod/Amras(whichever twin survived the burning ships in that one version ). And obviously Feanor is hanging between them . -
I am really really loving how much it has evolved from the original. Obviously a scene like this is a lot easier to draw digitally, but still, I feel I’ve evolved a lot in two years (I better have, right) and I honestly can’t wait to develop this sketch more!!!✨
It’s crazy to see him finally coming together after another 5 hours of painting! I actually did not think his hair would be so good, and it is currently my favorite part about the painting! (The cats are my least and needs so much more work, ugh, I can’t draw/paint animals..)
Good night, dearies, and let me know what you think so far! ❤️
I painted again today, finishing the third layer of his face!! (I will not mention how many hours it took, it’s embarrassing my perfectionism is an issue, guys)
What do you think so far? Sauron enough for ya so far?
I guess I should do a proper Hello again as I decide to maybe return here after a few months off!
So I’ll kick it off with an update on my largest Tolkien project atm; Sauron/Annatar/Mairon (haven’t decided which era this is tbh) for my Halloween painting. I am absolutely in love and I can really see the end in sight after 3 weeks of progress + waiting for the oil to dry. This is my second large painting of this size and I really am taking to the medium more and more with every try and I may be planning to do something like a calendar of these paintings, focusing on my favorite characters and scenes from Tolkiens Legendarium! I’ll get back to you on that!
For now I hope every one of you are doing good, message me if you want to chat, I’ve actually missed this place a lot and all of your support so I hope you can forgive me for this pause/soul searching I’ve been on!
I’ll try to publish a few of the bigger drawings I’ve made the last few months and maybe post a few original character sketches as well, if you are interested!
Let me know what you think of this, and I hope to have it done through this week!
Here is finally my painting of Beren and Luthien. I thought I’d post it here myself so no one else would need to. I like to be in control like that!
I finished it late August, but I didn’t feel confident publishing it as my scanner highlighted the horrible exture of the watercolour paper I used. I really need some suggestions for a better, less textured watercolor paper which does not diminish the quality or the weight of the paper, if anyone know of any!
I scanned it again today and thougth it didnt look too bad, so I went with it.
I hope you like it!
It was a very enjoyable painting to make, gave me very little trouble and I really had fun, so I hope to be able to make more like this. I also realy liked exploring a bit more saturated colourscheme, as it dawned on me this summer than I have no clue how to work with colors, and I really ought to practice it more.
Let me know what you think, and head over to my etsy to browse this and many others of my illustrations for Tolkien’s legendarium. The few of you who follow me on Ig may also know that I am working on a very big Tolkien piece, which I CANT WAIT to finish, so Im very inspired lately and It feels good, even watching Lord of The Rings tonight, first time this year, so Im really falling back into my Tolkien spell! Might even reread the books soon!^^
Maybe you can suggest the focus of my next painting, if you have any wishes! Turns out there are too many to choose, and I sorely needs some inspiration!
Date night! Celebrimbor brought flowers but immediately forgot about them bc he walked in on Maeglin doing work. They should really get going if they want to make their dinner reservation but unfortunately they’re now busy talking about crafts.
This is for the @officialtolkiensecretsanta (thank you to the mods for hosting!) and I was absolutely delighted to get matched with @foxleycrow this year!! Celebrimbor/Maeglin stuck out to me on your list of ships because it was a pairing that I’d never considered before, but the more I thought about it the more I liked it (they’re just nerds who deserve good things probably). I hope you like it!
The hottest new Discord Club is Artists of Arda. A place for artists who create any sorts of Tolkien-related works, and those who just like looking at the pretty arts.
ALT
Text chats
Voice chats
Scheduled events
Unscheduled events
Events that are just Zhie accidentally hitting the voice channel and other people wandering in
Events that are just Zhie’s cat accidentally hitting the voice channel and other people wandering in
Virtual studio gatherings
Places to share art (both finished and unfinished) and get feedback (both positive-only and for workshopping things like ‘what are hands??’ and 'should I put a bird on it?’*)
Places to promote other places, events, and even yourself (if you do art commissions)
And here are the rules, so that you don’t have to awkwardly try to join at 2am to see the rules in case you’re not keen on the rules and want a way to slip out the back door before a half dozen people flail at you with giant peach stickers. (We actually have that feature turned off completely.)
1) Please introduce yourself in welcome-nest before participating in other discussion. Just like a party where you’d knock on the door and say hi before you start dancing on the table, we’d like to get to know you first! (And then, by all means, disco on that table all night long if you want!)
2) This server is a non-toxic Tolkien group. Gatekeeping, elitism, snobbery, or other unseemly behavior will not be tolerated. Members here range from casual fans to super scholars, but one’s experience should not be compromised because of one’s knowledge or expertise. The same is true for artistic skills and experiences–stick figures and moodboards are just as valid as forms of art expression as mural-sized acrylic paintings that could hang in museums. We were all novices on both topics at one point; please keep this in mind during your interactions, and be supportive of one another!
3) NSFW items must stay in NSFW channels! All NSFW art must ALSO be spoilered when posted; finished art should also include the information from the template. Shaming is not allowed–not for content or characters or concept, period–but spoilers should be utilized even in the NSFW area so that viewers can self-curate the content they wish to view. However, due to laws and legal jurisdictions, content which sexualizes underage characters is NOT allowed on this server. Child pornography is highly illegal, a violation of federal laws in the United States (and in many other countries), and not protected under First Amendment rights. Breaking this rule is one of the few things that can get you instantly yeeted into the Void (permanently banned).
4) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace discrimination based on religion, national origin, race, color, or sex. We add to that class, gender, level of ability, level of education, and political affiliation. While this is not a workplace, these are all protections that everyone should have and not be in fear of discrimination, bullying, or behavior unbecoming from other members. Please be mindful when wording requests and having discussions so that your tone is not dehumanizing to others. (And going back to basics: If you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all.)
This also includes commentary about characters vs people IRL. Discussion of characters? Perfectly fine if done respectfully. Discussion of a person who is portraying a particular character on the above topics? Not necessary.
5) If you try to side-step these rules by using a blog, PMs, or other means to engage in toxic behavior elsewhere, especially with or against other members of this server, it will be as if you said it here and appropriate action will be taken. This does not mean moderators are going to be actively searching for violations; it is a protective measure to be proactive about past fandom interactions where individuals would take their views off servers, technically not violate server rules on the server, but would bully, harass, dox, and others disrespect members in other places. This is not non-toxic behavior and is not allowed.
6) Moderators make mistakes, but arguing with a moderator on the server is not going to put out happy vibes, and may land you in time-out (or kicked, if you continue the behavior after multiple warnings). If a moderator shuts down a topic or conversation, please respect this decision. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to a moderator about these topics. Sometimes, a moderator does not have all the information about a situation or hasn’t been able to read through everything before they make a decision. It is fine to question such decisions in private and in a calm manner.
7) These rules are subject to change. Hopefully we don’t need more, but, y'know, things happen, and when they do, this list will grow. It is expected that you will read and adhere to all rules if you are participating in this server. Not reading the rules is not an excuse for not abiding by the rules.
Guys!! Attention In my country, a tumblr has been banned for a long time, but now it’s even worse and I can’t even normally browse the site through VPN. Images do not work, everything works very poorly and loads … so those who are following me please subscribe on twitter or instagram! I also have VK and more content there. Those who commisioned me, I will try to answer you here, but if it works really bad, it is better to write to mail or twitter.
Commission for @spiced-wine-fic and her amazing OC boys from the Silmarillion. It took much more time than I thought but I think finally it worked good Thank you for your request! I had so much joy working on it! I hope you like it.
ALT
