"Fresh"

"Fresh"

2023

"Flower Boy"

2023

"The Ride of the Rohirrim"

2023

And straightaway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains. 

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", by J.R.R. Tolkien

Not much that I can say about this scene that hasn't been said already. One of the most powerful, enduring moments of hope not just in Lord of the Rings, but in the whole of cinema history, made all the more so by the fact that it's not coming from a magical, supernatural source, but from Men showing up for other Men. An epic, beautiful, cathartic scene.

I remember seeing the film for the first time, I was so immersed in this battle I had quite forgotten that help was on its way. The horns blew, and I didn't know what that meant; the silhouettes appeared in the horizon, and I still didn't know what was going on. Only when the iconic, beautiful Rohan soundtrack started to slowly roll in, I finally realized what was happening, and felt my heart swelling to twice its size. It still does to this day. 

"Night Fire"

2023

Behold! A Night God OC thingy that sure took a long time to design and draw.

"Cretaceous Sunset"

2023

T.rex (Tyrannosaurus rex)

My favorite dinosaur, inspired by Prehistoric Planet, but with a few tweaks in the coloring. 

"Mordor's Call"

2023

And Minas Morgul answered. There was a flare of livid lightnings: forks of blue flame springing up from the tower and from the encircling hills into the sullen clouds. The earth groaned; and out of the city there came a cry.

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", by J.R.R. Tolkien

Behold! Mordor's own war beacon of sorts; immense, sorcerous, and terrible.

I really like how in the film the signal from Minas Morgul is discernible all the way from Minas Tirith, striking fear and anxiety in its inhabitants about the attack they know its coming. Notably this is also the scene in which my man the Witch-king makes his spectacular entrance, so what's not to love? When I first watched the film in cinemas almost twenty years ago, the volume was turned way up for every Nazgûl scene, so when Frodo and Sam cover their ears when the Witch-king screeches...yeah, I felt that too. And I know I wasn't the only one, because I've seen people commenting about it online.

Minas Morgul also holds the distinction of being my favorite of all the evil places of Middle-earth. Not only because it is the abode of my beloved Nazgûl, but also because the aesthetic of the place is just amazing, in a creepy sort of way. It's not barren like the plains around Barad-dûr and Mount Doom, for it has a river and meadows of flowers; but the water of the river is undrinkable, and the flowers are terrible to behold, and give up foul vapors. If ever a place can be described as neither living nor dead, it is the Valley of Morgul... just like its lords are.