"Smaug The Golden"

"Smaug the Golden"

2023

This December marked 10 years since Desolation of Smaug was released; 10 years since the greatest dragon to be ever put to screen first delighted our senses. Whatever may be said about the Hobbit Trilogy, Smaug was and will forever be its crowning achievement.

"Flower Boy"

2023

"Pride"

2023

The dude from the photo I referenced this from was cute as hell, but his face was a pain to draw. Took me almost a week to get right. 

"The Siege of Gondor"

2023

The Nazgûl came again, and as their Dark Lord now grew and put forth his strength, so their voices, which uttered only his will and his malice, were filled with evil and horror. 

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

We come to it at last! The Great Battle for Middle-earth!

The Siege of Gondor and subsequent Battle of Pelennor Fields comprise in my opinion not only THE Lord of the Rings battle, but also the greatest battle scene ever put to screen. It is so epic, so grand, so long, that counting this one, four of my top Return of the King moments happen while it rages on. And what better moment to start than one of my favorite sequences in the whole trilogy: the Nazgûl, all nine gathered together, swooping down upon Minas Tirith, accompanied as ever by an amazing, hellish chorus. It really gives the feeling that all hell has been set loose on the White City, last bastion of freedom and hope in Middle-earth.

"Groovin'"

2023

Strangely, cel shading takes a lot more effort and time from me than when I do a more rendered piece. But this came out quite well.

"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.