SO guys i am BIG PASSIONATE about lord of the rings, the hobbit, tolkien in general, you know. this was SO MUCH FUN to do. this is the first real illustration i've attempted, and i'm pretty happy with how it turned out. BUT PLS ENJOY THIS LENGTHY EXPLANATION under the cut bc i'm such a nerd and there's a lot of actual purpose put into how this whole thing is set up
SO this is my illustration of the Battle of Dagorlad and it's personal aftermath in the Second Age. this was basically THE major battle during the War of the Last Alliance. and one of my favorite characters in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings is Thranduil, even though he's at most a minor character in both of them. Thranduil was a prince at this point, as his father, Oropher, was the king of the Greenwood. Oropher took his son and many of their people to fight alongside Gil-Galad against Sauron. Oropher led a premature charge against the enemy, resulting in not only his own death, but that of 2/3rds of his people. Though Sauron was ultimately (supposedly) vanquished, Thranduil had to lead that remaining 1/3rd back to their home and become king. There's so many people that dislike Thranduil and how he's portrayed in the Hobbit movies, saying that he's cold and selfish and just an overall jerk, but like, this is a guy who watched his father die, and watched so many of his people die due to impulse and folly. I wanted to capture that transformation that Thranduil had into someone who's reserved and cautious, and illustrate that moment.
Artistically, i went with a sort of art-nouveau operatic poster set up, with some hard outlines and a sort of stained-glass window feel. I really enjoyed the visuals presented in Peter Jackson's movies, so in some aspects i stuck with that. I really had fun with Oropher though. I decided to split the painting across the middle with the sword, kind of as a representation of Thranduil's past and his present. Oropher is pierced by his own sword, as a nod to his death due to his own mistakes. Sauron is at the top overlooking everything, as he was the calamity that was brought down on Thranduil's family. There's the tower (I know the Eye is more of a Third Age, Lord of the Rings thing, but aesthetically it's pleasing and it's easily recognized as another representation of battles against evil), and I chose to leave the ring off of Sauron's finger as ultimately he is defeated and separated from the ring. Thranduil's eyes are closed to represent how after this he basically closes his eyes to the outside world and turns his kingdom into a very isolated realm, and the throne sort of looms in the background behind him as a physical representation of this responsibility that's been set on his shoulders. guys i just really really love thranduil, he's been through so much and it's not talked about enough.
