fantastical brushstrokes & other stories

:|: Tolkienesque inspirations & other fantasies that strike my fancy :|:

[julijbee]

dance with me!

[julijbee]

keep up !

shes working on inventing the suplex btw. celegorm isnt as safe as he thinks he is. who do you think is next up to be thrown?

[julijbee]

waiting for the tremors to stop.

[arlenianchronicles]

Here's my first submission for this year's @fall-for-tolkien, Maedros gives Elrond a goodnight kiss! I feel like it's been forever since I drew kidnap fam content (though I drew one for TRSB loll), so drawing these two was quite nice <3

[arlenianchronicles]

My second submission for this year's @fall-for-tolkien! On the way to Gondolin, Turgon makes a detour to Hithlum and wakes Fingon up in the middle of the night to say goodbye :''')

[lyragoth]

The Unwilling Visitors End of the Third Age "Is that the Dark Lord?" Sam whispers. Frodo knows at once that it is not. But then… whose face is this? Unusually on time for @silvergiftingweek If you'd like to step further into Sauron’s private art gallery, the full series is collected here: Paintings | Sculpture | Mirror Details under the cut

[feas-silm-project]

In German there is this word ‘Gänsemarsch‘ wich means to walk behind one another and literally translates to ’goose march‘

And all I could think about were the High Kings of the Noldor

From left to right we have:

Finwë (Canada Goose)

Fëanor (Nënë Goose)

Maedhros (Red Breasted Goose)

Fingolfin (Brant Goose)

Fingon (Cape Barren Goose)

Turgon (Barnacle Goose)

Gil-Galad (Emperor Goose)

(Or should I say Goose Finwë, Fëahonk, Maedhonk, Fingoose, Fingoose II, Turgoose and Gil-Goose?)

No clue if this counts as they are geese.

It was a lot of fun tho

[gemsoflasgalen]

Arien, who guides the Sun ☀️

speedpaint below | support me on kofi!!

[asinoeiv]

Gil Galad's chief councilors and source of headaches.

Two half-elves: one the Eldritch scion of pretty much every royal line—human and elven—and the other, the Fëanorian hardliner that may or may not be an actual Fëanorian. Both are having a dubious claim to your throne and a total disinterest in it at the same time. 

[balrogballs]

Maglor remembered how Maitimo waited for a reaction to the barb, any reaction, but once again Ulfang’s face had taken on the comforting placidity from before, so impenetrably indifferent that the beholder heaved a relieved sigh. It was better, though less amusing, than the look of self-important superiority hanging from his brow, the derisive snort he’d given when Curufinwë explained how the name Maitimo had come about, the high-pitched bark before he delivered: the innards of the coconut fruit only feel cool and soothing on the hottest of days. When the air itself is cool and pleasant, there is a staleness to the fruit, do you not think? On an unrelated note, I hear that inbreeding amongst the Noldor puts the humble cheetah to shame.

Oddly enough, the one Ulfang got along best with was Tyelkormo, and though Curufinwë elucidated at length about reasons involving wild animals, barbarians and tiger-tamers, Maglor was of the opinion that Ulfang enjoyed how Tyelkormo made no secret of his utter revulsion towards the chieftain and his host.

Drawn across a two day hyperfixation fuelled entirely by spite after seeing this guy represented in a ‘Tolkien companion book’ as the most fuckass racist caricature I have ever seen in my life. Words from my WIP fic, The Ambush of a New Past which looks at the Easterlings and the Haradrim through the Ages of Arda, where Ulfang is a tiny, somewhat snobby little guy with a superiority complex and a hobby of making it very clear to every single elf he speaks to (including Maedhros, whom he has taken to his bed) that he is 100% going to betray them and insinuating that it is in fact entirely the fault of that specific individual. My miniscule manipulator 🥰

commission details etc | also featuring @peasant-player pattern on sash and cloak

[lyragoth]

Lúthien and her silmaril

[elvafil]

Voice out of the Jewel - inspired by A Shining Mathom by the Sea by arofili.

[arofili]

This is truly gorgeous, and captures the story so well! Thank you so much!!!!

[modern-exorcism]

Alas, tis Glorfindel and the Balrog!

Trying something a bit different with this, a bit... I wanna say minimalist but that might not be the right term exactly. I dunno if it works here but I'm pretty happy with the piece overall. This is one of my favourite moments from the Silmarillion so I'll likely end up drawing it again before too long.

[sarriane]

[sadsilmarilsoup]

Some stuff for @celedrielweek

Partialy inspired by The Kiss by Henry John Stock (the 1894 oil paint version)

[silmarillionwritersguild]

These tales are ‘new’, they are not directly derived from other myths and legends, but they must inevitably contain a large measure of ancient wide-spread motives or elements. After all, I believe that legends and myths are largely made of ‘truth’, and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode; and long ago certain truths and modes of this kind were discovered and must always reappear. ~ Letter 131 to Milton Waldman

All stories, art, and creative endeavors depend in part on the stories, art, and creative endeavors to come before them, weaving back and across and through familiar and loved (or loathed!) works. These allusions create a sense of depth and remind us that new creative works are always unspooling, an essential part of our humanity.

This month's challenge considers the concept of the allusion: a reference to a previous work of literature, art, myth, or history. Participants will choose one (or more!) prompts from a list of allusions, found below. As always, you can use your prompt however you want, and we will never question if a challenge work has adequately used its prompt. For instance, you can create a fanwork about the allusion you select, or you can use the specific phrase in your work—or you can take a totally new and different approach!

Thank you to Zdenka for this month's banner and stamps!

In order to receive a stamp for your fanwork, your response must be posted to the archive on or before 15 September 2026. For complete challenge guidelines, see the Challenges page on our website.

[aroacebaggins-art]

Glorfindel, Lord of the House of the Golden Flower

Click for better quality, art reqs open, DM about commissions

Inspired by @mnimeresponding's request for pride Glorfindel because I hadn't drawn him before. Pushing the niche Glor-is-Írimë-post-transition agenda.

Design notes below

I headcanon that the elves would use... modified bust bodices? more than actual binders (I've seen them called that, compressionless binders, and other things I don't remember, I'm not sure what the most accurate term is. Here's an example). This probably isn't explained well but basically they work through building out the silhouette instead of actually compressing the chest so they can be safer and more comfortable if used properly.

He has a couple gold prosthetic fingers courtesy of the Helcaraxë.

Apparently it was a Roman practice to put gold dust in hair, and it might have also been around briefly during the Victorian era. Anyway Glor does that, he needs to be as shiny as possible.