I’ll admit I’ve been having a rough couple of weeks here and I haven’t produced much, but what I have done is put together a style sheet and some aesthetic reference folders for most of the tribes of Quendi, so I thought I’d share. 🙂
*Caveat: This is mostly intended for my own use in art and writing, so I can keep my headcanons straight. When I reference a real-world culture or phenomenon, it is not because I intend to lift anything wholesale, nor am I trying to paint existing peoples as fantasy creatures. Rather, I am attempting to find situational cognates; examples of lifestyles and aesthetics make sense to me when translated into Tolkien’s world.
As always, I am probably taking some liberties with canon. That is how I roll.
You needn’t remind me; I spend every hour of my existence easing the pain it has brought me, wishing I did not need these lights, an elven-made crutch, to make the misery bearable.
…But I do not begrudge my lieutenant his ability to change. Sometimes, I find comfort in watching him and his brethren refashion themselves as the mood takes them.
What and where I spent my power gives me few regrets. I would not take back the deeds that gave birth to new creatures, or that gave me influence over that which is mine by right: the matter of Arda… It is the injustice of having to spend myself, in order to achieve by force that which ought to have been considered in the Music itself, that fuels my bitterness.
I would not take any of it back– though perhaps I could, if I so wished. Yet I cannot allow myself to consider reversal an option, after all that I have suffered. I will give nothing back. I will repent nothing.
When should I pay you?: As soon as –I contact you– telling you I’m starting your order! Please don’t send anything before then, I don’t want to have to refund payments for things I can’t do. :U
What I’ll draw: Mostly looking for Tolkien muses and OCs, but I’m open to others. Especially if you have a clear description or reference pictures! 🙂 What I need from you: Reference pictures and/or clear descriptions of your character, and an idea of what expressions or mood you want. The more reference/description you give me, the closer I can get to your vision of your character.
How do I contact you about details?: Here on tumblr, via Ask or Messenger. If you’d prefer you can reach me by email. You can send me your descriptions once I tell you I’ve accepted your order.
–I will be keeping a queue of orders I’ve accepted that I will post and update. As always, I retain the right to refuse orders for any reason. Other than that, feel free message me with questions, and I look forward to meeting your muses!
Melkor’s voice is difficult to pin down. He’s a genderfluid primordial entity who rocked too hard and blew out Heaven’s speakers and was kicked out of the choir. And to make matters more difficult, his voice changes over the arc of his story. It starts out mellifluous and smooth, and ends up harsh and ragged after the scream of Lammoth.
Melkor’s gender, size, and body shape all change with his mood, and so does his voice. I can’t point to one discreet human voice that covers all his bases, so the best I can do is present you with a selection of vocal references and say “that sounds like Melkor to me”, and hope you can find the average of them. The typical Melkor-fodder for me includes really thrashed, gritty female vocals, and melodic, tremulous male vocals. And some stuff that just feels right.
Speaking Voice: In my head, his speaking voice sounds like a rusty hinge of indeterminate gender, excessive volume, and enough shade to plunge Arda into everlasting night.
Thank you to all my patrons! ❤ Enjoy this bit of silliness (and its sequel) up on my Patreon page!
Well it’s been a real humdinger of a year. It’s sometimes hard to find reasons to make art and have fun when the world seems to be maybe literally ending? There’s been precious little good happening in the last few months, but one of the things that keeps me going is knowing there’s this group of beautiful nerds out there who continue to make my life interesting and joyful, whose support has kept me going through some very trying times, whose creativity and input constantly blow me away, and make me want to stick around and do weird stuff.
Thank you for still being here. Thank you for all your support, your encouragement, your brilliance, your incredible generosity. A toast to you, friends! Mahal grant you all strength, endurance, inspiration, and protection in the new year.
I’ve had these posts floating around for a long time under various headcanon tags, but I figure it’s time to make a masterpost and maybe even put it on the character bio page like a real RP Blog
Melkor’s voice is difficult to pin down. In my head, he sounds quite effeminate and raspy, in a range that I’d describe as being between a high voice in the typical male vocal range, and a low voice in the typical female range…. which is a regrettably binary and cissexist way of putting it, I realize. He’s a genderfluid primordial entity who rocked too hard and blew out Heaven’s speakers and was kicked out of the choir; it’s hard to pick one discreet human voice that covers all his bases. To make matters more difficult, his voice changes over the arc of his story. It starts out mellifluous and smooth, and ends up harsh and ragged, a real smokes-and-whiskey kind of voice. Really, the best I can do is point to a few vocal references and say “that sounds like Melkor to me”, and hope you can find the average of them.
The typical Melkor-fodder for me includes really thrashed, gritty female vocals, and melodic, tremulous male vocals. And some stuff that just feels right.
Speaking Voice/s: Liam O’Brien as his lilting, catty self Castlevania’s Isaac
And post Lammoth-scream Voice: the same but rustier, more gravely.
Village dotard, old idiot Village dotard, weak in the head Village dotard, crooked imp Village dotard, bowlegged Village dotard, up on the cold hill Village dotard, a viper on his lap.
Croaks and ambles lonely in the night. Croaks and ambles with an ember in his hands. Scorches on his palms, his feet on fire, All lonely in the night, a tired old devil.
On the cold hill the adders slide around each other, One high, two low. The old man’s palm the curving viper bit, A stinging wound, a load of vile venom.
Old man, alone in the night turns back, In the stairwell, sits waiting for the viper Wants to put its wily head on the block, To axe its slithery neck.
“Snake slither-stealthy, enemy eyeslanted, groundprowler heatherhue, earth your evil incubator; thou knowst evil incubation, earth’s stealthy sireling, from earth sired other serpents, snakes of sibilant shades; Know not thy hue however your hue may be, be thee one hue, dark hue, grey hue, be thee brass or bronze hue— Devil’s biter damned, thou shalt not lay upon my lap, feast on my flesh, you lightningback longtooth lord of lies! Flee to the forest, whisk to the willowstems, slither under sullen stones, sable serpent dive thee deep to dirt. Take the ailment away, your hurt to your horrid home; bring the pain to a battlefield, unleash your evil on the enemy. Better the bite banishes the bad, purify the potent poison, away I say— thou vilest viper, never nose round these acres! Devil’s biter damned, thou shalt not lay upon my lap, feast on my flesh, you lightningback longtooth lord of lies! Flee to the forest, whisk to the willowstems, slither under sullen stones, sable serpent dive thee deep to dirt!”
Old man heals the devil’s bite Pours out liquor, washes it with spirits, Pours tar and heats a smokey sauna, Conjures smoky charms, sings spells in his hut.
In the village they all wonder; Wonder about the old man’s twisting, stumbling, About the nightly croaking from a hunchbacked devil, About an old man’s struggles, cast the rudest rumors:
“Village dotard, old idiot”
“Village dotard, bowlegged”
Old man, old dotard, weary, Stronger men could take far less.
–Note: Lyrics patched together from at least four sources, each less accurate than the last, but hopefully evocative! Spellsong lyrics translated here. Further translations here.
Last and first time I drew an elf with a bow and arrow I realized I knew exactly fuck all about archery, so I went on a youtube binge and now my brain is full of headcanons about draw styles and bow types and THUMB RINGS??? CAN WE TALK ABOUT ELVEN THUMB RINGS PLEASE I NEED THIS TO BE A THING
”I have known enchantment for the sea for coasts of citrine, emerald, lazuli, in the countless bounty millions reap, and in terror of the deep.
For every ship may but the surface glide each sailors’ muses mirror’d in your tide yet life beneath writhes frenzied, brisk, and bleak or else devouring slow, with hooks and beak.
Of these twain aspects I both admire; Two sides of the sea’s dichotomous empire, to them, I equally my heart bequeath: the jewel’d surface, and the dread beneath.”
MisbehavingMaiar: Tumblr Archive 