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outsidelogic — Preparing for the Battle of Helm's Deep
Published: 2013-01-05 00:21:22 +0000 UTC; Views: 2532; Favourites: 38; Downloads: 0
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Description
I started this as an experiment using blocks of color (in the face and left sleeve), using a magazine ad for reference. It morphed into an old guy polishing a sword, and then it just reminded me of the chapter in The Two Towers (both the book and the movie) where the defenders of Helm's Deep worry that they won't be able to withstand the attack of the Orcs.The quote is pieced together from the book, with a few liberties taken regarding punctuation.
This was a new approach for me, as I started with a pretty detailed pencil sketch, which I scanned in, and then traced the lines on my tablet using GIMP. I feel like I'm still developing a style, but this is an interesting step along the way.
As always, comments and criticism are welcome. Thanks for viewing.
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Comments: 26
This is really well done
A question, if I may? Do you take any inspiration from Mourier ? The facial characteristics and the way you draw people reminds me of his work.
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Thank you. No, I'm afraid I had never heard of him until now. I'm flattered by the comparison...although this picture is pretty old, and I don't really work in this medium any more.
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Ah, I see. Still, pretty neat work
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Thanks, it's modeled on a real one that I have
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Thank you..glad you like it
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This is very striking!!! I especially like the lighting on the face. 10/10!
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Thanks very much. I was trying out some different shading techniques on the face...I'm not sure I got what I was after, but I'm glad you like it.
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What a lovely drawing! I have to say that I'm still outside civilization and haven't seen or read LoTR, but I can see how this would be a quintessential moment in the story. There's something wonderful about the juxtaposition of the old man and his knife and the quote about soldiers who are either too weary to fight or too inexperienced. All that together really hammers home the meaning here.
You've got some great details going on here: the attention to little things like the hem on his vest or the hairs on his arm really add a new level of "realism," even in a stylized piece like this. I think, in comparison, his face might lack a few too many details. It's kind of a fine line to walk, because you don't want him to look silly with a bunch of extra lines or anything, but a few more wrinkles or a couple of stray eyebrow hairs might help balance his face out with the rest of him.
Finally, I must say bravo on the hands. They're so expressive, they look like hands, and the shapes and gestures are so unique! That's not easy to do, and you accomplished it brilliantly here.
Keep up the good work!
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It's actually kind of refreshing to run across a dA person who is not an LoTR fan.
Thank you for taking the time to really analyze and appreciate my picture. You're the second person to mention the hair on the arms! I think you're spot on regarding the face. That was the start of the picture, and I had this idea to make it very stylized, using heavy lines and blocks of solid color. I moved away from that a bit as I worked on the picture, but the face retains some of that look.
And I had my brother pose for me holding a dagger so I could get the hands right.
Thanks for the comment!
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You're the first person to have that reaction! Most people gape in awe and then tell me how much I need to see/read/love it.
You're welcome! It's a really well done picture, it deserves a critique with the same kind of effort.
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Well, at the risk of being excommunicated from dA, I'll say that the genius of LoTR is in the obsessively detailed world he created, not in the writing. It's fun, but it's not great literature. In fact, it's downright tedious at times. But I was re-introduced to it via my daughters, and we've enjoyed it together.
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I think I'd have to agree with you there. I started reading the books, and they were just too much. Twenty pages on a forest is a bit excessive...
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This is perfect for this scene? I wonder, though, are his eyes closed, or just pupil-less? They look very light...
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Well, neither...he's actually just looking down at the sword, so I guess it looks like his eyes are closed. The light source is from above, so the eyelids are sort of highlighted. It's probably not the strongest part of the picture. But pupil-less eyes? You have sort of an odd way of looking at things...
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Well, yeah. Looking down is kind of what I meant by closed eyes. Mainly I suppose the question was were they his eyelids or his eyes.
I'm sorry. That was awful grammar
Anyways, I wasn't sure. It could have represented his lack of hope or that his future was empty or something XD
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Thank you...and thanks for the fave. Your masks are amazing, by the way.
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You're welcome, and thanks very much!
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I remember the battle scene in the movie, but not the quote, unfortunately. Any time Theoden is involved, I pay attention, though. Other than Helm's Deep, the actual charge of the Rohirim at Pelannor Fields is the best battle scene in the entire trilogy, in my opinion.
Anyways, I really like the hands and the creases in his shirt the most; it seems like a lot of detail went into getting that right. There is a lot of expression in his face, as well. You can tell he's getting ready for something, but with regret and perhaps misgivings. The quote ties in really well- you're either too old or too young to be of much use; or at least one would think at first. The way you draw anatomy is just generally really good, and I'm glad to see artists who can draw different people at different ages well. The shading on his face really gives a lot of contour and depth to his facial features. Even the font and the background colors mix well with the general color scheme; its clear you put thought into this before you finished it. His forearm hairs are a nice touch of extra detail and the weapon itself is realistic looking and believable. I also like what the weapon can signify- he's not under or over equipped and that ties into the 'too old, too young' aspect of the quote; he is arming himself with a weapon he knows will forgive his limits, but not allow him to be defenseless and weak.
I think that for anyone who has not seen the movies, they won't be able to appreciate this picture fully, and that's unfortunate. However, its not wasted on me, so I'm grateful for that. Thank you for another good one, Glenn. Your art brings a much needed balance to what I usually see. It is unique and special.
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Wow, you need to get points just for the insightful comments you give 
I'm really glad you took the time to appreciate all the details (even the hair on the arm!). It really started as a study of fabric, so, yeah, I spent a lot of time on that sleeve. And the weapon is actually patterned on a WWII-era dagger I inherited from my father...pilots used to carry them to cut parachute cords in case they had to bail out. So I just sort of lengthened it. I thought a full-fledged broadsword would just look silly in this setting.
I'm with you on the battle scene (Pelannor). I've probably seen it 20 times and it still gives me chills. And the music is epic.
So thanks again for the comment...and the fave!
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You're welcome.
How nice to be able to pattern something based on something else so sentimental to you. That's wonderful.
As for Pelannor Fields, yeah, it still gives me chills before they even do the actual charge, when he's giving his commander's their orders, giving the speech, and especially when the trumpets blast and their sound lingers and resonates even after they're done. You know what I mean, right (of course you do, you've seen it 20 times)? For like, a good 4 seconds or so after, the trumpets are in sync and it makes it sound and feel like Heaven itself is coming down to lend it's strength to Rohan. If that wasn't epic enough, the Rohan theme starts with the violins, etc, and the charging down the hill where the camera pans out to show you that huge mass of horses surging down.
It was already epic enough, but the fact it was an all-calvary army (in the movie anyways) is what made it so impressive and awe inspiring to me. You know they are going to hit fast and hard and you can't help but cheer for them. I sometimes get emotional just watching or thinking about, and I'm not easily moved like that. I know that most of the riders were digitally edited in with the real ones, but its still awesome and of my favorite movie scenes ever.
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Yep, you got it...true appreciation of that scene. I was watching it once with my overly-analytical brother and he said, "Oh most of those horses were added digitally". I replied "Oh", but I thought "Oh shut up and just enjoy the epic-ness".
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LOL, you should have told him how you really felt.
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