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kiwidoc — Shadows_of_the_Past_kiwidoc
Published: 2009-06-13 12:52:27 +0000 UTC; Views: 2406; Favourites: 59; Downloads: 0
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"... Aragorn son of Arathorn, the nine and thirtieth heir in the right line from Isuldur, and yet more like to Elendil than any before himThe Silmarillion, J.R.R.Tolkien
This one is dedicated to my two new clubs - & - as a thank you for letting me join, and being so encouraging.
This image is set decades before the events in LOTR. Aragorn faces a statue of his ancestor. He is still a young ranger, roams wild lands of the north battling trolls, orcs and goblins and battered by the weather. And always he is bowed down by the shadows of the past – the towering presence of forebears whose great legends he must to live up to, and forefathers whose great errors he must avoid.
Although it is not obvious I have greatly changed the background image, in order to provide a better frame for the statue and the small figure. Adding mud and dampness to the cloak was a challenge, but also a lot of fun. It was also a lot of fun aging the statue a little, and then making it damp.
RESOURCE CREDITS
Large figure [link] Small figure [link]
Statue [link]
Base image for background [link]
Texture behind large figure [link]
Beams of light brush [link]
Amaranth Dreams Rain brushes [link]
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The following clubs have permission to show my art in their galleries.
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Comments: 25
lol he kind does look like Aragorn.. should try to find someone that looks like grimly (not sure how to spell his name )
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I think you mena Gimli - and I'm on the lookout for a good dwarf type as well.
I've always thought poor Aragorn had it really rough - and the expression on the models face was just right for that.
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yea thats his name 
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ditto - but I need to get WAY better at hair first. I can't do beards yet
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Thanks muchly. I tried to get the mix of his courage and nobility balanced against the weight of all that past and all those expectations on his shoulders.
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Yes, that definately comes through......
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Aragorn - I was thinking Jesus Christ first 
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Thanks for the feedback. Follow the link and you can see many more pics of this yummy guy
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He is indeed very tempting
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I'm sorry I can't articulate a better comment than this but I completely love the atmosphere & mood you have achieved with this piece
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I really like the emotion in this one, the foggy haze you've added to the background not only makes your focus stand out and separates the background from the foreground, but it also adds an eerie undertone, perhaps foreshadowing the trials of his coming life. The calmness of the part with the statue really gives you a feeling of the deep reverence that he holds for his ancestors (I assume? Maybe, not his ancestors, I haven't really read as much Tolkien as I ought to have).
I love how the hair and clothes on the large figure is obviously wet, it mixes with the thick fogginess of the piece very well. I really like the model you used, he's very attractive and rugged at the same time and he seems very fitting of Aragorn. He has a subtle dignity, even when he's showing the statue due honour or when he's soaking wet, which is difficult to achieve.
Sorry, for rambling... Just amazing work, as always
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Please don't aplogise for rambling. It feels amazingfeels when someone looks at a pic I've made and sees the layers of menaing I've tried to put in it. It was the main figure that gave me the tone - that mix of weariness and strength in his face. The statue is one of Aragorn's ancestors. This scene isn't described in any of Tolkiens books - but hinted at. Aragorn spent decades as a ranger in the north, among all the ruins and reminders of the great civilization of his ancestors. I think he feels a mix when he looks at those reminders - honour and respect, mixed with weariness at the immense burden he has inherited.
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I really believe you expressed that eloquently in this picture, all the weariness and burden mixed with his regalness (is that a word?) and strength. It beautiful
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I have no idea of regalness is a word but it describes exactly what I wanted to show
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Thanks for the link back to see how you used my Stock. You know, it's funny that people dont seem to want the soft textures. They are the ones that I use most. Job well done.
Click Here
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