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Published: 2009-03-14 15:03:03 +0000 UTC; Views: 5455; Favourites: 68; Downloads: 90
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Meeting elves isn't always about listening to their wistful hymns about Elbereth Gilthoniel beneath the softly cascading light of the silvery heaven-lanterns.Hiid risked a peek upward. Towering on the sand next to her was a...
Bloody damnit.
Just... No way. No bloody way. This could not be. No damn way.
Well...
It was an elf. Or as elvish as one could get without turning into a comely troll.
---
Hiid could only stare at the male in utmost disbelief.
His appearance seemed to be ripped straight off from those daft online holo-RPGs bearing names like Realms of Harmcraft and Terminal Fangasm. He was a bit over seven feet tall, and as wide as a barn door around the shoulders. Odd bits of colorful leather and fur had been sewn together to form some kind of severely outdated trousers. Bangles, teeth necklaces, scraps of armor, gauntlets, plaited hair, armbands, and swirly tattoos had been randomly added here and there to increase the general chaos. Yet absolutely the worst bit was the combination of blue skin, thick fangs protruding over the upper lip, long pointed ears, and the stupendous curvy sword he hefted in one hand as if it weighed less than a balloon. As a bonus crackpot effect he possessed a big, bushy beard that had been braided into three long plaits and threaded with rings and silvery string.
Blue skin? Breeches? A bloody SWORD? Braided beard? Seriously. Could someone possibly get any dorkier? Had the girl really been dropped into some inane hologame or the music video of one of those heavy metal bands praising brotherhood and barbarian glory whilst wearing pelts and flinging around fake axes? Who in the seven hells would use a sword in a modern society of-
With that, Enkev realized that this truly was not Iota Sphere, and that the trouble was real albeit so absurd in its very essence. Her disbelief had momentarily overcome the fear. Suffering from a severe lack of words, she solely gawked at the walking ludicrousness with a lopsided grimace.
Blue skin and fangs, bloody hell... There should have been at least some sort of creational law prohibiting the materialization of arbitrary fairytale creatures. What next? A skull-headed muscleman riding an overswollen panther?
---
It --- was a female, judging by the hairless face and a notable increase of clothing around certain areas.
She had the kind of shape your conventional Valkyrie recruit would have been proud of. The huge breastplate had cups something in the lines of DDDDDD++++superextramegalarge, and one could have cracked bricks with that jaw. The fact that she was almost as tall as the standing elf aided matters nohow. Even so, you quite could not nick her a dirty troll-wife either. Her overburnished armor could have been used as a disco ball, and the face had a feminine, soft quality to it in spite of the strong chin and fangs.
Characters: Hiid Enkev, Captain Gha'enbesch, and Greidr'eraas (G'Uhageid). The last is Guarh'amaaz's granddaughter. I don't too often draw female Rha-kan'Ockians, but she's a good example as of what kind of physique they possess compared to the males.
Note that the laws of fantasy don't apply to Hiid, and she scarcely appears like a sparkly princess in a royal ball after a week's worth of hobbling through inhabited waste with neither combs nor soap in sight.
The Curse of Rha-kan'Ocka belongs to me.
Related content
Comments: 39
sixclaws [2009-04-28 15:33:13 +0000 UTC]
The woman's face looks too round, drag-queen like. I swear if you shave the male elf's beard his facial structure would look identical to the female's.
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zorm In reply to sixclaws [2009-05-14 19:30:12 +0000 UTC]
Frankly, I don't really see what you mean by 'too round', considering that variations of this face type are hardly uncommon in the Eastern Baltic and Finland. I often take some reference from what I see around in RL.
This reminds me of the case when I was criticized of drawing 'too long' faces for some of my Norsemen and that eyes, according to DaVinci's ideal, ought to be in the center of the head. Well, I had to explain that the Nordic face type actually is long. Perhaps if you calculate the average, you'll also get the eyes in the center of the head. In real life, things often are different.
Ghaagh'urih has a good deal of more jaw under his beard. Wouldn't look the same.
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Reiraku [2009-03-24 22:14:51 +0000 UTC]
Hell and vinegar, per your earlier request. I'll leave the many well-deserved compliments to the other commenters.
A nice exercise in perspective... I have a few nit-picks, though:
1. The shoulders in general don't work for me. The lady's arms don't look connected to her body. The gent's arms, on the other hand, are TOO connected - like large tails, rather than arms, due to the missing shoulder joint.
2. The gent's pose is... odd. I'm trying to imagine the circumstances that would have him half-squatting that way while holding the sword in that fashion. I realize it makes fitting everything into the composition easier, but it's still very strange.
3. I found 2. while trying to look for the lines of perspective. They're inconsistent. You should consider picking up some analyses of Renaissance art from the library - they often have very good discussions on how to obtain proper perspective in a complicated composition like yours.
4. Is the gent supposed to have magical metal knee replacements? If not, the knees are incorrectly drawn. I'm also surprised by his (relatively) scrawny legs, given the rest of him.
5. The lady's belly-plate is made of a soft material, as drawn. Is this intentional, or was it meant to be metal? Note that it bends with her torso motion; metal would be rigid.
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zorm In reply to Reiraku [2009-05-01 10:09:24 +0000 UTC]
1-2. I think I'd need redlining to get these right. I'll however try to fix things a bit before I slap the illo into the book.
3. I'll take a look if I can find some.
4. Legs, in general, still give me a fair deal of trouble. They're however supposed to be on the scrawny side.
5. Metal actually bends in Rha-kan'Ocka. Different laws of physics.
Thanks!
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Tassos13 [2009-03-23 17:45:38 +0000 UTC]
o.o How does your hand not bleed after giving so much detail?
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KaliPhantom [2009-03-20 22:37:22 +0000 UTC]
Fantastic looming effect! I'm scared too, even without noticing all that finely ornamented armour.
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Sharraunna [2009-03-19 03:10:22 +0000 UTC]
The perspective on the blade in the foreground seems a bit off to me. It looks as though the point should actually be a little further up and to the left.
Of course, that could just be the unusual design.
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Sasuga [2009-03-18 22:31:51 +0000 UTC]
It must be another rule of fantasy that if someone gets displaced to a fantasy world, it's always going to be one that they don't like. Hild gets the world of giant hairy muscle-elves, and I'd probably end up in the world of insufferable flouncy girly-boy elves.
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littledinosaurarms [2009-03-16 00:55:38 +0000 UTC]
As usual I can't get over the amount of detail you put into your drawings. And all without loosing sight of the overall composition. Sorry I don't comment more, but sometimes I just don't know what to say!
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silentsteel [2009-03-15 21:29:43 +0000 UTC]
Reminded all over again of what I love about TCoRO - you poke fun at every fantasy cliche you can find.
I've said it before, but the level of detail you put into your art is mindblowingly awesome.
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Epantiras [2009-03-15 10:00:46 +0000 UTC]
Great work on details!! And it was nice to notice the faces on the stones! Good choice of prespective, too, it adds to the "OMG I'm screwed!" atmosphere.
I've got only one complaint: the swords are lost in the details, it's hard to notice them unless you examine the picture closely in fullview.
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zorm In reply to Epantiras [2009-03-15 10:15:57 +0000 UTC]
Thanks.
Hmm... Since this goes into the book, the weapons ought to make the proper effect. I wonder whether changing their color might help. Or would it look odd compared to the overall composition... Gotta test it a bit.
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Epantiras In reply to zorm [2009-03-15 10:30:59 +0000 UTC]
I'd suggest to paint their upper edges with a brighter color, even white! Though you could end up making them 'glowing' like a jedi light-sabre, it may be not the effect you want to acheive.
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zorm In reply to Epantiras [2009-03-15 14:30:10 +0000 UTC]
I'll test that and see what it looks like. Anyhow, I guess I'll have to do something to make them more striking.
Thanks!
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OfficiallyAbi [2009-03-15 09:28:24 +0000 UTC]
Terminal Fangasm. Sounds like some good times.
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zorm In reply to OfficiallyAbi [2009-03-15 10:11:01 +0000 UTC]
It's a lame joke of Final Fantasy.
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gwadahunter2222 [2009-03-14 21:37:28 +0000 UTC]
They are very impressive, I think I would curse my fate if I met them
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zorm In reply to gwadahunter2222 [2009-03-15 09:05:15 +0000 UTC]
Thanks.
Thing is, these are actually supposed to be 'good guys'. But they're suspicious as they've never seen a human before.
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gwadahunter2222 In reply to zorm [2009-03-15 13:44:39 +0000 UTC]
no prob
So I have to look at the face of the female and not her chest and avoid any sudden move. Does the sentence "I come in peace" work
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zorm In reply to gwadahunter2222 [2009-03-15 14:28:18 +0000 UTC]
That is the second problem. The main character tried to tell she meant no harm, but the elves speak only their own language and its various dialects, and naturally couldn't understand English. So she was mistaken for an enemy spy.
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gwadahunter2222 In reply to zorm [2009-03-15 14:50:44 +0000 UTC]
The barrier of the language, this kind of case can make you regret to be the first human on a new land
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ks-claw [2009-03-14 19:44:47 +0000 UTC]
I would like to take this moment to say just one word about this whole situation:
FUCK!!
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zorm In reply to ks-claw [2009-03-14 19:49:38 +0000 UTC]
So I gather you wouldn't like to end up into a situation alike?
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ks-claw In reply to zorm [2009-03-14 20:45:32 +0000 UTC]
Not without a good weapon I know how to use... don't bring a knife to a gunfight as they say
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zorm In reply to ks-claw [2009-03-14 21:00:12 +0000 UTC]
A machine gun or a small A-bomb might work, but not against the ugly old clanhead.
It would have been more fortuitous for Hiid to get dropped into a Tolkien-esque land, but you can't always choose between the worm- and rabbitholes of the multiverse.
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EgilSterkr [2009-03-14 18:35:05 +0000 UTC]
Mahtava! hieno kuvakulma ja yksityiskohdat molemmat haltijoista nΓ€yttΓ€vΓ€t ylvΓ€iltΓ€ ja iki-aikaisilta
pidΓ€n erityisesti tuosta haltija naisesta
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zorm In reply to EgilSterkr [2009-03-14 19:55:49 +0000 UTC]
Kiitti.
Tuo ylvÀys on sitten tosiasiassa vÀhÀn sitÀ sun tÀtÀ, koska tÀmÀ on hupi/parodiaromaani. Tuo nainen ainakin kovasti yrittÀÀ olla mahdikas soturiprinsessa, mistÀ tuo valkyyriakypÀrÀkin kertoo.
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herr-garrett [2009-03-14 17:06:46 +0000 UTC]
Certainly a very different depiction of Elves...
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zorm In reply to herr-garrett [2009-03-14 18:34:54 +0000 UTC]
These are more like Finnish elves, not the Tolkien ones. ;D
Fin. hiisi = elf, giant, sacred. See the connection.
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konijnemans [2009-03-14 16:13:44 +0000 UTC]
The lying figure's right leg looks a bit off to me. Like it's pointing sideways rather than forward. Can't find fault with it otherwise, great job as always.
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zorm In reply to konijnemans [2009-03-14 18:37:19 +0000 UTC]
That's purposeful. Human legs do that in certain positions.
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Garvals [2009-03-14 15:12:45 +0000 UTC]
I can't translate this text but...
Really great composition and view. Really look like illustration for book!
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zorm In reply to Garvals [2009-03-14 19:44:46 +0000 UTC]
Thanks!
I'd help with the text, but I can't speak Russian.
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AmbrMerlinus [2009-03-14 15:10:42 +0000 UTC]
Meeting elves isn't always about listening to their wistful hymns about Elbereth Gilthoniel beneath the softly cascading light of the silvery heaven-lanterns.
Teehee.
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