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Merlkir β Armies of the North
Published: 2012-02-22 23:31:43 +0000 UTC; Views: 32827; Favourites: 811; Downloads: 729
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Description
A Tolkien piece after a long time. It's the mixed armies of the North - elves of Mirkwood, dwarves, woodsmen, Beornings and Bardings of Dale - marching together towards victory or something.Had a lot of fun with this, it was nice not to have to research extensively, plan too much. I just sat down and relaxed while drawing dudes walking.
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Comments: 99
Impressive! I really like how delicate the background characters were drawn and how detailed these guys in the foreground are.
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would fit very well as illustration for a book edition
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I like this one. Simple, but you put some care into it anyway. I also like the theme of the Free Peoples united and marching together. Can't have enough of that theme in Tolkien art.
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Yes. It's unlikely they would've marched in this way, but it is more of an illustration of an idea, not an event.
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It reminded me of the casual lineup for the noonday parade at Ohio Renaissance Festival. (Good times...) More like a coming together than an actual procession yet.
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wow, this is brilliant, amazingly well drawn
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Good job! The figures stand out very well from the white background.
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I take back what I said earlier, this is BY FAR my favorite of your ilustrations.
It is amazing!!!!
I especially love the design of the woodsmen.
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OK, I like this one too. 
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Wow, fantastic! I'm so happy to find this here; I received my copy of "Aiglos" yesterday which had this one in very small size, and it's great seeing it bigger. Digital, you say? Wow!
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Oh, neat! Thanks! Yeah, I remember someone from Aiglos asking me about it, pity if it's printed too small. 
And yes, entirely digital. Magic of ArtRage.
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Maybe you'll still get it! I only got mine yeterday and the German post is really fast.
ArtRage? Wow. It seems I binned that programme too early! Fantastic job!
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I love the beautiful detail in this, how distinct the different races/people are from each other.
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Very nice. But I might have liked it more if you had included someone a bit more plain. Like a lightly armed woodsman or farmer dressed in a simple tunic and trousers. But that depends on what you are trying to do.
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Awesome! It reminds me a lot of the images from Tolkien's Dictionary that I used to own. That book had godly images (and one funny looking Aragorn and a messed up Frodo.)
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Yes, Victor Ambrus is a major influence on my vision of Middle Earth. Thanks!
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brilliant work man. I also suspect that these different groups continued to work together for a long time after the events of LOTR.
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sweet i always have a difficulty picturing tolkien elves with pointy ears. but who cares about elves the dwarves look so sweet.
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Sounds painful, but good.
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its actually quite delightful
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Such a great image. The friendship between the various Northern factions has always fascinated me, and you've really managed to convey how they have come together at this moment; I can almost hear them singing as they march. This is just really excellently done.
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Very fluid figure work and believable size differences between the specific races. Nice detail work here too.
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I like that it's a fantasy them but the style reminds me of the old explorer sketches/woodcuts. Also great proportioning and the hint of details.
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Marvellous work, it's nice to see your M-E armour designs in one illustration. Really detailed job! To my eyes the best result is when digital work looks like good 'n' old hand-drawn illustration.
Maybe it's due the way you drew them marching to right direction - surprisingly many left-handed people there (scabbard on the right side of waist)
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Thank you!
I only noticed the scabbards in the end. Well, some early medieval/migration era swords were also worn on the right side, even by right handed swordsmen. (it seems unlikely, but it's entirely possible to draw a sword like that: [link] )
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TouchΓ©! I though it would be too clumsy to draw a sword that way, using right hand, but well, I was wrong. The point is quite clear when one has a shield, or is mounted.
I usually draw scabbards here and there as I'm not aware of historical facts. Being left-handed myself I dont mind "inaccurate" drawings in that way. If it looks good, go for it!
One option in this kind of situations could be mirroring the picture, but for some reason people going to left refers to "going back" rather than "advancing" when going to right. I don't know what causes that "psychical" effect.
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Probably how we read books and comics?
And yeah, I do flip the image several times while drawing, so I sometimes get things wrong through that.
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Great piece. The soldier in me feels like criticising these guys for upholding the marching order of a kindergarten class, but I'll keep it to myself for now
I love the Dwarves' gear, too, especially the pavise shield.
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Yep, it's not much of a soldierly march, true. These cultures still were a bit more in the warrior class system though, so I don't see it as that wrong. Glad you like it.
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Also, I love how easy it is to spot the Beorning among them
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