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In honor of Professor Tolkien's 128rd birthday. Taken from one of the opening chapters of J.R.R.Tolkien's posthumously published work, The Silmarillion. Here, the dark lord Melkor, accompanied by the monstrous Ungoliant prepare to destroy the two luminous Trees, Laurelin and Telperion.

“ And in that very hour Melkor and Ungoliant came hastening over the fields of Valinor, as the shadow of a black cloud upon the wind fleets over the sunlit earth; and they came before the green mound Ezellohar. Then the Unlight of Ungoliant rose up even to the roots of the Trees, and Melkor sprang upon the mound; and with his black spear he smote each Tree to its core, wounded them deep, and their sap poured forth as it were their blood, and was spilled upon the ground. But Ungoliant sucked it up, and going from Tree to Tree she set her black beak to their wounds, till they were drained; and the poison of Death that was in her went into their tissues and withered them, root, branch, and leaf; and they died.”

– The Darkening of Valinor, The Silmarillion

I imagine the Trees of light as massive things that dwarf all other forms of vegetation. Naturally, I looked to redwood trees, particularly the giant Sequoias for inspiration. However this still allowed me some creativity as the Two trees are depicted as deciduous and not coniferous.

Ungoliant posed an interesting challenge artistically as I wanted to avoid the common depictions of her smaller, but better known descendant, Shelob, so I went with a more monstrous approach. It wasn't enough that she look enormous, she had to look nasty. I referenced several species of spiny orb-weaver spiders along with the framework and general shape of daddy-long-legs/harvest-men (I know, not technically a spider).

I used a slightly less developed version of my previous iterations of Morgoth, specifically with his helmet and crown. Tolkien provides no description of his spear other than it was black so this left a fair amount of wiggle room for me in the design process. I thought it fitting that the weapon appeared as if it came from Melkor himself or at least that he was directly responsible for its making so I went for a rough unrefined look. My intent was that it look like heavy iron that had been super-heated, but never completely forged or tempered as well as having an almost a bone-like quality.

Although it is undeniably a very sad passage (like most of the Silmarillion) I find this scene a fascinating one both for its significance and imagery. A few pages earlier, Tolkien describes the events surrounding the destruction of the great Lamps that gave light to the world of Arda by the hands of Melkor. Despite the world being plunged into darkness, the light is reborn through the song of Yavanna resulting in the growth of the two Trees Laurelin and Telperion brilliantly resplendent. Again, Melkor succeeds in undoing the work of the Valar by having the trees destroyed and the light fades once more. But Tolkien is careful to emphasize the common thread that binds his whole legendarium together: that throughout the long defeat, evil's victory is never final. The last remaining flower and fruit of the two fallen trees still preserves a remnant of the shining light and through them all the lands are eventually illuminated once more by the sun and moon. Although darkness and evil strike hard and fast throughout the stories of Middle-earth, the light, and perhaps more importantly, Hope, is never fully extinguished.

Done with Scholoar Prismacolor pencils and black paper.

If you want to show support, you can find me on Patreon where I also include behind the scenes photos of the design process and more perks.

Description

In honor of Professor Tolkien's 128rd birthday. Taken from one of the opening chapters of J.R.R.Tolkien's posthumously published work, The Silmarillion. Here, the dark lord Melkor, accompanied by the monstrous Ungoliant prepare to destroy the two luminous Trees, Laurelin and Telperion.

“ And in that very hour Melkor and Ungoliant came hastening over the fields of Valinor, as the shadow of a black cloud upon the wind fleets over the sunlit earth; and they came before the green mound Ezellohar. Then the Unlight of Ungoliant rose up even to the roots of the Trees, and Melkor sprang upon the mound; and with his black spear he smote each Tree to its core, wounded them deep, and their sap poured forth as it were their blood, and was spilled upon the ground. But Ungoliant sucked it up, and going from Tree to Tree she set her black beak to their wounds, till they were drained; and the poison of Death that was in her went into their tissues and withered them, root, branch, and leaf; and they died.”

– The Darkening of Valinor, The Silmarillion

I imagine the Trees of light as massive things that dwarf all other forms of vegetation. Naturally, I looked to redwood trees, particularly the giant Sequoias for inspiration. However this still allowed me some creativity as the Two trees are depicted as deciduous and not coniferous.

Ungoliant posed an interesting challenge artistically as I wanted to avoid the common depictions of her smaller, but better known descendant, Shelob, so I went with a more monstrous approach. It wasn't enough that she look enormous, she had to look nasty. I referenced several species of spiny orb-weaver spiders along with the framework and general shape of daddy-long-legs/harvest-men (I know, not technically a spider).

I used a slightly less developed version of my previous iterations of Morgoth, specifically with his helmet and crown. Tolkien provides no description of his spear other than it was black so this left a fair amount of wiggle room for me in the design process. I thought it fitting that the weapon appeared as if it came from Melkor himself or at least that he was directly responsible for its making so I went for a rough unrefined look. My intent was that it look like heavy iron that had been super-heated, but never completely forged or tempered as well as having an almost a bone-like quality.

Although it is undeniably a very sad passage (like most of the Silmarillion) I find this scene a fascinating one both for its significance and imagery. A few pages earlier, Tolkien describes the events surrounding the destruction of the great Lamps that gave light to the world of Arda by the hands of Melkor. Despite the world being plunged into darkness, the light is reborn through the song of Yavanna resulting in the growth of the two Trees Laurelin and Telperion brilliantly resplendent. Again, Melkor succeeds in undoing the work of the Valar by having the trees destroyed and the light fades once more. But Tolkien is careful to emphasize the common thread that binds his whole legendarium together: that throughout the long defeat, evil's victory is never final. The last remaining flower and fruit of the two fallen trees still preserves a remnant of the shining light and through them all the lands are eventually illuminated once more by the sun and moon. Although darkness and evil strike hard and fast throughout the stories of Middle-earth, the light, and perhaps more importantly, Hope, is never fully extinguished.

Done with Scholoar Prismacolor pencils and black paper.

If you want to show support, you can find me on Patreon where I also include behind the scenes photos of the design process and more perks.