Eowyn and the Nazgul Challenge Submissions on The ArtOrder

[Brinniel]

One of my facebook friends (not a BDer!) recently posted a link to some incredible artwork and I thought it would be appreciated over here.

A website called The ArtOrder (which caters to sci-fi/fantasy illustrators) put together a challenge last month for artists to submit their interpretation of Eowyn confronting the Witch King. More details about the challenge here.

The deadline was last night and already the submissions have been posted...160 of them. There are some amazing submissions, so check it out!

I like a lot of the pieces, though if I had to pick a top five, it would be these (not in order):

Adam Schumpert
Ben Guldemond
Chase Stone
Craig J Spearing
Tiziano Baracchi


Feel free to comment, list your favourites, or even share your own interpretation of the scene.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Hey, interesting thing to share, Brinn!

I must say, it is really interesting to see all of these next to each other - the same scene over and over again in different interpretations. Of course, often many of them are very similar to each other, but the more interesting to me are some of the more "original" ones. If it came to those I like the most, however, I think unfortunately often the most original ones lack the artistic quality, or are in some way "unfinished" (i.e.: I mean that their potential is not used so well as it possibly could).

One of them is for example this one by Alan Dyson - I liked it on first sight, the idea of being only faced by the Nazgul and the Nazgul being present there only as a shadow. Maybe if the shadow was made more menacing... similar thing goes in this one by Dagmara Matuszak, I like the fact that the WK is there only as the eyes, basically, rather "by-the-way".

Quite specific is John Hodgson's, I think the characters are quite ugly, but I like the sort of "set-up" of the picture, also with the Eye being present. Again: I can think of so much more that could have been made out of this...

Of those Brinn had pointed out, I quite like them too, mostly, especially I think once again Baracchi's is quite interesting, in the sense that it is almost the only one where the WK is smaller (in terms of how much space it takes on the picture; or also lower) than Éowyn. At least on first sight it sort of struck me, now that I am looking at it for severalth time, it isn't so interesting anymore.

I like these for the style, and they are quite beautiful: Erin Kelso (yet another interesting idea) and Herman Lau.

Those which I simply "like", as in, simply "aesthetically nice", I would say these: Diego de Almeida, Joshua Kratochvil, Rob Sample, and possibly Vuk Kostic. And I really like David moonchild Demaret's, especially the Nazgul's eyes. Really well done.

Generally, I think there are many nice ones, but many of them fall into the "color vs. color" scheme (which is not necessarily bad, but it depends how well it's done) or "yet another way to picture a dragon" scheme (which I don't like at all. It is not supposed to be an illustration for "Dragon" entry into Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual v. 4.5, but "Creature of an Older World").

As a final note, I don't like so much the rest of the picture of Sands Gonzaga as a whole (or, the Nazgul is fine, but Éowyn looks slightly out of his mind, for that matter), but the eyes (??!) on the Nazgul's cloak (?!?) are really cool. Otherwise, when I look at the picture, I have to think "Hashirama vs. Madara" (for those who know what I am talking about).

[Galadriel55]

I rather like this one by Christopher West. It is close to what I imagined the scene to be like, excet that Eowyn is *not* supposed to be wearing a helmet.

I like Dannie Borg as well. The WK's face is a bit odd, though - it seems to be slightly glowing.

Herman Lau seems to think that the reason Eowyn fought the Wk was because he cheated on her...

Applause to Roger Seward for originality!



Overall, I think that the artwork was too modernized. I can't help being picky about that. Some pictures were really good, but others... erm...

Like Legate said, quite few seem to just illustrate the "dragon", which isn't one at that. Or the WK looks like a Dementor. Or Eowyn is applying some Kung-Fu technique.

It might just be me, though, because I am prejudiced against "computernized" art, something that many pictures seem to be...

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

This is great Brinniel, thanks for posting it.

I was wondering quite a bit at the heavy "movie" influence in the submissions, until I saw that stills were supplied as reference material. Very skillful and dynamic artwork there though, with a high emotive content. While most did an excellent job portraying a female heroine, it was quite amusing to see that some of the artists played that up a bit too much! Rather takes away from the impact.

[Thinlómien]

Thanks for sharing Brinn! My favourite might be the one by Chase Stone - simply because I like the realism of Éowyn's blood-stained clothes and hair. A gory detail, for sure, but one overlooked by many other artists. Also, Éowyn looks the way she should in this one, not like a man or a Xena-style babe (or worse, Rubens-style babe!) But funnily this made me feel like drawing or painting the scene myself... crazy.

[Anguirel]

Originally Posted by Hilde Bracegirdle

While most did an excellent job portraying a female heroine, it was quite amusing to see that some of the artists played that up a bit too much! Rather takes away from the impact.

re: this and Thinlomien's equally adroit Rubens comment, ha ha ha

This, for instance http://theartorder.com/wp-content/up...ni-Aledin1.jpg

reminds me rather disconcertingly of this



which I think is interesting, as actually the same archetype is at work (as seen also in Perseus and Andromeda) - hero riding winged monster plus girl plus threatening monster. It's just that Tolkien (who we know was a bit ambiguous about chivalric legend etc post 1066) has done his usual ton of inverting (as with Eowyn, the "knight", winning Faramir, the "rescued damsel") - so the winged rider is now malign and the damsel and rescuing hero are - plus the obligatory hobbit - simultaneous...

I always find the place of the headless Nazgul interesting in these too, and am a bit underwhelmed by all of the living, non-beheaded creatures shown here, many of which look to me too slavishly based on the film anyway. It's important to remember that this encounter involved two dead steeds, matching their two dead kings.

[Pitchwife]

Interesting stuff there; thanks for the links, Brinn!

I have to second Lommy on the Chase Stone version; this one comes closest to how I imagine the scene, and it does give me that Merry feeling - "She should not die, so fair, so desperate! At least she should not die alone, unaided."

I also like Erin Kelso's art nouveau version, and for originality and hilarity, Jason Pruett's comic strip style rendition (the Witch-King looks remarkably like Bart Simpson there, doesn't he?)

What puzzles me is that a lot of the Éowyns turn their backs on the Witch-King; I don't think I'd find that a good idea in their place. It's most absurd in Herman Lau's version, which is pretty but looks like WiKi is trying to seduce her (and look! pretty butterflies!).

The price for the most original choice of medium has to go to Joseph Wu's origami version.

Nice comments on that Dini-Aledin-picture, Ang (but leave Rubens out of it, people - she's much too skinny)! Not much camouflage on that Dernhelm; made me think of a dialogue like this:

Éowyn: "But no living man am I! You look upon a woman."
WiKi: "Indeed? I'd never have guessed!"

And I suppose we'd better not think too deeply about the Freudian symbolism of the beheaded monster with its long, serpentine stump of a neck...

[Galadriel55]

I like the winged beast here. I don't, however, like the Wiki and Eowyn.