”Then Morgoth hurled aloft Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld, and swung it down like a bolt of thunder. But Fingolfin sprang aside, and Grond rent a mighty pit in the earth, whence smoke and fire darted. Many times Morgoth essayed to smite him, and each time Fingolfin leaped away, as a lightning shoots from under a dark cloud; and he wounded Morgoth with seven wounds, and seven times Morgoth gave a cry of anguish, whereat the hosts of Angband fell upon their faces in dismay, and the cries echoed in the Northlands.”

- J. R. R. Tolkien: The Silmarillion, chapter 18: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin

The Duel of Morgoth and Fingolfin (couldn't fit all this in the title field -- isn't it annoying the title has to be so short?)

Here's the last of the three Tolkien sketches i made last week (actually it’s the first, but I saved it for the last, because I knew it was going to be the most arduous..).

One of the most memorable moments from the Silmarillion and one of my favourites, even if reading it always makes me sad..

While making these Tolkien illustrations I don’t want to see any references but rather delve into my mind and try to find my own view.. still, it’s plain to see I’m heavily influenced by everything I’ve seen before.. In particular, I remember having a Tolkien calendar illustrated by Ted Naismith (or something like that) a long time ago (might’ve been the calendar of the centenary year of ’92, but can’t remberber for certain. There’s this image of Fingolfin’s challenge and Morgoth is wearing a shirt that’s made of something that lookes like black dragonscales. I haven’t seen the pic in years, and I didn’t want to look it up now.. but that’s something that my mind goes back to every time I think of this scene.

So I think my Morgoth owes a lot to that painting. I wanted to draw his face, because I think just a helmet or something would be too anonymous and could not really contain the true evil he characterises. I picture him as a kind of a giant vampire lord with both elven and orcish features. His equipment I wanted to make fitting for his self-proclaimed status as the King of the World – decorated but still looking kind of evil.. like I really wanted Grond to look like something that’s bound to hurt if you get in it’s path!

Fingolfin wears what I imagine elven armour looked like: light, intricate plate over a fine scale mail haubergon

This one’s definitely my favourite of the three.. though it should be too, since I worked on it a lot longer than the previous ones. I really wasn’t supposed to finish this yet since I should be busy writing my thesis, but still I put 6 hours into it today bringing the total spent on this close to 8. Uff.. too much for a pencil piece. I must say I’m really happy with it, though!

Sepia version here: [link]

EDIT: Better scan