Dresden Codak

Tolkien Dark Lord Chart (Revised)
A little personal guide I use for the various incarnations of Dark Lords when I’m illustrating the Silmarillion Project. While Sauron and Morgoth are the only *official* Dark Lords, I included the Witch-King of... — **Tolkien Dark Lord Chart (Revised)**
A little personal guide I use for the various incarnations of Dark Lords when I’m illustrating the Silmarillion Project. While Sauron and Morgoth are the only *official* Dark Lords, I included the Witch-King of Angmar, because 1000+ years of being the chief antagonist in Middle-Earth deserves an honorable mention.
Left to Right:
**Morgoth in the First Age**- essentially a rogue god, I wanted him to come off as an imposing demon, indestructible and primal.
**Sauron (as Gorthaur the Cruel)**- Morgoth’s number two, ruling over an island fortress of werewolves. He needs to look like the sort of guy who can turn into a bat.
**Sauron (as Annatar, Giver of Gifts)**- this is the “fair” form he took to give out his Rings of Power. I have him in a more nordic style, as to better mingle with the Elves, Men and Dwarves of the West. He’s also the only one here of normal Elf/Man stature, as his goal wasn’t to intimidate.
**Sauron after the Fall of Numenor**- at this point he ruled through “terror and might,” so his stature is greatly emphasized. Given that he spent much of his time dominating eastern and unknown realms, I went with more exotic stylings, bordering on Frazetta.
**The Necromancer of Dol Guldur**- a dark sorcerer, hiding in the shadows until he could regain his strength and openly declare himself as Sauron once more. I decided to make him almost the visual foil of Gandalf, who was also wandering the wilderness at this time.
**The Witch-King of Angmar** - while also a sorcerer like Sauron, the Witch-King is much more hands-on, and is a seasoned military commander. He’s also a Numenorean king, so I put him in traditional Numenorean battle armor.
**Sauron during the War of the Ring**- although Sauron did indeed have a corporeal form during Lord of the Rings (don’t believe the movies), I went with something more visually abstract, as only Pippin really ever sees him (through the Palantir) and was too shocked to describe what he saw.
Anyway, I hope you like them!

J.R.R. Tolkien aaron diaz angmar annatar gorthaur lord of the rings melkor morgoth sauron silmarillion witch-king

See more posts like this on Tumblr

#aaron diaz #J.R.R. Tolkien #angmar #annatar #gorthaur #lord of the rings #melkor #morgoth #sauron #silmarillion #witch-king

More you might like

This is a Dark Lord size chart I sketched a while back, for personal reference in the Silmarillion Project. You really don’t realize how many forms Sauron has taken in his time (and these don’t even count the monsters!)
Left to Right:
• Morgoth in... — This is a Dark Lord size chart I sketched a while back, for personal reference in the Silmarillion Project. You really don’t realize how many forms Sauron has taken in his time (and these don’t even count the monsters!)
Left to Right:
**Morgoth in the First Age** - essentially a rogue god, he’s a bit too big for the picture
**Sauron (as Gorthaur the Cruel)** - Morgoth’s #2 guy, ruling over an island fortress of werewolves
**Sauron (as Annatar, Giver of Gifts)** - this is the “fair” form he took to give out his Rings of Power
**Sauron after the Fall of Numenor** - his “fair” form destroyed, Sauron could only take on horrifying appearances after this.
**The Necromancer of Dol Guldur** - a dark wizard, hiding in the shadows until he could regain his strength
**Sauron during the War of the Ring** - terrible to behold, ever searching for his Ring

aaron diaz annatar gorthaur morgoth necromancer sauron silmarillion J.R.R. Tolkien lord of the rings

Silmarillion Project Part 2: “Valaquenta - Account of the Valar and Maiar in according to the lore of the Eldar”

Part 1: “Ainulindalë”

The second chapter of The Silmarillion introduces us to the various divine beings (Ainur) who enter Earth (Arda) at its conception: the Valar (a godlike pantheon), the Maiar (lesser spirits) and the Enemy, who at this point is called Melkor. Although Melkor is mightier than any individual Vala, he is not counted among them, as their mission is to craft and preserve the world, while Melkor is hell-bent on twisting it to his will.

Several Valar are pictured here. They are, from front to back:

Mandos - Judge of the Dead and Master of Doom. He has foreknowledge of everything that will come to pass on Arda until the end times, but will only reveal pieces at Manwë’s order.
Yavanna - Queen of the Earth and Giver of Fruits. She created the Ents to protect the trees from the axes of Orcs and Dwarves.
Aulë - Craftsman of the Earth and husband of Yavanna. He created the Dwarves with Ilúvatar’s (God’s) blessing, who gave them actual life.
Varda - Queen of Stars. Creator of light and the stars (naturally) and also the first to see Melkor for what he truly was.
Manwë - King of the Valar, master of the sky and husband of Varda. He is also the “twin” broth of Melkor, the Enemy.
Ulmo - Lord of Waters and the sole wandering Vala (never taking residence in the the Undying Lands as they do). Ulmo prefers the open oceans and is an eternal friend to Men and Elves, of whose plight he is always keenly aware.

The accompanying illustrations are of the Enemies:

Melkor - First and mightiest of the Ainur. Obsessed with creating life of his own, which he cannot, so he forever strives to corrupt Creation itself and rule over it. The source of all discord and Evil in Arda. Later called Morgoth, “The Great Enemy,” he is the central antagonist of the Silmarillion.
Sauron - A powerful Maia originally in service of Aulë, Sauron was corrupted by Morgoth, ultimately becoming his second-in-command. Master of all shapes and forms, as well as the crafting of objects of power.

Notes: The Valar don’t have permanent incarnations, so I tried to keep many visual details vague and focus on broad themes. Conversely, while Melkor could take on many forms in earlier days, by the time he stole the Silmarils and was known as Morgoth, he was essentially trapped in the form of an imposing Dark Lord, “tall and terrible.” I wanted to emphasize a weary, corporeal form in contrast to the Valar, a form that will become further scarred before the end. Sauron, on the other hand, is less imposing and more of a crafty sorcerer. While he could change into the form of Elves or Men, I doubt that would have been his default in the First Age, when his main job was ruling an island full of werewolves.

Hope you enjoy this one! There are many more to come.

J.R.R. Tolkien Silmarillion Project aaron diaz melkor morgoth sauron valaquenta valar The Silmarillion

“Silmarillion Chapter 3: Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor”
“ “But at the last the gates of Utumno were broken and the halls unroofed, and Melkor took refuge in the uttermost pit. Then Tulkas stood forth as champion of the Valar... — **“Silmarillion Chapter 3: Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor”**
“But at the last the gates of Utumno were broken and the halls unroofed, and Melkor took refuge in the uttermost pit. Then Tulkas stood forth as champion of the Valar and wrestled with him, and cast him upon his face; and he was bound with the chain Angainor that Aulë had wrought, and led captive; and the world had peace for a long age”
**Previous Silmarillion entries:**
**Ainulindalë - The Music of the Ainur**
**Valaquenta - Account of the Valar and Maiar in according to the lore of the Eldar**
**The Monsters of Middle-Earth**
**The Free Peoples of the First Age**
**Silmarillion Chapter 1 - Of the Beginning of Days**
**Silmarillion Chapter 2 - Of Aulë and Yavanna**

Silmarillion Project silmarillion J.R.R. Tolkien Valar Melkor aaron diaz

I doodled some Balrogs.
I like drawing them as monstrous silhouettes with no visible details. The movies (and lots of paintings) depict Balrogs are beasts that are basically on fire, but Tolkien’s description in Lord of the Rings is scarier and more... — I doodled some Balrogs.
I like drawing them as monstrous silhouettes with no visible details. The movies (and lots of paintings) depict Balrogs are beasts that are basically on fire, but Tolkien’s description in Lord of the Rings is scarier and more vague:
“like a great shadow, in the middle of which was a dark form, of man-shape maybe, yet greater”
Balrogs walk cloaked in shadow, and flames follow!
These designs come from my ongoing Silmarillion Project.

J.R.R. Tolkien balrogs aaron diaz silmarillion

“Silmarillion Chapter 6: Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor”
“ “…and therefore in a while he was given leave to go freely about the land, and it seemed to Manwë that the evil of Melkor was cured. For Manwë was free from evil and could not... — **“Silmarillion Chapter 6: Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor”**
“…and therefore in a while he was given leave to go freely about the land, and it seemed to Manwë that the evil of Melkor was cured. For Manwë was free from evil and could not comprehend it, and he knew that in the beginning, in the thought of Ilúvatar, Melkor had been even as he; and he did not perceive that all love had departed from him for ever.”
**Previous Silmarillion entries:**
**Ainulindalë - The Music of the Ainur**
**Valaquenta - Account of the Valar and Maiar in according to the lore of the Eldar**
**The Monsters of Middle-Earth**
**The Free Peoples of the First Age**
**Silmarillion Chapter 1 - Of the Beginning of Days**
**Silmarillion Chapter 2 - Of Aulë and Yavanna**
**Silmarillion Chapter 3 - Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor**
**Silmarillion Chapter 4 - Of Thingol and Melian**
**Silmarillion Chapter 6 - Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië**

J.R.R. Tolkien silmarillion Silmarillion Project Melkor Valar

Silmarillion Project Part 1: “Ainulindalë - The Music of the Ainur”
This is the beginning of a side project I’ve been working on, where each week I’ll be posting an illustration that corresponds with a different chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien’s... — **Silmarillion Project Part 1: “Ainulindalë - The Music of the Ainur”**

This is the beginning of a side project I’ve been working on, where each week I’ll be posting an illustration that corresponds with a different chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien’s *Silmarillion.*
The Music of the Ainur is essentially the beginning of Tolkien’s creation myth, where the Earth is slowly formed into being by ethereal song. Nothing too fancy just yet, but tune in next week as things heat up!

Ainulindale Music of the Ainur Silmarillion Project The Silmarillion aaron diaz art illustration j.r.r. tolkien Silmarillion

“Silmarillion Chapter 4: Of Thingol and Melian”

“Then an enchantment fell on him, and he stood still still; and afar off beyond the voices of the lómelindi he heard the voice of Melian, and it filled all his heart with wonder and desire. He forgot utterly all his people and the purposes of his mind, and following the birds under the shadow of the trees he passed deep into Nan Elmoth and was lost. But he came at last to a glade open to the stars, and there Melian stood; and out of the darkness he looked at her, and the light of Aman was in her face.”

Thingol and Melian are the High King and Queen of Beleriand, and functionally all of Middle-Earth in their day. Melian is a Maia, the race of spirits that include Sauron. Tolkien gives very little description of her, so I decided to keep a slightly otherworldly appearance, with horns like a faun or forest spirit. She’s actually much wiser than her husband and much more joyful, so I wanted to make sure that imagery held.

Thingol is the King of the Sindar, the “Grey Elves” who stayed in Middle-Earth (though Thingol himself made the journey to Aman once). As the tallest of the Men and Elves and one of the mightiest in battle, I wanted to keep his form larger and imposing. Older Elves can grow beards, and I’ve decided that any male Elf who was among the first to awaken (this includes Thingol) will be sporting a beard.

Previous Silmarillion entries: