Seagulls

This is Legolas thinking... right after the battle of Pelennor fields

I painted this one a few months ago, and I got some interesting suggestions, so now I came back to it and here it is... this is the second version of my painting Seagulls.

Thank you, everyone who helped me out!

I couldn't help submitting it again, because the first version is my deviation that got me the nicest comments ever... I don't think I was ever so pleased to be part of DA.

Link to the first version: [link]
A close up of the previous version: [link]

BTW, this time I didn't add a watermark, but I made it a smaller file. This is FANART, it can't be sold, so feel free to print it. Just don't clame it as your own.




About the story: for those of you who have watched the Lord of the Rings movies, know that Legolas is very poorly portrayed. I mean, he was a sight! But a mere shell. (I can hear the fangirls screaming 'what a shell!' )

In this website [link] and this one [link] you can find pretty much of what there is to know of him. From the books, I mean.

Anyway, in the movies he has awful lines, and there was nothing much that Orlando Bloom could do. "goblins!" "orcs!" "birds!" "a diversion!!!" damn!

In the books, though, he seems to troubled sometimes:
"It [Fangorn] is old, very old," said the Elf. "So old that almost I feel young again, as I have not felt since I journeyed with you children."

I'm not gonna write an essay, but what I'm trying to say is: this painting is about a side of him that the movies hid. The part that went to a war and found not only the horrors of war, but much more. He met friends there. He found forests and a new place to live (his scene in Ithilien was filmed... but cut out. ¬¬' ) He fell in love with the sea when he heard the cries of the gulls. And we're getting to the painting

It started a lot smaller and it was not sunset at first. It was supposed to be that scene of RotK when he's talking to the hobbits. Here's what he says:

"Look!" he cried. "Gulls! They are flying far inland. A wonder they are to me and a trouble to my heart. Never in all my life had I met them, until we came to Pelargir, and there I heard them crying in the air as we rode to the battle of the ships. Then I stood still, forgetting war in Middle-earth; for their wailing voices spoke to me of the Sea. The Sea! Alas! I have not yet beheld it. But deep in the hearts of all my kindred lies the sea-longing, which it is perilous to stir. Alas! for the gulls. No peace shall I have again under beech or under elm."

(great lines!)

Anyway, I wasn't liking it much so I changed it completely. I decided it would be sunrise, and added all the backgroung that wasn't there at first.

I imagine that, after everybody was asleep, he went to look at the stars and sing something. Elves don't need much sleep, anyway. That's when a couple of seagulls heard his voice and came closer to Minas Tirith. And his heart was even more troubled...




About the painting: it started very very different... it ended up about 5000 x 6000 pixels! It was so big I had to merge layers a few times. Overall, it must have over 150 layers.

Don't do that, though. My photoshop got slow after 80 layers.

Lost track of the time spent, because I painted this on and off for weeks.

Don't post this without permission. You may use this in other ways, if you note me or leave a comment.



Credits:

I used so many brushes and textures that it almost seems I did little. Please don't think like that...

Well, here it goes:

brushes

white stars by ~caediel

old paper by [link]

bird brushes (the distant birds) [link] by ~thiselectricheart

textures

stone texture by me

wall texture [link] by *enframed

references

a googled image of Orlando Bloom as Legolas, which was dramatically changed to be "more Legolas and less Orlando Bloom", in ~Linnyk's words, hehehe

this picture of a seagull [link] by ~mousgal for the closest birds.

and this [link] for the mountains.



that's it. Enjoy, hope you like!


please comment! faves, comments and critiques are always welcome!