 Inspired by Cassia and Siobhan's story "Remember How to Smile"; This is a portrait of Legolas after he has finally started to heal in that story and finally 'Remembered how to smile'. If you don't recognize the Legolas image in this picture, that is because it is actually a picture of Orlando. You can see the original picture in my Photobucket account under the title "OB to Legolas". http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a153/Cactuskim/ I not only had to get him back into costume... Quite a work out ;p... but I also added the star stone necklace that Dari gave him in 'Cell #8', and altered and embroidered the white shirt from the Original picture. The background is a blend of 2 different pictures that I took myself that I have manipulated to look like something you would see in Rivendell. |
 Another version of my picture 'Remember how to Smile'...Same Elf, Different setting. Hey, what can I say, he wanted to go for a walk in the forest near the valley floor. ;p OK, the truth is I'm fickle and could not decide which setting I liked best. This background is also from a picture that I took in Bavaria (heavily manipulated). |
 In the spirit of the Mellon Chronicles, 'Estel Only' is a portrait of Aragorn that shows him a lot younger than we see in the movies... ~22 or so. Back when he was just Estel without the cares and worries that he would later carry, and would happily have been 'Estel only' for the rest of his life. *What*, You don't recognize this Aragorn screen cap either? *Grin* that is because this picture was made from a screen cap of Viggo in the movie American Yakuzi about 10 years before LOTR. You can see the original face in my photobucket account under the name 'Estel only base image'. In addition to putting him back into costume, I also replaced his eyes with a pair I liked better, and had to reconstruct his forehead and then try to make him even younger... and about a hundred other things too. ;p I hope you enjoy this younger more carefree version of our favorite Ranger. |
 Hey, I managed to talk our favorite Elf and Ranger into posing together for the camera... Not! Life is never that easy. ;p. 'Mellon-nin' is just a wonderful MC moment with our favorite Elf and Ranger that could fit so many of Cassia and Siobhan's stories. The 2 low quality images that I used to create his picture can be found put together as a simple blend in my photobucket account. I had to make massive changes to get it to this point, I hope you enjoy it. :D |
 *EG* Just a bit of fun to warm the Ranger girls this winter. With my picture 'Flame of the West', I have taken one of the more popular pictures of your favorite Ranger and given him a rakish smile; more intense eyes; played a lot with light and color; and a Sizzling hot new setting... I thought that the element of fire suited him well. Enjoy. ;p |
 'Danger Nears' was inspired by Cassia and Siobhan's story 'Escape from Mordor'. A brief moment as they look back watching for the Danger that is never far. |
 "The Sea's call is carried in the wind's caress." KL Just as the wind and sea create the storms of the ocean, the turbulence of Legolas' soul (A being of Light and Air) is stirred and awakened when he encounters the sea. For this picture that I have titled 'Air' I started with a picture of Orly, a copy of which can be seen in my photobucket account. I had to elf him up again... always a lot of work... but I hope you think it was worth it ;p. The background is from a picture I took myself at Point Lobos state park in California. |
 'Snowball Fight' is just a bit of fun between our favorite friends. ;p Oops! Looks like someone has just been hit from behind by a snowball from his best friend. Was it an accident or on purpose... you decide. Either way, I think the Ranger is in big trouble. ;p This was a very difficult picture, especially creating Legolas' face. I have a before and after of the face posted in my photobucket account for those interested (See the link below). |
 This is a picture of Avornwen, Legolas' horse from the Mellon Chronicles is seen racing joyfully thru the forest to meet her beloved master. Avornwen is being played by TA Firefrost (Aka Frosty) a pure polish Arabian mare owned by my very good friend Dorann LaPerch of Bonnfyre Farms in California. The original picture of Frosty can be seen in my Photobucket account. I gave her a bath and let her hair down out of it's braids for the picture I made. The background is from a picture I took in Scotland and I created the sunbeams. |
 'Forest Race' is a picture very close to my heart. The horse in this picture is my own horse Dhar El Zahr (Aka Flower) a straight Egyptian Arabian Stallion who passed away almost 15 years ago... He was very special. I was restoring a faded and yellowed picture of him when that Sneaky Elf just jumped on him and took off for a ride thru the forest... *Rolls Eyes* Of course, he looks better on my horse than I ever did. ;p I had intended to make this a picture of Legolas riding Avornwen... a follow up to the previous picture. However, you can imagine Arod or your favorite LOTR horse... in my mind it will always be Flower. ;p. This is one of the most difficult picture that I have ever done, So I have assembled a Collage of images showing what I started with. It is on page 2 of my photo bucket account (the Link is at bottom of page) |
 I have had several people ask me 'How do you turn Orlando into Legolas'. Well, this picture was made in response to that question. In 'Elf up Orly' I have once again put Orlando into his blonde wig and pointy ears and this time I written a whole tutorial with pictures showing how it was done. for those who only want to see the original picture I started with, you may find that image in my photobucket account (See Link at the bottom of the page). For those would would like to see my 'Elf up Orly' tutorial, you can find it by following the link below . Elf Up Orly tutorial |
 In This picture "King of Men" I have decided to play with a different style than my usual photorealistic one. It is a stylized representation of Aragorn and the city/realm that he was destined to rule inextricably tied together. |
 I know, what a shock! It is not Legolas or Aragorn ... see I can do other characters. ;p I call this picture 'Son of Gondor'. It is my vision of Boromir as he rides away from the city that he loves so much not knowing that he will never see it again. *Sniff* Boromir's face/figure is actually a blend of 2 different screen caps combined together with a lot of painting over by me to fill in the gaps and intensify the eyes. The background is a third cap with a lot of alterations in color and lighting to create the gloomy over cast effect with the sun trying unsuccessfully to break thru and bid farewell to Gondor's favorite son. |
 I call this 'Whispered Warnings' , because in my mind Legolas who was just relaxing doing _____________ (you fill in the blank ;p) suddenly leans forward listening intently to the whispered warnings from the forest around him. The background on this picture is actually from 2 different pictures with some brush work, and of course, I could not find a real picture of our favorite elf in just his leggings. As a matter of fact the base picture I found did not have on a nice pair of leggings either , so I had to draw those... Silly me, I just didn't think that a pair of Speedos looked very Middle Earth. ;p. |
 I Call this picture 'Golden light of the Eldar'... So who is it??? Good question ;p In several of my Yahoo groups, people have discussed who they think would make a good Glorfindel, and who would be a good Thranduil. Well, many people have voiced the opinion that Jude Law would be good in either one of these roles. Well, even though you can already see my personal choice for Thranduil on page one, I thought What the Heck, lets see what Jude really looks like as an elf. ;p I picked out a good picture of him (See link below for my PB account with the original picture) Shaved him, wrestled him into a costume, wig and ears and had a look. Well When I started out I honestly thought that he would turn into Glorfindel, but about half way thru the process, he started to look more like Finrod Felegund from the Silmarilion to me... go figure ;p. Sooooo.... I gave the picture a Neutral title that can work for the Golden haired elf lord of your choice, and left the decision up to the viewer. You want him to be Thranduil, or the great balrog slayer, or Finrod, that is fine. He also makes me think of Cassia and Siobhan's OC Raniean, and he could definitely pass for one of many OC Brothers to Legolas even though I see Legolas as an only child. The list goes on and on, the choice is 100% yours! Have fun imagining. ;p Trivia: the background is from a picture I took in Bavaria, the clothes are part drawn by me and part Elrond's, the hair and hair line is part Legolas and lots of drawing over by me. Finally, lots of painting work by me on the face to give him that nice 'Elvish glow' and to get rid of the Scruff without turning him into a drag queen... long story ;p... consider it stage makeup. Please look at the original, it is fun to compare them, and I would love to hear who he is to you. ;p |
 I had saved a screen cap of Aragorn and Arwen for it's background only. The lighting and color filters of the movie and the small size and low quality of it made it pretty much unusable for most things.. or so I though at the time I originally saved it. Well, I have learned a lot since then, and I liked the feeling of the picture so much that I decided to try something new with it to see if I could salvage it and create something new with it. The soft painted style is very new for me, and I hope that you will enjoy it. For those interested, the original picture I started with can be seen in my photobucket account (See link Below). |
 I call this picture 'Angst' for Obvious reasons ;p. It is inspired by the scene in Cassia and Siobhan's Story 'Return' when Legolas is trapped on the far side of a cave in and he can only hear what is happening to his friend and is unable to help him. The original picture I started with was cut off on both top and bottom at about the Hair line and mid neck. it was also very small washed out and low quality. I had to recreate the missing parts, and paint in much of the missing details of the eyes, face and hair as well as creating the look of the black cave all around him. The original picture may be seen in my Photobucket account. Enjoy. |
 I call this picture 'Elf imp' because of his impish smile. What is making our favorite elf prince smile so? Well, I will leave that one up to you. ;p This picture actually started out as a picture Of Orli which I elfed up and made other considerable changes to... Bigger smile more sculpting to the face lighting etc... The background is a picture which I took on a trip to Big Sur in California with sun beams drawn in by me. I had a lot of requests for loose hair, and it was a lot of work, so Enjoy ;p The original Orli picture may be seen in my Photobucket account. |
 I call this picture ‘Together’ because no matter the difficulties
that may be faced, Aragorn and Legolas
are always able to face them together. It
is semi-inspired by the scene in ‘Exile’ by Cassia and Siobhan which is only
shown in flashback form, where Aragorn
is devastated after someone is killed in an accident which may or may not have
been caused by him, and only Legolas
stands in his support. The original cap that I started with can be seen in my Photobucket account. I had to do a lot of work recomposing and altering the figures and reconstructing missing parts and restoring/creating missing detail due to the smaller size and low quality of the starting image. Much of it had t be painted/drawn in by hand, especially around the eyes that had to be painted completely from scratch. |
 I call this picture 'First sight' and it is my interpretation of a War Weary Elrond as he enters Rivendell for the first time after the War of the alliance which ended the second age of ME and so much more. He is no longer the War herald to Gil Gilhad, but the new Lord of Rivendell, and new Keeper of Vilya. He is ready to put aside war and destruction and start the healing process for his new people and new land (Hence the loose hair which is symbolic of this change, he is no longer wearing Warrior braids). As he enters, he looks up both remembering all that was lost, and also looking for those he loves who have been awaiting his return for 10 long years... he is finally home. I used a very small low quality screen cap of Hugo from one of his earlier films as my base for this picture. I have had to paint over the entire thing to resolve problems it had and to give Elrond that Younger more Elvish look that I wanted him to have. Lots of drawing/painting on the hair and clothing also. Enjoy |
 This is a very stylized portrait that I call 'Deep roots' because the roots of the dwarves are deep and strong anchoring them down thru the deep rock to the heart of Arda. I saw a picture of Gimili that I liked, but it was from inside the Mines of Moria, so he is not much more than a big dark blob. I Decided to play with it anyways, and after enhancing it a lot, I then did a sort of drawing effect followed by a lot of real drawing while also trying to give it a very rock like texture. I hope you like it. :D |
 This picture was inspired by a scene in Cassia and Siobhan's story' Change of Mind, Change of Heart' in Which Legolas reassures a young Ranger of their friendship. A copy of the base images that I started with can be found in my Photobucket account... they need a lot of work ;p. I did a lot of painting over on both figures especially on Aragorn's eyes. BTW, you may notice that this image has wider proportions than most of the other images, that is because it is proportioned to fit as a wallpaper on a Wide screen monitor... Hope you like it. I |
 I call this picture "Last one in..." and I think that the reason is pretty obvious. ;p. It is just a brief moment of fun between friends that I hope everyone can enjoy. *Snicker* It could also be considered a sort of Epilogue to my own story 'the Weaving Cow' because at the end of that story the boys were rushing off in desperate need of a bath. ;p. If the style on this one looks painted, that is because it was. I painted extensively over much of this picture using the paint brush tool in Photoshop and my Wacom drawing Tablet. Special Thanks to NiRi who sent me special inspiration for this picture. |
 This picture is called "Dark Elf". So, Who is it? Well, that is for you to decide ;p. Hey, With 'Golden light of the Eldar' I gave you a Generic Blond elf for you to use as a face for any of the Blond elves that may need a face in your stories, and now you have a Dark haired elf. .. he is all yours, call him what you will. :D Compared to most of my pictures this one was very simple, the face and body are the same person and I elfed him up (new hair and ears) Played with the lighting some and gave him a lovely elvish glow, and finally a simple but striking background. Enjoy. PS... the Models name is Markus Schenkenberg... Stunning isn't he. |
 I have friends who accuse me of having a portal into Middle Earth, and that I really am just slipping in and snapping pictures of my favorite characters instead of making all of these pictures myself. OK, I confess! It is true! ;p Here is a picture of me just as I step thru the portal... which not only elf's me up (hey, you have to blend in ;p) but also gives me the 30/30 treatment (it makes me look 30 years younger and 30 pounds lighter... got to love photohshop ;p) and brushes my hair and touches up my makeup. *GRIN* I love my Portal....now if it would not undo everything when I return to RL, it would be perfect. ;p Background from a photo I took in Big Sur California (Tweaked) and body and face by Photoshop (No way am I posting the real me unaltered on the web). ;p Original unaltered before photo is available to friends upon request... if you are brave or fool enough to look ;p |
 OK, now on to the fun; I have successfully passed thru my portal and I am now stalking Aragorn and Legolas, laying in wait ready to jump out and snap another wonderful ME picture... hence the doofy grin ;p . Unfortunately this is not the first time this has happened, and since sometimes they get a bit hurt (no fault of mine ;p) they are not always happy to see me... go figure ;p. Legolas is particularly good at sensing me and spoiling things (curse his keen elvish senses) , so this 'Pictures thru the Portal' thing is not as easy as it looks. ;p Background from 3 different pictures I took in Big Sur blended together, Aragorn and Legolas from Middle Earth ;p, and Me, the stalker of Middle Earth. ;p. Note the lighting changes on the ME stalker.... not easy, but I had to match the boys. ;p Well, Happy Halloween! Yes, I really don't run around like this all the time...*Snicker* although I might if I thought that I could get away with it.. ;p Hope my silly antics give you a good laugh. |
 This picture was inspired by a scene in Cassia and Siobhan's story 'First Meetings'. I call it Night Watch, and it shows Legolas after he has rescued Aragorn, and is watching over him late at night. He has withdrawn to the edges of the clearing as far from his injured charge as he can and still take care of him, watching suspiciously while he tries to deal with his waring emotions only dimly illuminated by the light of the small campfire in the clearing and the starlight. I started with a horrible cap from Moria right after the cave in where Legolas can be seen in the background behind Gandalf, the original can bee seen in my Photobucket account. I had to do a tone of work restoring missing detail from the low image quality.... mostly done using the paint brush... especially on his eyes which I finally painted in from scratch. Hope you like the Glint in his eyes. ;p. Enjoy. |
 Here is another scene from "First Meetings" by Cassia and Siobhan. from a bit later in the story. It is morning now, and *EG* the boys have company... for those of you who know the story; Yup, it is the scene where they are surrounded by Orcs and wolves. :D Here is the excerpt from the story that I have tried to capture: "...the forest around them erupted and a dozen orcs stepped from the trees encircling them and cutting off their hopes for an escape. "Well I guess you get your wish then." Aragorn looked over his shoulder to Legolas and carefully eased himself back down to the ground. The elf slowly lowered the man in his arms and protectively shielded him. Crouching behind Aragorn, Legolas held the ranger against him and crossed his elven bladed knives over the man’s chest looking each orc in the eye as the enemy judged their latest prey." Aragorn's figure is composed mostly from one figure, with tiny bits of a second figure, and lots of clone work. Legolas is composed of 3 different figures frankenmaniped together plus knifes from a 4th picture and lots of clone and paint brush work to blend them together... the eyes were also tweaked and painted over to get the look I wanted, and I had to play with the lighting a lot to make it look like early morning with the sun just coming up, instead of the bright daylight of the original pictures. Hope you like it. |
 I call this picture 'Smolder'. Do I need to tell you why? ;p It is my tribute to the incredible beauty that can be found in the human body (or in this case Elven ;p) combined with the incredible beauty of the my favorite character Legolas... got to love that elf. ;p If you are having trouble recognize the Legolas face I used, that is because it is not Legolas; this is another one of my 'Elfing up Orly' pictures ;p, and this time I used Orlando's arms also (2/3's of them are his re-positioned and the pose altered a lot). Here is the link to the original Orlando picture in my photobucket account. http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a153/Cactuskim/Smolder-face-base.jpg If you look at the original you can see that I had to rebuild everything from the eyebrows up (and even some below that) and you can see the parts of his arms that were used in the manip. All other alterations to the image were of course done to me.... I love how the eyes came out (partially hand painted) . I altered the body a fair amount to be more 'elvish'. The pants were originally a pair of plain blue jeans with boxer shorts sticking up out of them *EG* I had to take off the boxers of course, and the hair is hand drawn. (((Hugs drawing tablet))) Enjoy :D Cactuskim |
 This is "Smolder Eyes" The full size version of 'Smolder' was too big to post.... nobody has that big of a computer monitor and I don't want to hog up Cassia's Bandwidth ;p.... but the expression of the eyes and face in the picture are so compelling that I really wanted every one to see it full sized, so in this picture I have given you the close up of the face only, cropped to work as a Wallpaper. hope you like it. Cactuskim |
