Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500164
Tolkien's work are often a keystone story point. Named, as characters, given backstories and even prophetic meaning. When you lay your eyes upon a weapon from The Lord of the Rings, there can be no question of which culture it belongs to. Tolkien's descriptions are also in-depth, with Alan Lee and John Howe's illustrations so foundational, and Jackson's trilogy defining. There is a form language to each culture that is now intuitive in the mind's eye of all the many fans. We now had to trace those cultures back into the Second Age and uncover the forms they evolved from. Aiming to create the historical artifacts to fit into the Third Age Middle-earth we know so well. The Rings of Power begins with Galadriel's story and so did this exploration of the weapons design. Viewers are introduced to Galadriel and her brother Finrod, who carries with him a dagger. In the story, this dagger was forged by Feanor as a gift for his nephew and a family heirloom. In the tradition of Middle-earth weaponry, this dagger is a significant story device for the writers. The Weta team went on a design journey that would produce over a hundred pieces of art in search of just the right balance of the finest craft, intrinsic graphic meaning and a beauty worthy of Valinor. Iona Brinch brought a graceful flowing illustrative style to the concept design that allowed the piece to remain distinctly Elven while still retaining originality, but we were missing something. Ramsey expressed that the dagger, like the Elves of the First Age, should be a union of beauty and violence. Galadriel's dagger needed to be lethal as an elegant shiv. The sculptural form tells the story of Feanors' greatest work, the creation of the Simarils. The pommel is the C. ARANRĂTH. THE QUEEN'S SWORD. PRODUCTION STILL. D. GALADRIEL'S DAGGER DESIGNED IN PHOTOSHOP BY IONA BRINCH, 3D MODELLED IN ZBRUSH BY FABIO PAIVA. E. GALADRIEL'S STUNT DAGGER BEING PAINTED BY SOURISAK CHANPASEUTH. F. GALADRIEL'S DAGGER. HILT PRINTED IN INCONEL. STEEL BLADE FINISHED BY CHRIS MENGES. ASSEMBLY, AGING AND GEM SETTING BY PAUL VAN OMMEN. PAINT WORK BY SOURISAK CHANPASEUTH. D C F E