Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500164
crown of the Trees of the Valar, Laurelin the Gold and Telperion the Silver. Intertwined through the handle coming to fruit and flower at the hilt where pearls sit as Simarils, sending a steep shaft of light in the form of the double-edged blade intersecting in a lethal point. Fabio Paiva modelled the dagger in ZBrush and to achieve the negative space and the fine metalwork we printed in an inconel, an alloy stronger than steel, that is anticorrosive and can be brought to a long-lasting high finish. The blade was C&C milled in steel, so the integration with the handle marries with the finest tolerance and then it was assembled, aged and finished by the master propmaker, Paul Van Ommen. As the design team looked to define the cultural aesthetic of the Elven weaponry, we targeted the uniquely Elven influences. We explored the question of what consequence immortality might have on their craft. Elves have the opportunity to witness all the living world around them be born, grow strong, decline, decay and then a new generation emerge. They live to see mountains rise, rock erode to sand and forest turn to desert. And so, we introduced the concept of the elves using time as a tool in their craft. Allowing corrosion to play a part in their tuning of sculptural form in metals. Preserving the high points and allowing time to eat away the lows, pitting the valleys of the blades fuller. Paul Van Ommen used acid and textured hammers to age and weather the metal surfaces. Giving texture for Jules German's paint team to play into with oxide washes biting the rough and water stains blooming the cool blue/ grey leatherwork. We imagined the elves finding beauty in the process of material decay. Exploring the balance between polished steel rounded over centuries and framed by darkened pitted lows of material decline. In the Silvan Elves, Stephen Crowe perused a less formally refined shape language. Natural continuous organic forms that meld materials effortlessly from blade, to hilt, to pommel, as if grown. Sun-silvered handles and narrow cross guards draped with vines and leaves emerging from the wood grain. We imagined the Silvan archers choosing the wood for their bow through careful observation over many years. The Elves having a deep love and understanding of nature, it seemed the process would be cooperative. That the tree would allow itself to be formed to the perfect shape and would give up the limb willingly for the weapon to be created. A poplar tree that has been staked with a steel post as a sapling, will grow to envelope the post. The tree will lift it from the ground and incorporate the post into its trunk until only a small portion remains visible, protruding from the giant trunk. In the Silvan Elves' steel weapons, we combined this phenomenon with the A. SILVAN ELF WEAPONS LINEUP. CREATED IN PHOTOSHOP: STEPHEN CROWE (SWORDS), ADAM MIDDLETON (BOW), TAHIWI TRENOR HUNT (QUIVER). B. SILVAN ARONDIR SWORD. BLADE MILLED IN AIRCRAFT GRADE ALUMINIUM. HANDLE SCULPTED BY JANE WENLEY. AGED IN ACID BY PAUL VAN OMEN. PAINTED BY SOURISAK AND CHRIS HUNT. PHOTO. C. SILVAN ARONDIR QUIVER. SCULPTED BY JANE WENLY AND SOURISAK CHANPASEUTH. PHOTO. D. LINDON GUARD SHIELD. MODELLED IN RHINO AND ZBRUSH. ASSEMBLED BY MARCO WUEST. LEATHER WORK BY DARIN GORDINE. PAINTED BY SOURISAK CHANPASEUTH AND JOEL GERRY. PHOTO. A B C D