Deviation Actions
Description
So as it happens I was not satisfied with my last Illustration of Turin.
I just finished posting it and it started to grow on me. The urge to re-do it with some improved aspects.
Mainly the color scheme, the design itself ( that of course can use some refinement) and this is exactly what I did.
I think his anti-hero face is even more in evidence in this one here, and I liked how the mask turned to be something really believable, like a bizantine mask of sorts.
For the belt and greaves, I choose something more elvish but dark at the same time. I also made the cloak heavier and velvet like, and of course much darker.
The design explanation:
I was reading Sons of Hurin Lately and I came up with a very unexpected and mesmerizing conclusion about Turin's outfit and gear: He never wore the Dragon helm and brandished the famous Gurthang at the same time! Even in the book cover you see him using both side by side, and I was misled by this also, but reading carefully you can see that he lost the helm forever when captured by the orcs. To this point he wore the helm but used an unnamed sword from Thingol's armory. The one who were carrying Gurthang was his rescuer and friend, Beleg. So after killing Beleg he carried the sword but not the helmet. Later by the time of the raid at Nargothrond it is said in the books that he wore a Dwarven MASK (not a helmet) that he picked from Nargothrond's armory together with a Dwarven suit of Maille. The mask is said to be completely golden and terrifying. It is accounted that he withstood the Dragon's fire better than any other thanks to the Mask. Again, a mask, not a helmet. From this point on he carried the sword, but no word was ever said again about the Dragon Helm of Dor Lomin.
Even though it is not written down it is very clear now that the Helmet wasn't seen after that. Me, personally, I like to think Turin was not wearing the helm when the assault happened, and that the Orcs being so hasty as they were, never found it and that later Mîm, that little bugger, took it and added it to his personal hoard inside that mysterious locked door of his, where it still sits in the dark until the end of time.
For creating his armor I took inspiration in the middle eastern historical pieces, in particular Persian and Syrian armors. I think the craftsmanship and the appearance of those just match my mental image of the dwarves very well. After all, the dwarven culture as envisioned by Mr Tolkien is heavily based on those Semitic cultures.
The gear he wears is a mix of dwarven and elven artifacts, something you will often see in humans from the early ages, when they used to have more contact with both cultures. He wears a golden Dwarven mask, terrifying and magical (it helps the wearer to withstand dragon fire) and a Dwarven maille Hauberk, as in the book.
Dwarven maille has a reputation of being the best available, so I added many studs and plates in key places, following a somewhat Persian approach on the chest and a Japanese one for the arms, because it gives the armour a good balance between protection and flexibility. The inspiration for the studs in the arms was the scales that crocodiles have in their backs, with a little thick spike on the middle. The coif follows a similar pattern, but with more aggressive spikes. I think a warrior won't go to battle bareheaded, and the book say Turin wore a mask, so I wanted it to be a mask not a helmet, but I also wanted a realistic approach, so this is why I used a coif and a mask. Also the mask includes a Bevor of sorts, kinda Samurai style, the mask's golden beard. Everything very agressive looking for I think dwarves are really serious about the business of war, and a fierce enemy to face.
I guess the full enclosure of Turin's head adds for his mysterious and incognito aura, he is ever changing and hiding his name and face, so I think the mask and coif are perfect for him.
He also wears a fancy elven cloak and sash, as well as elven greaves and high boots. Everything as simple as elven stuff gets, for Turin is a grim and straight forward lad.
