#dartxo

[dartxo]

"Count Orlok"

2025

My first artwork of the year is of course dedicated to Count Orlok, as depicted in Robert Eggers' amazing new film.

I did this digitally, but trying to emulate a ballpoint pen drawing, which I think suits the character quite well.

[harveydrawsnsfw]

I don’t normally do other artists’ OCs unprompted, but this sea elf from @dartxo caught my eye

[befanini]

Mordor's Call by Dartxo

[rammadeus]

The Ride of the Rohirrim

By

Dartxo

one of my fave moments in film history tbh!

[theworldsoftolkein]

Mordor's Call - by Dartxo

And Minas Morgul answered. There was a flare of livid lightnings: forks of blue flame springing up from the tower and from the encircling hills into the sullen clouds. The earth groaned; and out of the city there came a cry. . Behold! Mordor's own war beacon of sorts; immense, sorcerous, and terrible.

I really like how in the film the signal from Minas Morgul is discernible all the way from Minas Tirith, striking fear and anxiety in its inhabitants about the attack they know its coming. Notably this is also the scene in which my man the Witch-king makes his spectacular entrance, so what's not to love? When I first watched the film in cinemas almost twenty years ago, the volume was turned way up for every Nazgûl scene, so when Frodo and Sam cover their ears when the Witch-king screeches...yeah, I felt that too. And I know I wasn't the only one, because I've seen people commenting about it online. 

Minas Morgul also holds the distinction of being my favorite of all the evil places of Middle-earth. Not only because it is the abode of my beloved Nazgûl, but also because the aesthetic of the place is just amazing, in a creepy sort of way. It's not barren like the plains around Barad-dûr and Mount Doom, for it has a river and meadows of flowers; but the water of the river is undrinkable, and the flowers are terrible to behold, and give up foul vapors. If ever a place can be described as neither living nor dead, it is the Valley of Morgul... just like its lords are. 

[gotham-at-nightfall]

Count Dracula

Just as I had come to this conclusion I heard a heavy step approaching behind the great door, and saw through the chinks the gleam of a coming light. Then there was the sound of rattling chains and the clanking of massive bolts drawn back. A key was turned with the loud grating noise of long disuse, and the great door swung back. Within, stood a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere. He held in his hand an antique silver lamp, in which the flame burned without chimney or globe of any kind, throwing long quivering shadows as it flickered in the draught of the open door. The old man motioned me in with his right hand with a courtly gesture, saying in excellent English, but with a strange intonation:— "Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own will!" He made no motion of stepping to meet me, but stood like a statue, as though his gesture of welcome had fixed him into stone. The instant, however, that I had stepped over the threshold, he moved impulsively forward, and holding out his hand grasped mine with a strength which made me wince, an effect which was not lessened by the fact that it seemed as cold as ice—more like the hand of a dead than a living man. Again he said:— "Welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring!" The strength of the handshake was so much akin to that which I had noticed in the driver, whose face I had not seen, that for a moment I doubted if it were not the same person to whom I was speaking; so to make sure, I said interrogatively:— "Count Dracula?" He bowed in a courtly way as he replied:— "I am Dracula; and I bid you welcome, Mr. Harker, to my house. Come in; the night air is chill, and you must need to eat and rest."

By Dartxo

[zoo-packys]

Forest Maker by Dartxo

Here is a great looking colored pencil drawing that shows a mighty packy walking through the jungle. Specifically, it’s the rare African Forest Elephant variety of packy, & the artist did a great job making it look so mighty & majestic!

Picture found here.

[dartxo]

"Vhagar VS Smaug"

2024

Looking to add to his immense treasure, Smaug descends with fire and death on Casterly Rock, to plunder the fabled wealth of House Lannister for himself. But the Lannisters aren't completely abandoned. For out of the skies comes their ally, Prince Aemond Targaryen upon Vhagar. Smaug hasn't had a challenge like this in centuries. He eagerly rises up to meet them, in what will surely be the ultimate Dance of the Dragons. 

.

The production team for House of the Dragon puts Vhagar's size as 90 meters long, with a 150 meter wingspan. At 130 meters, Smaug is longer, but his 110 meter wingspan is smaller than Vhagar's. Vhagar also has a bulkier, more robust body as opposed to Smaug's long and serpentine frame. Smaug is older, but he isn't really affected by age as Vhagar is; he is much more agile and nimble in both land and air. The dragons of Middle-earth can also cast spells with their gaze, and to quote George R.R. Martin, they, like, talk. All in all, I'd say Smaug, Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities, outmatches Granny Vhagar in almost every way. But it would be a terrific fight nonetheless.

[dartxo]

"Wild Yak"

2022

Wild Yak (Bos mutus)

Really underrated bovids. They are really huge, bigger even than African buffaloes, a fact I was reminded of when I saw a video circulating of a wild yak mingling with a herd of domesticated ones, and it towered over them.

[dartxo]

"Galadriel VS Sauron"

2024

"You have no power here, servant of Morgoth!"

.

A few days ago marked the 10th anniversary of The Battle of the Five Armies. It's probably the weakest out of the three Hobbit films (though that didn't stop me from watching it NINE TIMES), but it contains one of my favorite scenes in the whole trilogy: the White Council's attack on Dol Guldur, and Galadriel's great battle of wills against Sauron himself.

The Hobbit films are often accused of being too many, too long, and too bloated. But ever since they were announced, I hoped and dreamed they would include the White Council storyline, since their attack on Sauron happened simultaneously with the Quest of Erebor. And my wish was happily granted.

[dartxo]

"The Beachmaster"

2024

Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina)

Are Southern Elephant Seals the chonkiest animals alive? I think they are.

[dartxo]

"Lady Grantham"

2025

I'm a woman, Mary. I can be as contrary as I choose.

I wanted to make a tribute to Maggie Smith and arguably her most iconic role since she passed away in late September last year. Unfortunately at around the same time my dog was also entering his final days, so I wasn't feeling up to it. Better late than never, I suppose.

Let's remember Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, the indomitable, beloved Granny of Downton Abbey. And the woman who played her so well, the unrivaled Dame Maggie Smith.

[dartxo]

Nosferatu (2024)

(beware of spoilers)

I have watched Robert Eggers' Nosferatu two times now, after waiting excitedly for its release for many months. Needless to say, it lived up to my expectations, and exceeded them even. I loved it. It was a masterful, artful blend of Bram Stoker's novel, the 1922 film, a bit of the 1979 film, and other iterations of the Dracula story, whilst feeling authentic, fresh and original at the same time.

The overall atmosphere in the film was terrific. Everything, from the performances, the cinematography, and the set design, all contributed to an oppressive, claustrophobic, rank feeling.

Count Orlok looked and sounded amazing. The deep, guttural, heavily accented voice; the raspy, sickly breath; the disgusting noises he made as he gorged himself with blood; you felt all that in the stomach. I love the nods to early vampire folklore, like him being a rotting corpse, or him feeding by biting the chest instead of the neck. And perhaps most of all, I love that they gave him a big, bushy, fierce looking mustache. A source of deep annoyance for me in most Dracula screen adaptations I've seen is that the Count almost never looks like he's described in the book. I can't explain how much I appreciate that they made more of an effort this time. Admittedly though, this vampire, like Max Schreck's version, looks a lot more foul than the Dracula from the book. But I'm not complaining. He positively oozed with evil, and I loved it. And I really liked that, until the sun shines on him at the final scene, we never see his full features all that clearly. He is always shrouded in darkness and shadow. Maybe I would have liked if they had done something to his eyes, either making them cloudy and dull like a corpse or shiny like a predatory animal at night. But Bill Skarsgård's fixed, intense stare does the trick just fine. He wouldn't be out of place in a silent horror film.

I loved the callbacks to the 1922 film. A lot of the shots mirrored the ones in the original very well, like the carriage coming to collect Hutter in the forest, and of course Orlok's shadow creeping across Ellen's house. And I also loved the little homages here and there to the original cast and crew: Ellen's cat is named Greta after the 1922 actress, and the Van Helsing character is named Albin after the 1922 producer and production designer. The contract that Orlok makes Hutter sign is also written in the same strange, occult language as the contract in the original film. Great attention to detail. And I appreciate that Ellen's psychic connection to Orlok, hinted at but not really explained in the 1922 Nosferatu, got expanded upon here.

The nods to the book were great too: the Count's command of the wolves, and his pride in his heritage; the old innkeeper giving Hutter a crucifix and begging him not to go; Hutter trying to kill Orlok in the castle crypt, and later committing himself to destroying him to protect and free his wife from his influence. And I also really liked that in contrast to the 1922 film, but more in line with the novel, the side characters have more of a personality, and more to say and to do. The original film centers more on Hutter at the beginning, then he takes the back seat and the focus shifts to Ellen, with Orlok and Knock serving as antagonists, but the other characters not doing or saying much. In this Nosferatu, like in the book, the characters form a small vampire-hunting crew, and that was very neat. And the scene with Harding at the crypt felt somewhat reminiscent of the scene in the book where Arthur stakes Lucy, in a morbid, macabre sort of way.

Maybe I wish there had been more scenes at the castle and on the ship (hoping we get those in the announced extended edition). Some inclusion of the three vampire sisters from the novel would have been interesting, but not really necessary. And part of me wishes Orlok had burst into flames, or vanished in a puff of smoke after being hit by the sun. But blood bursting out of his body as he died, and him reverting to a lifeless, inanimate corpse is in tune with folklore too. And in any case, that final shot of his dry, shriveled body lying on top of Ellen, with flowers on the bed, was a beautiful way to end the film. It looked like a painting.

All in all, it was a beautiful, amazing, haunting film to watch. To me, it's probably the best vampire film since its 1922 predecessor. True to the spirit of the original Nosferatu, and the original Dracula, and I really couldn't have asked for more.

[dartxo]

"Samwise the Brave"

2022

'...Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam...'

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", by J.R.R. Tolkien

Last but not least in my countdown of favorite Two Towers scenes is Sam's speech to Frodo in Osgiliath. A scene that isn't really in the books, but that embodies and enhances the spirit of Tolkien beautifully. It's a perfect, comforting resolution to Frodo's moment of complete despair earlier, and accompanies perfectly the simultaneous moments of triumph at Isengard and at Helm's Deep. And I'm sure I'm not alone in saying this, but it's also a scene I turn to when I find myself sad and despondent at the state of the world. A true testament to Sam's role as a support and a rock, not just for Frodo, but for the readers and viewers as well. 

[dartxo]

"Sunfyre"

2024

This season of House of the Dragon marked the first time we got a good look at Sunfyre, one of my very favorite dragons in the world of Westeros. And true to the book, they made him a very beautiful young dragon indeed. I love that pair of massive, shiny horns, and his elegant and slender body frame. I only wish we got to see more of him in his full glory, before being so badly mangled at battle.

[dartxo]

"Shadowfax"

2024

Shadowfax is my favorite Middle-earth horse. Majestic, clever, loyal, and brave, he was the only free horse of the world that could endure the terror of the Nazgûl, and did so many times. One of my favorite little details from the (extended edition) films is how he tries to protect Gandalf from the Witch-king and his fell beast. And they sure did pick a breathtakingly beautiful horse to play him.

Done for Day 9 of the Tolkien Art Challenge by Allan Whincup.