meluiloth - Tumblr blog

[meluiloth]

your work has such amazing textures and soft glowy effects - something about the way you lay everything out just has this incredible dreamy, folkloric feel! are there any brushes or other tools or strategies that help you make your style what it is? thank you! :))

aw thank you so much 🤍

i will try my best to explain!

i mostly use the default textured brushes in procreate, specifically these ones below. all should be found in the inking, sketching, or painting sections.

i also paint on a toned background to make my colors feel warmer. you can choose any color, i just prefer orange/brown. these are some examples:

lastly, i experiment with many blending modes to make colors pop or change the ways they interact with each other. i usually use add, color dodge, and divide, and i use them to make metal shine, hair shimmer, or light glow.

i hope this is helpful! i try to stay loose and constantly change up my methods so i don’t get bored, but these are some of the concrete strategies i follow every time.

[meluiloth]

Frodo, The Ringbearer

A friend of mine asked the question, "When Sam and Rosie got married, do you think Frodo was the ringbearer?" A clever joke - one I've heard before - but instead of responding with "ha, ha, very funny," it gave me an idea and I ended up writing this drabble because of it!

"And I'm assuming Frodo is to be the ringbearer, then?"

Pippin had tossed out the question completely innocently, meaning it to be nothing more than a joke (albeit a wry one).

Instead of laughter, however, he was given a sharp rap on the shoulder by Merry, and Sam's jovial smile had turned to a look of anger. For a moment, the comfortable atmosphere of the tavern felt colder, the discussion of wedding plans fallen silent; even Rosie's lips quirked into a reproaching frown, though she didn't understand the tactless jest as much as the others. Everyone at the table avoided looking at Frodo, who had raised his tankard to his lips to take a deep drink, most likely to hide the fact that he had turned a shade paler.

The moment passed, however, when Sam cleared his throat and rather tersely said that the task would most likely be given to one of Rosie's younger brothers, since Sam's youngest sister was set to carry the flower petals. After that, the subject was hastily left behind in favor of discussing other aspects of the wedding, such as food and decorations.

*

When the day of the wedding came, everything went perfectly; the sun shone warmly down on the summer fields as all the Hobbits in the Shire gathered under the richly decorated Party Tree to see Sam and Rosie married (and to partake in the refreshments afterward). Sam looked handsome in his creamy gold suit, and he beamed with pride as Rosie walked up the aisle looking as delicate as a swan in her gown; the crowd whispered to each other about how there couldn't be a more lovely pair in all the Shire.

But when the time came for the rings to be brought forth, there was an unexpected delay—for a moment, there was only silence as the crowd waited expectantly for the young boy to walk up the aisle, but the silence only dragged on.

In another moment, though, the ringbearer emerged, carrying the green silken pillow with the two rings perched delicately on top—but it was not Rosie's brother who held it, but Frodo. He was dressed in green, blue, and brown: the colors of rich rolling fields, and deep rivers shadowed by trees, and all things that grew and were not barren.

For when he had been burdened with the weight of the Ring, his quest had been to take it to a place of evil and decay … but this task he considered an honor, to bring these two rings as seeds of growth and unity, for the sake of his dearest friend.

[meluiloth]

somewhere only we know - lily allen

[meluiloth]

Headcanon Tag Game!

I was tagged by @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras for this fun prompt to use this headcanon generator to generate a few headcanons for my ocs, and talk about how accurate they are. As someone who has too many headcanons to count (and is always on the lookout for more) this challenge is right up my alley! I'm going to do three each for my Lord of the Rings ocs Culfin, Esandryya, and Findoron.

Culfin:

Culfin cries while watching Disney movies.

This would be true, but only for the classic ones, like Bambi or Fox and the Hound. They're just so beautiful and sad (and no, it's not like he's projecting his own experiences onto them!) For the more recent ones, though, he would just get irritated with the lack of creativity displayed in them.

Culfin has chronic nightmares.

This is true! It gets worse as his life goes on and his traumatic experiences build up, but he does struggle with nightmares - partially because, after a while, he refuses to admit that he's still working through past hardships (like it makes him weak to still feel scared and distressed by something that happened so long ago).

Culfin sleeps in until noon.

While Culfin's sleep schedule is terrible sometimes, the one thing that's consistent about it is that he wakes up at the crack of dawn - that's when his work starts, and he is determined to never be late.

Esandryya:

Esandryya has a very low alcohol tolerance.

This is accurate! For whatever reason, she can't handle alcohol very well, especially if said alcohol is Dorwinion wine (which was made specifically to get the infamously alcohol-resistant Wood Elves drunk). That and she just generally doesn't like the taste, so she stays away from alcohol.

Esandryya is going to heaven.

Absolutely. Esandryya is determined to get to heaven - or in this case, Valinor - and she's going to do anything to do so. (This one actually made me laugh because of the irony.)

Esandryya nearly drowned in a river as a child.

Oddly specific, but only half-right. Esandryya never was a child - she's one of the Uruk-Hai created in Isengard, so she was 'born' as a full adult, essentially. However, she did nearly drown in a river at one point.

Findoron:

Findoron knows fnaf lore.

Honestly, this would be accurate - Findoron really would be that weird kid who got obsessed with fnaf in middle-school and knew every single speck of lore about it.

Findoron can play the guitar.

Findoron is a lutenist, and a lute is very similar to a guitar, so this is absolutely true! (I was actually surprised at the accuracy of this one!)

Findoron will go feral. Watch out.

This is hilarious, and Findoron has the type of demeanor that seems like he's just one bad day away from going feral, but this isn't true - he's got far too much integrity to snap like that. This is part of the reason why everyone is so comfortable messing with him - they know he has too much self-respect to be goaded by their comments.

Overall, I'm surprised at the accuracy of these prompts - most of them actually fit the characters! This is a super fun little game (very good for a laugh), so thanks again for the tag @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras!

Tagging @saephrond, @acornsandoaktrees, @loremastering, @linden-leaf, @sotwk, and anyone else who wants to join!

[meluiloth]

IT IS HERE

I made a poster of my Mirkwood Elves art, and it looks so good!! The colors are so rich and vibrant (though a little darker) and the details are great - I'm so happy with how it turned out, and I can't wait to frame it and put it on my wall!

[meluiloth]

WIP Wednesday!

I was tagged by @acornsandoaktrees to post a snippet of a WIP fic - and honestly, this couldn't have come at a more perfect time, since I was actually working on Misfit today! It's a fight, but I'm winning, so have this little scene:

Now that the threat of imminent death was lifted from him—quite literally—Culfin looked up at his rescuer. It was Legolas. Culfin scowled and struggled to his feet—ignoring the helping hand the Prince extended to him—a sharp yelp escaping his lips at the stab of pain that shot through his chest. He clamped his teeth shut and straightened, keeping silent and pretending that he was perfectly at ease, even though he knew that at least one of his ribs had cracked. “Are you all right?” Legolas asked, his expression completely neutral except for a slight crease in his brow. Culfin cleared his throat, taking shallow breaths to conceal the lie he fed through his teeth: “Fine, thank you." The Prince’s head tipped ever so slightly, and Culfin knew he was very aware of his lie, but he made no comment; he only sheathed his bow and reached past Culfin to yank his three arrows from the dead Spider. “We should get back to the barracks as soon as possible; your father will want to know you are safe.”

Man oh man do I love putting my guy into Situations.

Tagging (because it's still Wednesday): @dreambigdreamz, @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras, @konartiste, @glorf1ndel

[meluiloth]

Since the whole thing with NaNoWriMo has gone down, I've noticed that one of their former sponsors, Ellipsus, has cut contact with NaNoWriMo because they do not support their stance on AI; I didn't know what Ellipsus was, but upon further research I've found that they are a writing platform that works a lot like Google Docs and Microsoft Word, only with a heavier leaning on the story-writing aspect and connecting with other writers - and they also completely denounce any use of AI, both in the writing process itself and in the use of their platform. I really appreciate that.

Since this is the case (and since I've noticed Google has begun implementing more AI into their software), I've decided to give Ellipsus a try to see if it's a good alternative to Google Docs (my main writing platform). It's completely free and so far, I've found it simple to use (although it is pretty minimal in its features), and I really like the look of it.

I figured I'd spread the word about this platform in case any of you writers would want to give it a try, and if you do, let me know how you like it!

[meluiloth]

day & night.

LORD OF THE RINGS: the fellowship of the ring (2001)

× reblog, don't repost. ×

[meluiloth]

“September came in with golden days and silver nights,”

- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

[meluiloth]

In memory of Tolkien. His art.

[meluiloth]

This is my artwork, just from a blog I had a while ago (which I deactivated for personal reasons)! I'm still super happy with it, but I might try and do a new one at some point since I've since improved a lot!

(Honestly though I'm still going crazy over the fact that Silmaspens saw it, like excuse me while I AAAAAAAAAA-)

This is a DTIYS I did a while back, but I'm posting it now because I got it from @silmaspens, one of my favorite Silmarillion fanartists. If you see this, @silmaspens, I really hope you like it!

I had so much fun with this piece, especially the Balrog; I designed it more to resemble Peter Jackson's Balrog, and I really love how it turned out.

[meluiloth]

Mirkwood Guardians

I’ve noticed that my Mirkwood Elves artwork from a few months ago has gotten a ton of notes (it’s my second most popular post, which I’m so delighted by!!) and while I’m still incredibly proud of that piece, I saw that my artstyle has improved since then; I felt like I could do certain elements - particularly the background and Feren’s face - a lot better, and this piece definitely deserved that effort, so I went ahead and did it! Honestly I’m flabbergasted by the result, everything looks so real and beautiful and full. I can’t even describe how I feel about it. (In fact, I’m actually getting a poster made of this piece so I can hang it on my wall, which I’m super excited about!)

I’ve included a full speed paint of this artwork below, which is the first time I’ve done that, so if you like seeing the proceeds of my art let me know!

[meluiloth]

holy COW that was fast!! Thank you so much for drawing him!

I absolutely love this design - the autumn colors are really pleasing (especially with that robin's-egg blue for contrast!) Also, it's so great that he looks a little tipsy here ... very in-character!

Ohh my gosh your Tolkien requests are open!!

Could you do Galion (that one Mirkwood Elf who got drunk and let the Dwarves escape)? I know that's pretty obscure but he's so silly.

My favorite drunk butler ngl

This was a great excuse to explore my Nandor/Silvan´s designs :)

[meluiloth]

Proud dad

Findoron with his new little girl, Trastawen.

I doodled this in about twenty minutes, just for fun - at some point soon I’ll get around to drawing Findoron’s wife, but enjoy Findoron being an excited girldad for now!!

[meluiloth]

Trastawen Findoroniel

“Findoron, I will not name my daughter ‘Trouble’ after spending ten hours in labor with her.”

“Well, I think that’s a fitting reason to give her such a name - and I can already see she will be just like me, look at that smile!"

“…That is fair.”

I'd like to introduce Trastawen, daughter of Findoron and his wife Maidhiel (whom I'm still developing); she was born in the early Fourth Age, after the last War, and grew up to be the captain of the Mirkwood Sentinels.

Trastawen shares her father's attunement to the forest, as well as a fair amount of his mischievous streak - she certainly lives up to her name. She is incredibly close with both of her parents, and learned a good deal of her mother's healing art, but she ultimately chose to become a Mirkwood Sentinel. Findoron is endlessly proud of her.

(Thranduil, meanwhile, soon learned to dread the sound of her impish giggle, which pleased Findoron even more).

Close up below:

Consider this my entry for @tolkienocweek day seven, Freeform! I know I haven't been consistent with the posts, but life’s been a bit hectic so I’m just doing what I can when I can.

Tagging @sotwk, @acornsandoaktrees, @saephrond, @linden-leaf

[meluiloth]

I wholeheartedly agree with this - not only is AI stealing from other sources just so that their generators can take credit for it (which is just stealing on top of stealing), but it's just so lazy!

Instead of taking the time to craft a writing skill for themselves, some people prefer to take the quick and effortless option of using AI to write for them. I understand that writing is hard - believe me, I do - and that it does take a long time to learn how to write well, but if you give up before you even try, then that's even worse. Even if someone knows how to write, but they use AI to "help them through one part they're stuck on" - that's pretty much the same thing. Instead of overcoming the difficulty on their own - thereby giving them the chance to feel proud of themselves for taking the challenge and learning more through the experience - they're accepting the easier route that leads to their skill stagnating.

I'm actually seeing AI-generated fics on the platforms I post on, and it's honestly disgusting - if they didn't take the time to write it, I'm not taking the time to read it. I see a lot of amateur writers on fanfiction sites; fics full of grammar and spelling mistakes, stiff dialogue, characters who lack development - but I genuinely love reading them and showing support because this is the fruit of a writer's true love and effort. This is the start of their writing journey, and I'm so proud of every one of them. I've even seen a few of these writers start out this way, and then improve wildly over the span of a few years - it's amazing!

Though I started writing and posting my own fanfictions after I'd learned a lot of writing basics myself, I've still learned so so much and I can see that when I read my first fanfictions; it's truly wonderful to realize how far writers can go when we push ourselves and learn. Writing has gotten me through some truly difficult times in my life - it was my source of comfort and happiness when I had little else. I'm a better writer because of that, and a better person. It wasn't only about the result for me, but the journey of writing itself - the hours, months, and years that have gone into creating these works.

If you use AI to try and mimic that skill without learning it for yourself ... how will you be able to feel that sense of accomplishment and pride in yourself? Will you be happy with the result of that generated content, even without the exhilaration that comes from "I did that, with my own heart, my own mind, my own hands?" I doubt it. Deep down, I'm sure you just feel worse.

I know writing is hard. I know it's daunting to put your work out there for everyone to see, spelling mistakes and all - but I know how wonderful it is to know "I did that - that's my heart out there! I loved every second of creating it, even though it was hard!" So please - put aside the AI and write for yourself.

kind of wanna reinforce this here. because i’ve seen ai writing become so popular on tik tok.

ai writing is not okay.

it’s literally theft. just like how ai art steals, ai writing steals. it’s using authors’ very real work to generate whatever you type in. and this also needs to be said as well.

writing is a form of art. fanfiction is a form of literature.

seeing this all over my fyp is REALLY discouraging. fanfic itself is already a labor of love and we love it when you interact. but please do not use ai writing for your fanfic needs when this writing literally steals from fanfic authors.

genuinely don’t know if this post will go around because my interactions outside of hcs are shit, but i hope it does.

[meluiloth]

Saephrond is such a lovely character, and @saephrond is a lovely person - it was such a joy to draw this character!! I really wanted to capture that ethereal energy I associate with him (as well as put him in a cool suit; in fact a lot of the details are inspired by the elements of this post), so I'm very happy with the result of this artwork!

"I didn't mind standing still for this." But, this is absolutely the best! Thank you, @meluiloth | @mels-misc-art. I love your style, friend. Thank you for thinking of him and liking him enough to take the time. 💛