Thrain the Second, son of Thror

Dwarf of the House of Durin, King in exile, father of Thorin Oakenshield; died in the dungeons of Dol Guldur.
This illustration is a personal work based on the Tolkien's Mythology. All the work was done on Photoshop CS3 and it's a part of a series of portraits. I began the “Tolkien series”, with the aim of developing my skill on portaits. For this piece I wanted to try a figure dressed with a plate armour and began developing the idea keeping as reference Rembrandt's portraits and technical references about armour-making. Dwarves are master blacksmiths and excellent warrior on foot: they know how to protect themself during battle and often the armours seen elsewhere (in movies or fantasy illustrations) miss important pieces aimed to protect vital parts like the big veins on the neck, in the armpit or in the inner part of the elbow articulation. I wanted to depict Thrain's background both as blacksmith and warrior. To do that I wanted to use a more realistic approach to the subject.
Dwarves are not a "Happy Folk". I simply can't relate to the dwarves when designed with bright colors and big smiles. Their story is a story of loss and despair. They can't enjoy the sun as other races can, their sight is turned to the ground: Tolkien, very clearly, describes the fate of Smeagol almost as he was predestined to became gollum because in his youth his eyes were most focuse on mud and vermins instead of plants and the sun... why should the dwarves be different? The House of Durin was the greatest, but they Lost Erebor, their king (Thror) was slained by Azog at the gates of Moria and won a battle (The countless tears battle), their new King (Thrain the Second) lived in exile under the influence of Durin's ring of power which eroded his mind with greed and fury and because of it met his demise by the hands of the necromancer... Paint an happy Dwarf? Not for me. My Thrain is a sad and angry king, full of scars and greed, destined to be consumed by the ring of Power.