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[lotesse]

So I've been kind of having a Tolkien renaissance - picked Return of the King up again, read a whole bunch of fic/meta, am possibly writing srsly emo postquest Frodo/Sam crack in my school notebooks - and I needed icons. But I didn't want the movie.

Because I read LotR as such a kid, I had really clearly formed images of the characters long before the movies came out. And often, the movie images don't really gel with my preferred characterizations. Frex, one of the side effects of casting Lij as Frodo when he was just a little bairn is that movie!Frodo looks to be at least ten years Sam's junior, when in fact he ought to be, what, twelve years older? and that screws up their entire dynamic. And anyway I'd like to get away from movie images, and let my old visuals loose again.

Therefore, I have 14 hobbit icons, based on images from traditional portraiture. Feel more than free to snag any that catch your fancy - please comment and credit, thx.





01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Comments

[mirabehn.livejournal.com]

Oh, those are marvellous!

Taking a few, will credit. :-)

[lotesse]

Thanks!

[scarlett-bat.livejournal.com]

Wicked awesome idea! 8 is so perfect, much closer to how I see Frodo in my head than any illustration I've ever seen, even the amazing Alan Lee.

[lotesse]

Thanks so much - so glad you liked them. (I possibly squeaked out loud when I found the base for 8. Um.)

[gimlisam.livejournal.com]

Very cool! I think that I will steal borrow one (or more) of them. #13 and 14 are my favorites.

[lotesse]

steal as many as you want, doll. btw, did you see the star wars ot set I made over the summer? The "icons" tag will take you there.

[shiinabambi.livejournal.com]

Actually, I read LotR as a kid too, and Elijah Wood was pretty much exactly as I imagined Frodo. I hate the movies in spots because of the script (Ye gods, Faramir) but seeing Eliah Wood as Frodo gives me joygasms.

He is supposed to look younger than he is. It's stated in the books that the Ring made him keep his youthful appearance. The movies still screwed it up story-wise, by having Frodo start on the quest right after getting the ring (and therefore actually being the age he looks) rather than sitting on it for a few decades, as in canon. I remember going "Bwuh?" at Merry and Pippin being at Bilbo's party, considering they'd have been tiny if they were even born yet.

[lotesse]

I get that Frodo looks somewhat youthful on account of the Ring, but my quibble is more based in character - he might look a bit young, but he isn't. He's had the life experiences of someone nearing middle age, and in relation to his cousins he's certainly the elder party.

I heart Lijah, but he looks and speaks and bounces like a little thing - because of course he was one at the time. The Frodo in my head acts more mature, more settled - he's even borderline in a rut at the beginning of FotR.

It's something that's oddly important to me, because I've always loved the fact that LotR isn't, on Frodo's part at least, a bildungsroman. It's a story about a grown man - er, hobbit - dealing with intractable realities. Pippin gets a growing-up story, sure, and maybe even Samwise, but that's not Frodo's trajectory. And that sets LotR apart from nearly every other work of heroic fantasy I've ever read.

[hyelstuff.livejournal.com]

What an awesome idea! :D Such pretty icons, too!

Oh, Sam. *happy sigh*

[lotesse]

inorite? oh, hobbits!. (thanks, am glad you like this iconses)

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Oh what a great idea! And I love 2, 4 and 8. With Sam I'm wavering between 13 and 14.

[lotesse]

*grins* happy you like 'em!

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

Very, very hobbitlike. I especially like the Merry and Frodo ones.

[lotesse]

thanks :)