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Sinister71
Dor-Lomin
Jun 19 2012, 11:37pm
Post #1 of 137
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I'm just curious as to what are everyone elses hopes or speculations for the magnificent dragon who is one of fantasies most beloved creatures ever... I personally think the John Howe, Alan lee stuff is great as drawings but not something we should see on the big screen. The Smaug from their drawings and sculptures look too much like a snake with legs and wings to me, not something to truly be feared. From the description in the book about how big Smaug is and how his claws are like spears and such... I guess I just prefer my dragons to be a bit more muscular as well as being serpentine.. my interpretation would be something like these with maybe just a bit longer neck
http://amisgaudi.deviantart.com/art/Blue-Dragon-138136026
http://paintedkelpie.deviantart.com/art/Smaug-281387096
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architecthis
Menegroth
Jun 19 2012, 11:48pm
Post #2 of 137
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If he had more traditional dragon proportions as well but he will likely be stretched out so to speak in light of the fact that the audience needs to believe that he fit through the main entrance to Moria - then again the entrance to Moria could really be quite large we haven't seen that yet.
One thing I always found fascinating and just mentioned in an earlier post today was Tolkien's description of a jewel crusted belly and I have never seen that feature interpreted very successfully in any depiction I've ever seen of him but I think it could be very interesting if executed properly. I imagine a glowing red dragon with an emotive face (hopefully not friendly though) and an underside encrusted with colorful gems.
I am very much looking forward to seeing how they've handled his design.
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architecthis
Menegroth
Jun 19 2012, 11:52pm
Post #3 of 137
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two of my favorite takes on him
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http://www.john-howe.com/portfolio/gallery/details.php?image_id=4
http://www.john-howe.com/portfolio/gallery/details.php?image_id=3
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Captain Salt
Dor-Lomin
Jun 20 2012, 12:01am
Post #4 of 137
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Bestial and powerful, ideally with a Germanic/Russian accent akin to the MoS to accentuate the alien/uniqueness of the Dragon even in such a fantastic land as ME...
However, I've just come across this more traditional design, which IMO is pretty cool due to its approximation of Ray Harryhausen's style...and according to the designer (on DeviantArt), the face was also modeled after Benedict Cumberbatch (I assume meaning something through which his motion-capture performance could be projected).
(Oversized images removed. Feel free to repost them in this thread once you've resized them - Ataahua.)
My Top 5 Wish List for "The Hobbit"
5. Legolas will surf down Smaug's neck
4. Bilbo will be revealed to a Robot
3. Naked PJ cameo as Ghan-Buri-Ghan
2. Use of not only 3D, but smell-o-vision, plus the inclusion of axes coming out of the seats and poking the audience when appropriate
1. Not only keep the claim that Thorin & Co. ran amok in Mirkwood "molesting people", but depict said incident in vivid detail!!!!!
(This post was edited by Ataahua on Jun 20 2012, 1:32am)
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BeornBerserker
Menegroth
Jun 20 2012, 12:19am
Post #5 of 137
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I am partial to his previous designs. His Smaug has a serpent look to him which is how I always pictured Tolkien's dragons.
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architecthis
Menegroth
Jun 20 2012, 12:28am
Post #6 of 137
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here is another interesting design
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a little too "komodo dragonish" for me, particularly in the arms but the head and colors are very interesting
if your not interested in the process skip to the end of the video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSyzn0rKPQ0&list=UUPhQQWE3DECf0bcjaEcGdkA&index=3&feature=plcp
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architecthis
Menegroth
Jun 20 2012, 12:29am
Post #7 of 137
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looks a little like a triceratops
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QuackingTroll
Doriath
Jun 20 2012, 12:42am
Post #8 of 137
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Never liked John Howe's Smaug...
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I love the iconic illustration of Smaug on his bed of gold, but Howe's other depictions look too animalistic and unintelligent. I love the long snake-like dragon's, though. Howe just gets the face wrong IMO.
(I'm specifically thinking of this one http://gilda.it/...agini/howe/smaug.jpg
"...For if joyful is the fountain that rises in the sun, its springs are in the wells of sorrow unfathomed at the foundations of the Earth"
(This post was edited by QuackingTroll on Jun 20 2012, 12:43am)
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Kangi Ska
Gondolin
Jun 20 2012, 12:58am
Post #9 of 137
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Kangi Ska Resident Trickster & Wicked White Crebain
Life is an adventure, not a contest.
At night you can not tell if crows are black or white.
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Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath
Jun 20 2012, 1:00am
Post #10 of 137
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I sincerely hope that they keep Tolkien's drawing in mind.
'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'
The Hall of Fire
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Sinister71
Dor-Lomin
Jun 20 2012, 1:29am
Post #12 of 137
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the top design is pretty beastial looking
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Captain, I actually like the concept of that one, the second one was one of the 2 that I posted as well which I also like  ... It's not that I think Smaug needs to look beastly and stupid on the contrary I want him beastly and super intelligent, something that first glance upon him your heart is going to sink thinking "oh crap, I'm about to be eaten" and then only to find out he's smart and devious and cunning as well as scares the heck out of you by his look alone... That he is going to play with his food almost like a cat does to a mouse.
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SirDennisC
Gondolin
Jun 20 2012, 1:56am
Post #15 of 137
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Yes, I'm partial to the long, sleek Smaug Tolkien imagined as well. //
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Sinister71
Dor-Lomin
Jun 20 2012, 1:58am
Post #16 of 137
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but drawings don't always play well into something we want to Actually see and feel and is really living and breathing on the screen... I actually think its cool that so many people like the Tolkien drawings or the skinny Smaug drawings of John Howe and Alan Lee, but for me on the screen those drawing are just not credible with the description that Tolkien gave us in the text of the book.Smaug needs to be physically powerful, inspiring fear from his image, as well as come off intelligent, menacing, and clever.
I think its great how many different interpretations of Smaug we get from reading the same text and seeing the same pictures but yet we all have a different image in our minds of how Smaug should look 
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Otaku-sempai
Elvenhome
Jun 20 2012, 2:04am
Post #17 of 137
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Tolkien compares Smaug's wings to those of a bat...
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Unfortunately, the professor doesn't seem to have known how to draw bat wings very well. Instead, Smaug's wings come off looking more like the non-articulated 'wings' found on a species of gliding lizard--wings that are actually formed from the reptile's ribs. This is especially true in the illustration of Smaug's demise.
"Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man's part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house." - Aragorn
(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Jun 20 2012, 2:05am)
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Captain Salt
Dor-Lomin
Jun 20 2012, 2:10am
Post #18 of 137
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Agreed, he needs to look frighteningly intelligent, and
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woops, sorry, yeah - just saw that you'd posted the second one! Well, it IS a great design!
My Top 5 Wish List for "The Hobbit"
5. Legolas will surf down Smaug's neck
4. Bilbo will be revealed to a Robot
3. Naked PJ cameo as Ghan-Buri-Ghan
2. Use of not only 3D, but smell-o-vision, plus the inclusion of axes coming out of the seats and poking the audience when appropriate
1. Not only keep the claim that Thorin & Co. ran amok in Mirkwood "molesting people", but depict said incident in vivid detail!!!!!
(This post was edited by Captain Salt on Jun 20 2012, 2:11am)
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RosieLass
Doriath
Jun 20 2012, 2:10am
Post #19 of 137
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...a crust of gems on his neck? That's kinda cool!
It is always those with the fewest sensible things to say who make the loudest noise in saying them. --Precious Ramotswe (Alexander McCall Smith)
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Captain Salt
Dor-Lomin
Jun 20 2012, 2:14am
Post #20 of 137
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I initially took it to be a crusty growth of some kind, but now that you mention it, it could indeed be wealth of Erebor stuck to his person..or, ah..dragonson?
My Top 5 Wish List for "The Hobbit"
5. Legolas will surf down Smaug's neck
4. Bilbo will be revealed to a Robot
3. Naked PJ cameo as Ghan-Buri-Ghan
2. Use of not only 3D, but smell-o-vision, plus the inclusion of axes coming out of the seats and poking the audience when appropriate
1. Not only keep the claim that Thorin & Co. ran amok in Mirkwood "molesting people", but depict said incident in vivid detail!!!!!
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Sinister71
Dor-Lomin
Jun 20 2012, 2:15am
Post #21 of 137
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heres another with his belly covered in gems
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Link here.
It's ok but not even close to one of my favorites
(This post was edited by Ataahua on Jun 20 2012, 4:37am)
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Captain Salt
Dor-Lomin
Jun 20 2012, 2:17am
Post #22 of 137
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Ooohh, really like the gems there! Hope to see something like that in the film. //
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My Top 5 Wish List for "The Hobbit"
5. Legolas will surf down Smaug's neck
4. Bilbo will be revealed to a Robot
3. Naked PJ cameo as Ghan-Buri-Ghan
2. Use of not only 3D, but smell-o-vision, plus the inclusion of axes coming out of the seats and poking the audience when appropriate
1. Not only keep the claim that Thorin & Co. ran amok in Mirkwood "molesting people", but depict said incident in vivid detail!!!!!
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SirDennisC
Gondolin
Jun 20 2012, 2:18am
Post #23 of 137
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Maybe he was talking about their membranous quality
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more than their shape, as if to make it clear that Smaug's wings were not feathered as, say, a chicken dinosaur's would be?
(This post was edited by SirDennisC on Jun 20 2012, 2:20am)
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duats
Hithlum
Jun 20 2012, 2:28am
Post #24 of 137
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Use Tolkien's design as a template, and go from there
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SirDennisC
Gondolin
Jun 20 2012, 2:35am
Post #25 of 137
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This might be a good time to request
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that we take a moment to make clickable links
find out how to do them here.
(This post was edited by SirDennisC on Jun 20 2012, 2:37am)
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