to start in with a Lord of the Rings movie inspired character (though I'm sure I won't be the last.) This isn't supposed to be any particular person, just a generic Tolkien elf (though I sort of used the features of Hugo Weaving, the actor who plays Elrond, as a model.) This is still definitely in progress... I haven't finished the eyebrow morph or the clothes or skin textures yet. But I haven't done a full head morph from scratch in a long time, and I'm rusty. So I have two questions; first, any suggestions for making this guy look more Elvish? Second, is it readily apparent which Poser figure was the base for this character? Thanks, -nemo

Wow.... Sharen:-)

This looks fantastic. Do you think you could post a frontal view render also? Based on your color choices, I am guessing you are going for a woodsy elf. The only suggestion I have is for his ear tips to point upward a tad. Right now they look a little too severe. Tolkien's elves were usually described as taller than humans, lithe, and had a royal air about them. I think you have captured this perfectly.

i don't know who came to the idea that tolkien's elves have pointed ears. they do not! here's an excerpt from the book ainulindale ("the music of the ainur" e.i. the making of the world): "but the elves shall be the fairest of earthly creatures, and they shall have and shall conceive more beauty than all my children, and they shall have greater bliss in this world." "Elves were the fairest of all earthly creaturs and resembled the ainur in spirit. they were about six feet tall and somewhat slender, graceful but strong and resistant to the extremes of nature" from "fellowship of the ring": "the face of elrond was ageless, neither old nor youg, though in it was written the memory of many things both glad and sorrowful. his hair was dark as the shadows of twilght, and upon it was set a circlet of silver; his eyes were grey as a clear evening, and in them was a light like the light of stars. venerable he seemed as a king crowned with many winters, and yet hale as a tried warrior in the fulness of his strength." so elrond had a dark hair, but glorfindel and legolas had golden hair and were not that "bulky" as elrond. there's no such thing as "generic tolkien elf" - tolkien made a clear distinction between elf (as in folklore) and elves (as in his books). no offence, but your elrond looks more like a vulcan (or paraphrasing someone who called voyager's tuvok an "african american vulcan", he's an "native american elf" ;o)). his skin should be more pale and the clothes he should be wearing should be more simpler, no jewels (except the said circlet) and silver-grey-black. that's the problem with movie: one is so under impression of it that it totaly overwhelms your own fantasy. i don't know if you read the books prior to watching the movie, but i'm very reluctant to see it...

That looks GREAT!

Aleks, I dug this up from the Tolkien FAQ, since the ear issue is of some debate: Did Elves have pointed ears? [The Tolkien Newsgroups FAQ contains additional discussion of this issue.] They were evidently somewhat pointed; more so that human ears, at any rate. The only place this matter is addressed directly is in The Etymologies, published in The Lost Road. There, the following two entries for the element 'las' are given [Q == Quenya, N == Noldorin]: Las (1) *lasse 'leaf': Q lasse, N lhass; Q lasselanta 'leaf-fall, autumn', N lhasbelin (*lassekwelene), cf. Q Narquelion [ KWEL ]. Lhasgalen 'Greenleaf' (Gnome name of Laurelin). (Some think this is related to the next and *lasse 'ear'. The Quendian ears were more pointed and leaf-shaped than [human].) Las (2) 'listen'. N lhaw 'ears' (of one person), old dual *lasu -- whence singular lhewig. Q lar, lasta- 'listen'; lasta 'listening, hearing' -- Lastalaika 'sharp-ears', a name, cf. N Lhathleg. N lhathron 'hearer, listener, eavesdropper' (< *la(n)sro-ndo ) ; lhathro or lhathrando 'listen in, eavesdrop'. (The Lost Road, 367)

Wow...he's great...and, and....gotta ask...Is it the Dork?

Have to say it isn't the first but mine was more of a race than person .. Looks pretty good. though his features are a little bit too angular.

thanks kieraw! but since "the lost road" contains some very raw material and since it wasn't meant to be printed (at least that's what tolkien thought), and since it wasn't mentioned anywhere else but in this half-lost manuscript, i'm not sure if this should be taken as it is. it would be at least strange if those half-elves (as elrond) who had the chance to choose between their faith as elf or human, suddenly grow pointy ears if they chose elf ;O)

Wow! I think he looks great (pointy ears and all)! I am curious where you got his shirt or if you made it yourself. Thanks! Jay

sharen...it is fantastic! I am not good at guessing who it might be based from...I will guess Vicky but I really don't care. It is a womderful character. :)

I would say it's Vicky 2. Looks great. Mike

Thanks very very much for all the feedback! Aleks, yes, I have read the books. I first read them back in the early 1970s when all the hippies got into Tolkien, and I've re-read them on a regular basis since. :-> Though I'm not one of the people who knows all the lore and can write Elvish and stuff. I just enjoy the story. I haven't seen the film yet. I don't think it's been released. When I started the morph I went by a press photo I found on the web of Hugo Weaving as Elrond. I think I'm going to like the movie very much... it's one person's vision of Tolkien brought to life, yes, but very lovingly and faithfully done IMO. I don't know if you remember the very bad animated LotR movie that Ralph Bakshi did about twenty, twenty-five years ago... I was so disappointed in it. The new film is worlds away from that. It looks like it will be much better and truer to the books. "Generic" Elf was just meant to signify that he's not intended to be any particular Tolkien character. I gave him pointed ears because I imagine Elves to have pointed ears and I like the way that looks. I should say, though, I didn't make the ear morph... it's MabFairyQueen's excellent elf ear (I liked it better than the default one.) -nemo

I really, really appreciate all the help and suggestions with the Elf. I didn't think he'd get this much reaction... since it seems that people like him, would anyone want me to put him up in Free Stuff when I finish him and the image I'm using him for?

The Elf is based on Paul, WarriorDL's hybrid of Vicki and the P4 man, so he has Vicki's head. That's why I asked if anyone could tell which figure he came from. I kind of hate doing masculine faces from Vicki, because it seems like no matter how I morph that head, I can always see a bit of Vik staring out at me.

The Paul figure wears P4 Man clothes. The outfit in the picture is the Poserworld HenryVII P4Man outfit with a couple of new textures that I am working on. The one here is the "dressed up" texture for councils or whatever. There's another one with a leather coat and a plain grey shirt and trousers. Paul is a free item, too, so if you own Vicki 1 (Vicki 2 not needed) you'd be able to download him and use the Elf-guy. The HenryVII outfit is not free, it's part of the Poserworld subscription site.

Here's the Elf again full-front. And with a less severe expression (I was testing an "angry" sort of look for him to wear as he was shooting an arrow.) The nose is giving me fits still... it is too Native American looking. I'm trying to do a patrician sort of nose.

-nemo

I love him. If you posted him to Free Stuff I would grab him in a heartbeat. I just love those clothes. I think I need to get a PW subscription. =) What hair is that?

The hair is another not-free item, sorry... :-< But it's not expensive and it's really worth the price. It's Vairesh's Maiden Hair from the store, one of the few long-hair models I've seen that doesn't look sissy on the guys. Okay, when I get done with the Elf he goes in Free Stuff... :-> The skin textures will go with him. I'll put in all the morphs except for the elf ears (I'll have to check with MabFairyQueen about that. People could always use the default elf ears instead.) I'll include instructions for how to use him with the Paul figure. I'll add the clothing textures too, for the people who own the HenryVII outfit. He also has Elvish armor I'm working on that uses Lourdes Mercado's free LM Armor for the Dork, and I'll put that texure in as well. I still have to fix his eyebrow morph, fix that danged nose, finish painting the skin textures, finish painting the clothes textures, and make him some boots (I haven't found any boots I like yet, so I'm going to make some instead.) Once all that is done, I'll have to find somewhere to host the file (my webhost won't allow it.) I'll try to have him done and available before Christmas. :-> Thanks again for the helpful feedback, folks. -nemo

Oh my.. your elf made me click on a new hair in the store. cry You're right. That hair is great for a male character. I have to get that, too.

I think he looks really good so far. I personally always like the occasional angularish elf face, but this one isn't overly angular. It just looks masculine elfish. I think he fits the description of regal and lithe. Yeah, the default elf ear would have to do, but I'll be putting the tapered elf ear in other upcoming products as a bonus, like I did with the sea nymph. That way more people will have a chance to get it. What hair is that? Did you make it? I really like it. I like the effect of mixing the tapered elf ear with the animal ear of victoria 2. Neat effect to try sometime. Makes a neat animal/elf ear. It also makes santa hats fit better. :o)

Default elf ear it is... :-> I couldn't remember where I got the obj morph for the ears, if it was FreeStuff or what, but of course you're right and it came with the purchase of the Sea Nymph. So anyone who doesn't own the Nymph can use the default elf ears, and if they do own the Nymph, they can put the Mab ears in themselves. It's a really great ear morph. -nemo

Looks really good and I sure I would snap it up. I do like that ear morph too. And the maiden hair is awesome for guys if only I could get it to work a little better for me on my mac (names are a little too long and have to load the maps manually and all) but it is great hair.

Can we get a face closeup? The eyes intrigue me :) Lovely character - you got me on the figure thing. I looked at the head and said "mike" and looked at the body and said "dork" Huh? I think it's something abuot the cheekbones/eye area that the milpeople have, and the dork has distinctive tendons in the neck. (I think I've been doing this too long) Lyrra

I would love him....He's gorgeous. And, hey, now...Maybe he would like to team up with the lovely Dorkerina? I bet they'd have alot in common ;*) Pop...Pop...Poppi!!!

Just wanted to add to the enthusiasm with my own "he looks wonderful". I was kind of wondering when the LotR characters were going to start showing up and, by the way, I don't consider owning up to being excited about the movie an admission into nerd city. I'd love to see his female counterpart as well.

Here you go, Lyrra. This is the Elf with the default ears instead of Mab's ears. The head closeup shows that I still have a ways to go with the texture, which includes finishing painting the eyes. I started painting in his eyebrows, but when I morphed the eyebrow area, the painted brows came in too low. I have to move them higher. I also am still working on painting a lash texture for him... right now he's wearing Vicki's "mascara" lashes, which don't look too good, but he's going to have his own shorter, dark-brown lashes soon.

Yeah, Poppi, Paul is Dorkerina's second cousin.... :-> I haven't seen any other characters for Paul, but there must be some. He's very useful. It sounds weird to have a figure with Vicki's head and the Dork's body, but it's actually a great idea. Male faces made with Vicki's head go better with the Dork's more slender body. To my mind, Mike is just too meaty to make a good Elf. Plus there's so many great free fantasy-type outfits for the Dork... there's not as much free stuff for Mike. So a big thanks to WarriorDL for making Paul.

-nemo

Most Mike characters don't appeal to me.. I don't use him much. I like fantasy images and weird gothic people. Mike is too big to serve well in that regard, although I looked at skinny Mike with some interest in the marketplace today. I had never heard of the Paul character. I have to go hunt him down. ;)

Attached Link: http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com

BTW, though I've only read "The Hobbit," LoTR fans should know that while the film officially opens wide on Wednesday (and tickets have been available online), the buzz from those who have seen it have generally loved it. If you're interested, you can check the link.

the plucked eyebrows on the last render freak me out (he wears blue eyeshadow and glitter mascara when we're not looking) g otherwise he looks great :)

Attached Link: http://www.lordoftherings.net

There's also an official movie site with lots of pictures and downloads. With it being three movies instead of one, there's a good chance they'll do the story justice. And I have to say that I was delighted by Elijah Wood as Frodo... the pictures of Frodo on the movie site look *exactly* the way I've imagined Frodo for almost thirty years. The actor who plays Sam Gamgee also fits the book description very well. I'm a whole lot less thrilled about Liv Tyler as Arwen, but at least she's a minor character. Thankfully, they didn't seem to do too much "star power" type casting. Imagine Sean Connery as Gandalf, Brad Pitt as Aragorn, Gwyneth Paltrow as Galadriel, Tom Cruise as Frodo... ugh. Shudders upon shudders. Though at least Tom Cruise would be the right height... :-> -nemo

" the plucked eyebrows on the last render freak me out (he wears blue eyeshadow and glitter mascara when we're not looking)" That's his Vicki side coming out... :-> You just can't keep a good supermodel down. I had just started roughing in the eyebrows when I realized I was going to have to move them. It does look freakish. He's going to have real eyebrows here pretty soon. Paul takes a Vicki head texture and a P4 Dork body texture, which makes things harder and which is part of the reason why I started painting my textures from scratch. I sure wish Paul took Mike maps like your P4MSkin instead. -nemo -nemo

how bout vicki head map and mike body map? cos i thought warriordl was gonna do all those combos. by the way, hugo weaving does have that puffy upper eyelid look that contributes to the blue eyeshadow rumour. saw him in Priscilla Queen of the Desert? can't get that image outta my head. ;) Gwyneth Paltrow as Galadriel screams ozzie ozzie ozzie!!!

He looks great! Would I have to have Vickie in order to use him? If not I too would snap him up if you put him in free stuff! You do fantastic work:)

Thanks, Moonbow... sorry, yes, you'd need Vicki (either 1 or 2.) I tried doing an elf with the default Poser guy, but it just wouldn't come out right. April says, "by the way, hugo weaving does have that puffy upper eyelid look that contributes to the blue eyeshadow rumour. saw him in Priscilla Queen of the Desert? can't get that image outta my head. ;)" I think the first movie I ever saw Hugo Weaving in was Proof. But I have to admit that when I saw him on the Lord of the Rings site, my first reaction was "Holy crap! Agent Smith from "The Matrix" is Elrond!" :-> Gwyneth Paltrow as Galadriel screams No joke. I scared myself with that one.

To my mind, Mike is just too meaty to make a good Elf. Lolol...To my mind, Mike is too meaty to even be one of my clowns. I love this one that you made. He is Gorgeous. And, I heard the word "free" somewhere in this thread. Tonight, you can be my hero. Pop...Pop...Pop!!!

Moonbow yes, you do have to have Vicky (1) to use Paul, but he's well worth it, and so is she. That's an excellent figure, and the texture is wonderful. If that popped into freestuff, I would see it as a great freestuff day indeed! Personally, I like the eyebrows. I think the elves should look a little freakish, and not just freakishly beautiful. It's one of the things that grabbed me about the character.

And for proof - here's my WIP Silk- the fairy prince. Yes he's Mike based. Yes, he's about 5'2"

Lyrra

Cool. Someone found an awesome usage for Paul :o)

Attached Link: http://home.wxs.nl/~radiant/Home.htm

Perfect ! Comes very close to LotR elves... Count me in if you want to post it !!!

Hey there all. First I'd like to say, fauve, that I really love your elf skin! But I would like to point this more towards "aleks". His post was a long time ago but I've just been back to the site after a long while and I'd like to say a thing or two. First of all I will admit that I agree that the elf could be paler and the clothes more simple. However, I would like to say that I believe that books are extremely open to interpretation by the reader. This is the nature of books, to allow the reader to make their own images of the book in their mind. In conclusion, aleks, you're a tightass