Hand drawn Thorin's map and Bilbo's portrait - WIP

[kalkamel]

Finally had some free time time so I thought I'd finally tackle Thorin's map from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Using pics of the Weta replica as reference, I drew the map using pens of differing nib sizes. After 10 hours on and off, here's what I ended up with:

Close-up of the detail:

I used a Sharpie for the pointing hand, the border and the runes

I then scanned the drawing in high resolution at 600dpi and printed it onto 200gsm textured watercolor paper:

For some reason, the red ink appears slightly lighter on the printed scan.

And here it is after tearing the edges and adding the creases:

I'll be weathering this soon and possibly also hand-write the moon runes using UV ink.

Taking a cue from Indy Magnoli, I also tried my hand at drawing Bilbo's portrait. Its nowhere near as nice as Tony's, but the likeness to Martin Freeman is there, methinks.

Close-up (ignore the pencil marks :lol)

I'll post up more pics after I've weathered them.

 

[vimardemol]

I look forward to seeing the map weathered

 

[kalkamel]

So am I.

 

[kalkamel]

Weathering done.

I just love how the rough texture of the watercolor paper enhances the weathering.

I also hand-wrote the moon runes using a UV ink pen. Tried to take some pics of it, but honestly, they don't do it justice.

Here is the map together with the weathered Bilbo portrait.

 

[Namssorg]

Awesome!! As soon as I saw this I thought, "Oh he HAS to do the moon runes!"

Very nice work. Great job weathering too!

 

[kalkamel]

Thanks, mate! Here's a better pic of the moon runes:

 

[Lifem2000]

That's really cool. Just a suggestion that you build a light box for the map so you can light the runes

 

[SofaKing01]

Wonderful!

 

[Indy Magnoli]

Great work, especially considering you used a Sharpie! UV runes are very hard to photograph, but I know the results are great, so good choice.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

That's some marvelous artwork. Well drawn! Are you going to accentuate the mountains and shapes on the map to make it appear to have depth?

 

[kalkamel]

Thanks, Tony! The Sharpie was used only for the pointing hand and the border. For the rest, I used several fountain pens. And you're right about photographic the UV ink... they need the right amount (or lack) of light to look just right to photograph! :lol

 

[kalkamel]

@Carsten, thanks for the kind words!

The prop map and Weta's replica doesn't seem to have much depth in the mountain as well and I had set out to replicate it as is.

 

[The Schlitzie]

That's an amazing job kalkamel! I love the UV reactive moon runes.

 

[EvilMatt666]

Brilliant work. I think your map looks better than the Weta prop. So "props" to you.

 

[Zagoner]

Brilliant work. I think your map looks better than the Weta prop. So "props" to you.

Agreed, This thing is amazing. Love the runes.

 

[laserpistol76]

You drew this by hand?! Amazing! It looks sooo much like the original.

 

[kalkamel]

Many thanks for the compliments, guys!

 

[Bilbo Baggins]

This is a good thing you do, kalkamel.

 

[kalkamel]

Just wanted to share the different versions of the map I've done.

As you'd probably know, two versions of the map appears in The Fellowship of the Ring, in the scene where Gandalf pays a visit to Bilbo at Bag End.

The first version appears framed when Gandalf picks it up:


The second version is the for close-up shots:


As you can see, the first version (framed) is the Tolkien version. The close-up version has the stylized Smaug and mountain, almost similar to the one featured in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as seen below.



Here are my versions:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey


The Fellowship of the Ring - framed version


The Fellowship of the Ring - close-up version


For the FOTR close-up version, I reused the same hand drawn scan I did of the Hobbit map, but I removed "Ravenhill" and changed the "Greenwood the Great" to "Mirkwood the Great - There are Spiders". And obviously the FOTR versions are more weathered compared to the Hobbit version. And yes, all three versions have UV handwritten moon runes.