Character: Thorin Oakenshield
Series: The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
Portrayed by: Richard Armitage in Peter Jackson's Trilogy
Materials: Copics & White Gel Pen
Style: Anime-ish

Current art style (bishie anime-ish) meets old love (LotR). Not sure if I pulled it off, it's interesting I can say. Hair was fun, I loved doing his wavy hair.

Let me start with a tale of a student just finished high school, about to start university and she's FINALLY read Lord of the Rings over summer break. She thinks 'well hey this would make a GREAT movie, I wonder if they did one in the 80s' (thinking Excalibur or Indiana Jones style). Did an internet search, low and behold, a splattering of info on a new trilogy to come out at the end of the year. She wasn't fussed on the actor choices (who ARE these people?!) and promptly forgot about it until later on in the year when more pictures came out with 'Hugo Weaving is ELROND?!'
Toys came out, they were collected. Release date was released, trailers watched (on a slow uni connection when I snuck it in). Soundtrack was bought and played constantly.
Parents said 'I'm not driving you to the cinema on Boxing Day'. Dashed hopes, how the hell was I going to GET to that cinema, it's a public holiday so no buses were running. Screw it, I'll get my license, so I bought the car older than me from the neighbour and learnt to drive, obtaining my license one week before premiere. Great all set.
Christmas? Don't remember, was sooo excited, barely could sleep. Over night bush fires engulfed the mountains to the north, roads were closed, but our area was still safe, smokey (eerie weird empty roads), but we were there. Black Riders scared the crap out of me, OMGOSH scary Bilbo!

Ringquest forum was discovered and lived there, still keep in touch with some of the members . Didn't frequent the Netscape boards so much. Made own website. Had hideous wallpaper stolen and sold on eBay with 'official signatures' signed two months before was made.
Fast forward almost 6 months, DVD and Video was coming out, only who wants to watch a crappy VCR anymore? So I went halves in a DVD player purely for this DVD. More toys came out, also collected (is that a CAVE Troll?!!!!) second and third movies, learnt Quenyan elvish (I did also start to learn Sindarin from lessons a friend on Ringquest made which I put up on my website). Made a Legolas-ish cosplay that was worn next two movie premieres.

Special Editions kept it alive then the toys ran out, merchandise paused and it became legend. Love never died. Made my then boyfriend carry a huge scaled to the rest of the action figures Balrog from the store in Melbourne to our hotel several blocks down and across (poor guy, hey at least I married him!).

Ringquest died, The Hobbit wasn't happening, toys still on display in my house (picked up a discarded light up Sting that someone returned to the toy shop for dirt cheap).

The Hobbit is being made! Excitement happens, then strangely gets quiet. Researched little, see a few promos, but not much else. Found out release dates. FUUUU- WHY is the Australian release date 2 WEEKS after the rest of the world?! WHY?! WHY?! Ranting and raving happened. 'Screw it I'm going to New Zealand'.

New Zealand booked, everyone thinks she's crazy, who goes to another country to watch a movie? Got into Auckland after some tornadoes at some am time of the morning. Walking down, nothing Hobbit related, then Dwarf arches, take lots of blurry photos, more quest as we walk down and a giant Dwarf statue (like front of Erebor) in the airport. Had arrived in Middle Earth!
We tried to find Weathertop, think saw it, wasn't sure (road was gravel). Hobbiton? Check.
Taupo? Check. (Went to the dam where the barrel scene was filmed? Check.)
Mordor? Semi-check, had a long drive ahead.
Wellington? Check. Embassy Theatre? Check.
Watch the movie? Check. Check and check.
Weta? Check. (Minus a few $)
Time to go home? Nooooooooooooo.

So since Australian release dates are screwed again, we are going back, doing South island instead. Beautiful place, well worth the visit.

TL;DR I'm Lord of the Rings obsessed and do many strange things because of it.