Some Unexpected Heroes

thorin oakenshield and his golden harp

I don't know if this was obvious to everyone else, but I just realised that one of the reasons why the Hobbit is so effective as a children's book is that while Bilbo is an adult, the skills that make him a hero are all those of a child.

By human standards he's child-sized, which makes him unobtrusive and light on his feet. He can slip by unnoticed where bigger people can't.

He's good at playing games, and even cheats (successfully!) in a way that - let's face it - is not so different to how children try to cheat at games. He's polite in a way that's fully comprehensible to children (rather than, say, being able to perform courtly manners). He's quick-witted, but the trick of keeping the trolls talking is also one that would be achievable for a child.

He doesn't have magic powers, he's not a great fighter, and he's not some kind of Chosen One. There's not much that he does that couldn't be done by a ten-year-old, but the story shows just how valuable all those skills and traits are. It's very empowering.

"Fair lady!" said Frodo again after a while. "Tell me, if my asking does not seem foolish, who is Tom Bombadil?" "He is," said Goldberry, staying her swift movements and smiling. Frodo looked at her questioningly. "He is, as you have seen him," she said in answer to his look. "He is the Master of wood, water, and hill." "Then all this strange land belongs to him?" "No indeed!" she answered, and her smile faded. "That would indeed be a burden," she added in a low voice, as if to herself. "The trees and the grasses and all things growing or living in the land belong each to themselves. Tom Bombadil is the Master. No one has ever caught old Tom walking in the forest, wading in the water, leaping on the hill-tops under light and shadow. He has no fear. Tom Bombadil is master."

— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

gandalf the grey

Behind the Hobbit:

“ The funny is that everybody gets our names wrong. Everybody gets Fili and Kili wrong. Even Peter will go, “Kili- eh, Fili.” “ -Dean O’Gorman.

Merry and Pippin because I love LOTR and I can’t believe I’ve never drawn anything for it. More to come?

Commissions are open! Doodles and sketches are $5-10 +$5 for color!

Elf Soldier costume

Actor: Various

Designer: Weta Workshop and Bob Buck

Made By: Armour and Weapons by Weta Workshop, Fabric Elements by 3 foot 7 Costume Dept.

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Post 8/21 from the Costume Trail in Wellington. Another very reflective display case. Message me if you’d like higher resolution photos or other detail shots because I got loads of this costume and the Elf Lieutenant costume.

More costumes from the Hobbit here.

balin and ori 🪶💤

you can get a print here: inprnt!

by: donさんのページ

I’ve reprinted this Smaug risograph a few times now and I’m really digging the HOT fluorescent orange on brown paper in this batch 🤌 These have been restocked and are up in my shop!