Frodo:

I can't do this, Sam.

Sam:
I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are.
It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?
But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why.
But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.


Frodo:
What are we holding onto, Sam?


Sam:
That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.

 The above quote is one of the best in all of Lord of the Rings. And the above picture is the best I have ever drawn, LotR or not.

My dad's favorite LotR character is Sam. He went with Frodo every step of the way, and yet he didn't need to. He is loyal, corageous, and loving. It is Sam, as much as Frodo, who saved Middle-Earth.

After Gandalf, Aragorn, and Arwen, I decided to make a drawing of Sam for Father's Day. I searched all around, but had great difficulties finding any picture that personified Samwise Gamgee. I finally printed out one of the promotional portriats, with Sam smiling. That very day, I found a peice of art by professional artist Esteljif on Deviantart. I was astounded that the picture was not a photo! Esteljif generously sent me the screencap that I based my drawing off of-- this scene is shown for a short second at the end of The Two Towers, right after the above quote is spoken.

My fingers refused to rest! I worked on this drawing for 4 days, and usually after everyone went to bed and it was quiet. I have no idea how long I worked each day-- well over two hours! I got as caught up drawing as I do when reading a page-turner.




I am rather pleased with the drawing. It is certainly the best I have ever drawn. I think I managed to get emotion in it, despite the extreme technical difficulties (such as the angle of Frodo's face).

 Of course, now that I have put the picture in a frame, I realize that the shadow on Sam's left eye needs to be darker, and his right cheek narrower. Oh, well! :)
This was my first chance to use my drawing board. :) It is also the first time in years that I have used the dreaded graphing method. I prefer to anaylze my drawings into various underlying shapes and go total freehand. I was daunted by this picture, though, and drew a light 4 by 6 grid over both the screencap and my paper. I used it to help me with basic placement, though I soon erased the lines and did the rest by eye.

I took pictures along the way (seeing the drawing on an inch-big screen helps me as much or more than turning it upside down).

Here are those WIP (Work In Progress) pictures. I put them in a slideshow. Click the bottom right button to go to the photo album, where you can see the pictures much larger.



Here are some more pictures: