thistlesandstories

[thistlesandstories]

“The world might crumble, but Nikolai Lantsov would be holding up the ceiling with one hand and plucking a speck of dirt from his lapel with the other when it all went to ruin”

Instagram proved quite frustrating when it comes to posting a cosplay photos, so I thought that maybe Tumblr would appreciate my new Nikolai Lantsov cosplay more.

📸 @ofmiceandwomen

#nikolai lantsov #grishaverse #shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov cosplay #the grisha series #grishaverse cosplay #book cosplay #cosplay #king of scars #the grisha trilogy #shadow and bone netflix

[thistlesandstories]

The portrait of the prince, taken and edited by @thistlesandstories (as well as the other pictures of me)

I had a great time at the local convention. I’m happy to announce that me and @thistlesandstories won the cosplay contest as the absolute winner, we earned awesome rewards and most importantly we really had fun and I am very grateful to @the-symphony-of-lydia-brown for helping us coming up with the presentation ideas an turned it into an entertaining spectacle.

This is our team. We are proud of ourselves

Both of the costumes are original designs made by us. We used multiple artworks and historical clothing references. I wrote more on it here

Some more pictures:

Bonus: comparison to the portrait by spectacular artist @jennydolfen

[thistlesandstories]

First shots of my Fingon cosplay are finally here.

IG: @thistlesandstories

#the silmarillion #fingon #silmarillion #cosplay #silmarillion cosplay #book cosplay #tolkien elf #silmarillion art #silm art #lord of the rings cosplay #fantasy costume #fantasy cosplay #Fingon cosplay

[thistlesandstories]

We might guess that the ships were as important to the Teleri as the Silmarils were to Fëanor. You are bound to love the creation you put so much effort, time and a piece of your soul into. It is a sad image of Fëanor burning the ships that were once so lovingly cherished, and with them he killed the Teleri once again.

#silm art #the silmarillion #lotr art #silmarillion #silmarillion art #tolkien #teleri #feanor #losgar

[thistlesandstories]

Fingon the Valiant

#the silmarillion #silm art #tolkien #fingon #tolkien art #lotr art #silmarillion #silm elves #silmarillion art

[thistlesandstories]

Sharing my favourite art again. I have a soft spot for the Ñolofinwëans

I wasn’t really sure if I would colour it myself because I hate painting backgrounds so much will I ever do such elaborate thing? I don’t think so.

Fingolfin reading to little Argon, while his eldest son Fingon plays some relaxing music on his harp. Turgon finished transcribing some books while little Aredhel wants to go out.

Lineart: available for free so you can colour it yourself.

#Fingolfin is so cute #silm art #silmarillion #fingon #noldor #tolkien

[thistlesandstories]

Glorfindel can be such a drama queen. He seems like the type who lies down and eat a bucket of ice cream whenever they are upset.

It’s my very first attempt at digital watercolour painting.

#glorfindel is such a drama queen #poor suffering soul

[thistlesandstories]

Glorfindel's last stand. And where he stands is where he falls.

#silm art #lords of gondolin #glorfindel #the silmarillion #lotr art #gondolin #silmarillion #balrog #tolkien #fall of gondolin #silmarillion fanart

[thistlesandstories]

He showed me that to rebel was right and just, when you considered what the agents of the Authority did in His name.

#his dark materials #asriel #lord asriel #his dark materials art #hdm art #asriel belacqua #lyra silvertongue #james mcavoy #hdm season 3 #hdm

[thistlesandstories]

spiral_of_doom.png

#silm art #the silmarillion #fingon #silmarillion #sauron #feanor #maedhros #curufin #fingolfin #celegorm #mairon

[thistlesandstories]

I love him with all my heart.

Archangel Michael, aka the big brother and the ultimate good guy.

[thistlesandstories]

What are the lords laughing at? (Duilin and Glorfindel, probably pranking some poor other lord).

Or they are laughing for me not willing to draw their hands properly

[thistlesandstories]

My first design of Rog, Lord of the House of the Hammer of Wrath. There surely is some wrath in his expression.

#Rog #gondolin #sketch #lords of gondolin #silm art #the silmarillion #the fall of gondolin #Hammer of Wrath #tolkien art

[thistlesandstories]

You said everyone you know one day will surely die

But everything that dies in some way returns.

#art dump #silm art #the silmarillion #glorfindel #tolkein #gondolin #lords of gondolin #lotr art #the silm fandom

[thistlesandstories]

This is a thing that exists. Which I helped to create btw.

On the fashion of the Gondolindrim

I have realised that I did quite a research regarding sensible fashion design for the 1st age elves and that I could share what I had learned.

The Gondolindrim live in a secluded valley in abundance. The city’s beauty and glory is close to that of Tirion. They have been living in relative safety for about four hundred years which is more than average American city. They are scholars and artists with multiple cultural influences and a loooot of time on their hands.

Materials

The Gondolindrim would probably use a lot of silk and metal fibres. Oh wait - is someone objecting that the silk moths are proliferating mostly in warmer climates? Totally right. But there are plenty other moths that produce their own kinds of silk and are adapted for colder climates too, the properties of these silks are just not as convenient for weaving as the silk moth’s cocoons. Maybe an obstacle for a human but certainly not for an elf. They probably love layered gowns with subtle embroidery creating 3D impressions and ethereal elegance, or prefer exquisite brocades with ornaments (probably ocassionaly using the house emblems). As for winter fabrics, Silk velvet would be the choice. I can imagine them trying to avoid using too much fur and furs mostly serve as decorative trims.

Egalmoth wearing his complicated attire including layered cloak with goldwork stars and diamonds . His hair is braided, although most of it is loose - probably Glorfindel influenced.

Colouring and patterns

This is the difficult part as each elf has probably their own taste. The lords usually sport their own colours but it doesn’t have to be a rule - they have multiple outfits and since they have their personal lives as well, I highly doubt they strictly stick to their emblem colour. As for the patterns, they don’t need to worry about the fabric waste so their clothes are probably well fitted and flattering. Lower classes clothes are beautiful as well but have probably much looser fit.

Left: Penlod sporting a light grey silk shirt. Right: Ecthelion’s costume design.

Influences and fashion icons

Now we have celebrities and big name fashion brands to set the trends. However, in the past, the nobility was responsible for that. I assume there were three major trend setters influencing the other lords and citizens: Turgon (the king), Egalmoth (aka the rich one) and Glorfindel (the pretty one). Turgon’s gowns (or…Turgowns? I will see myself out) are usually white with red silk lining and subtle but intricate embroidery, combined with some jewellery. As for the length of the robes it probably varies by the occasion. His style is followed mostly by Penlod, who is very fond of white as well. Egalmoth has a thing for jewels and rainbow colours, which makes his clothing extravagant and lavish. He is probably very fond of embroidery and even his outfits for archery trainings are masterfully crafted. His trademark, however, is the goldwork combined with gemstones and beads (a type of embroidery using metallic threads). His ceremonial attires are very complicated, however many elves struggle to follow his example mostly because of the costs. There are several elves that probably managed to customise his style for their needs - for example, Ecthelion is said to be very fond of diamonds. Since he is the lord of the Fountain and probably very fond of water he usually wears subtle blues adorned with sparkly diamonds droplets imitating the rain droplets. Then we have Glorfindel. If you look at eg. Fingon, we know he wears his hair in braids adorned with gold. I can imagine the Noldor in Valinor were fond of difficult hairstyles which probably persists in Hithlum. Glorfindel decided to ditch this trend once for all and leaves his hair loose for everyone to admire. His garment choices are significantly simpler than Egalmoth’s, he is avoiding long robes and his priority is movement and comfort. His favourite fabrics include linen and subtle brocade, sometimes embroidered. His choices are probably the most popular in the city as they usually reflect the nature (which must make the Sindarin citizens very happy). As for the female trend setters, we have Aredhel (but she has taste very similar to Turgon, the only difference would be probably the pattern) and Idril, who probably prefers loosely fitted garments with subtle jewellery. She is known for her negative attitude toward shoes which might be related to her Vanyarin legacy (I imagine Vanyar wearing very simple clothes unlike the crafty Noldor- their priorities don’t concern material things as much).

Salgant’s last outfit is mostly inspired by the King’s style. The short tunic suggests that he is wearing an informal outfit. The cape is made of silver velvet.

Ouch. This was long.

Special thanks to my partner who helped a lot with all the research. It means a lot for me. All the art belongs to me. I apologise in case there are some grammar errors, I’m not a native speaker.

Feel free to ask me anything. I will try my best to answer your questions as fast as possible.

Are you interested in more costume designs or references? ❤️ I’m about to open commissions and I can include this cathegory as well.