Race Against Time #1 : A Crisp Morning

Full view please !

(...) "Fíli! Look!"
Fíli whirled around and searched the woods for whatever it was that Kíli saw. His eyes caught it almost immediately – a large buck, not too far away – at least, close enough to shoot.
"Can you shoot it?" Kíli said.
"I don't know," Fíli whispered. "I can try."
"Oh, that would be good for dinner tonight," Kíli said with excitement. "Give it a shot." He ran toward the buck quietly, hiding behind a tree. The buck remained still, munching on some vegetation. Kíli looked back at Fíli and nodded.
Fíli took in a deep breath and strung an arrow into Kíli's bow. He pulled back the arrow swiftly and took aim, his heart pounding. This would be so much easier with one of his knives – he wouldn't have felt any nervousness at all, then. But now he felt the double pressure of bringing home a good meal and not embarrassing himself in front of his younger brother. He hesitated.
"What are you waiting for?" hissed Kíli. "Shoot it!"
Fíli took another deep breath and focused on the buck. He blew out slowly and readied to release the taut string.
Suddenly, a branch fell from a nearby tree, startling the buck and causing it to dash. Fíli faltered.
"Shoot it!" Kíli shouted.
Fíli quickly pulled the bow again and turned to catch the buck in its path, releasing without fully aiming in his panic to catch it. He missed, and the buck got away. (...)
(Race Against Time, chapter 1 - by Italian Hobbit [link])

So, this is the first piece in what's going to be a long series : I'm illustrating the wonderful Fíli/Kíli fanfiction written by the lovely Italian Hobbit, Race Against Time (one chapter = one illustration). If you don't know it, I suggest you go and read this amazing story right now (see link above).

I just love drawing Fíli and Kíli having fun, laughing and joking together (enjoy it while it lasts, guys ; this is the last time you'll see them smile in quite a while. I'm afraid the next pieces will be all blood, toil, tears and sweat. ). And as usual, I had loads of fun researching all the little details and patterns in their outfits - the story takes place a long time before the events of The Hobbit and I'm not sure they would actually be wearing these same clothes, but I really wanted to draw the beautiful movie costumes. I used Weta Workshop's The Hobbit - Art & Design book (a must-have ♥) as my primary source of inspiration.

Anyway - my dear Stephanie, this is dedicated to you, I hope you like it !

Next illustration : [link]

Made in Photoshop CS5
Fíli & Kíli © J.R.R. Tolkien ; story © Italian Hobbit.