"Then Fingolfin beheld (as it seemed to him) the utter ruin of the
Noldor, and the defeat beyond redress of all their houses; and filled
with wrath and despair he mounted Rochallor his great horse and rode
forth alone, and none might restrain him. He passed over
Dor-nu-Fauglith like a wind amid the dust, and all that beheld his onset
fled in amaze, thinking that Oromë himself was come: for a great
madness of rage was upon him, so that his eyes shone like the eyes of
the Valar. Thus he came alone to Angband's gates, and challenged
Morgoth to come forth to single combat.
...Therefore Morgoth came, climbing slowly from his subterranean throne, and the rumour of his feet was like thunder underground. And he issued forth clad in black armour; and he stood before the King like a tower, iron-crowned, and his vast shield, sable unblazoned, cast a shadow over him like a stormcloud. But Fingolfin gleamed beneath it as a star; for his mail was overlaid with silver, and his blue shield was set with crystals; and he drew his sword Ringil, that glittered like ice."
-Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin, The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
Here it is! My first painting. I spent a week in Photoshop, maybe two hours a day, although I ended up doing a lot more tinkering on it than I'd care to admit. The most obvious bit of tinkering in comparison to my original sketch was shrinking Fingolfin down. It makes the fight a little more one-sided, I think.
I'm probably going to do more Silmarillion artwork down the line, as my schedule permits, and I'm definitely going to practice doing more painterly work, but I don't think I'll be combining the two again anytime soon.
