I know that whenever I do this FFG has to probably email the artist to take down the art until the product is released and is probably a pain, but I still want to read your guy's opinion on them so I share them. With that said, artist GammaGrey uploaded two new pieces of art, very much likely to be enemies from Flame of the West.

Mordor orc

Corsairs of Umbar

Whoever painted this, he or she can challenge Magali (I'm serious).)

Yes they seem to be for Flame of the West

I would not say they challenge Megali but I like them ... the Orc is pretty ugly as it should

Anyone painting orcs as big, heavily muscled creatures hasn't read the books.

Or even watched the films properly.

This isn't Skyrim or WOW. Men like Aragorn and Boromir are the hulking monstrosities of the setting.

Okay, I exaggerated a bit. All that really matters to me is that the artwork is better than mine. And 3 year-olds already do that ☺

I usually try not to comment on art because I easily dislike something that must have taken time and effort, and I like the art for this game in general, some of it very much so, but I looked at these pics, and disliked them, especially the orc.

Anyone painting orcs as big, heavily muscled creatures hasn't read the books.

Or even watched the films properly.

This isn't Skyrim or WOW. Men like Aragorn and Boromir are the hulking monstrosities of the setting.

Orcs have a wide variety of sizes, but it is certain from the books that they are on the shorter side. Frodo and Sam posed more-or-less successfully as orcs, and Gorbag's armor would have been a good fit for Frodo. Gimli bested Legolas by one by hewing the necks of orcs, a difficult task should they be anywhere man-sized. The only orc described as "huge" (that I know of) is the orc-chieftain that speared Frodo, described as "a huge orc-chieftain, almost man-high".

Heavily muscled is more difficult. I certainly wouldn't expect it of the smaller orcs, but the big (relatively speaking) fighters may well be heavily muscled. I would be quite surprised if the orc-chieftain were not. Here's the full description: "a huge orc-chieftain, almost man-high, clad in black mail from head to foot, leaped into the chamber.... His broad flat face was swart, his eyes were like coals, and his tongue was red, he wielded a great spear. With a thrust of his huge hide shield he turned Borormir's sword and bore him backwards, throwing him to the ground. Diving under Aragorn's blow with the speed of a striking snake he charged into the Company and thrust with his spear straight at Frodo." The blow was of sufficient force to hurl Frodo and pin him against the wall. In my book, if you are clad in mail from head to foot, carrying a "huge hide shield" and a "great spear", and you can still *leap* into the room, knock Boromir (!) to the ground, dodge Aragorn's (!) sword-thrust and still get off a blow that "would have skewered a wild boar" (in Aragorn's words), you've got to be heavily muscled. That's Arnold territory, there.

He's clearly an exceptional specimen, but the text does make clear that the Black Uruks and especially Uruk-Hai are large for orcs and are capable of feats of strength and endurance. Depicting them as heavily muscled is permissible, I think, by the text, though depicting them as man-sized or taller would not.

Turning to Boromir and Aragorn, the text establishes that they are tall, but "heavily muscled" or especially "hulking monstrosities" would be an artist's fancy, not something that arises from the text -- and less justifiable, I think, than in the case of the orc-chieftain. The initial description of Boromir doesn't mention his size at all apart from being tall, let alone his musculature. The initial description of Aragorn doesn't even mention his height, understandable because he was sitting and Butterbur immediately mentions his "long shanks". But if he had been a "hulking monstrosity", that should've been apparent even seated.

Boromir's strength gets a textual boost when forcing his way through the snow at Caradhras. He and Aragorn are referred to as the strongest, and Boromir takes the lead in forcing the way through. "Aragorn was the tallest of the company, but Boromir, little less in height, was broader and heavier in build. He led the way, and Aragorn followed him. Slowly they moved off, and were soon toiling heavily. In places the snow was breast-high, and often Boromir seemed to be swimming or burrowing with his great arms rather than walking." There is admittedly some space between "broader and heavier in build" and "hulking monstrosity", but having grown up in an area with snow I am impressed by forcing a way through breast-high snowdrifts (even newly fallen), though it doesn't rate nearly as high on my personal Arnold scale as the orc-chieftain's exploits. But Pippin at the least is mightily impressed. "Pippin marvelled at this strength, seeing the passage that he had already forced with no other tool than his great limbs. Even now, burdened as he was, he was widening the track for those who followed, thrusting the snow aside as he went." Boromir's claim is more modest. "But happily your Caradhras has forgotten that you have Men with you.... And doughty Men too, if I may say it; though lesser men with spades might have served you better."

With regards to the artwork, I see that the orc is heavily muscled, but he certainly gives the impression of being broad rather than tall, and I see nothing in the picture to give a scale and turn him into a "hulking monstrosity" rather than just a muscle-bound Uruk of their usual height. Frankly, artwork of Boromir or especially Aragorn depicting either as a "hulking monstrosity" would offend my Tolkien sensibilities -- this does not.

I also find odd the suggestion that the artist would know better if they had "watched the films properly". I doubt I've watched the films properly, but I did see enough to know it is NOT a trustworthy rendition of the books, and any artist would be unwise to rely on the films in any respect, if they are seeking to create an illustration based on the books. If my memory serves, in respect to orcs they tend to be much taller in the films than they should be from the books, though it has been a while and my memory could be wrong on this point. I certainly don't remember the non-canonical Lurtz as being either small or not heavily muscled.

The art matches perfectly what the orcs are like in the game - tough and mean! It makes sense when the average orc enemy has equal or better attack and defense stats than Aragorn.

Great artwork, as usual.

I couldn't find this artist in Hall of Beorn card search site. I guess he is new to the game, right? Then, I hope to see more like this.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of these to be honest. They're not bad, and they fit with the rest of the game's artwork, but they just don't stand out in any way to me. They follow this very overrated trend in modern gaming art (and movies for that matter) of being super dark and grey, with the colors muted and dull (though not as bad as some of the core set art). Sometimes it's called for, don't get me wrong, but the problem with making everything so grey is that it ends up being boring and forgettable. Not bad, but it could use a bit more color.

If they are indeed from Flame of the West though, dark and grey seems appropriate, given the dark clouds that Sauron summoned to block the sun during the battles of Osgiliath and the Pelennor Fields

If they are indeed from Flame of the West though, dark and grey seems appropriate, given the dark clouds that Sauron summoned to block the sun during the battles of Osgiliath and the Pelennor Fields

I respectfully disagree. Artwork is still artwork. Dark and grey also fits Moria, for example, and yet I much rather prefer the artwork in Darkened Stairway and Many-pillared Hall (TRD) than, say, Upper Hall (Khazad-dum). Not that Upper Hall lacks any charm, but the other two leave a much bigger impact.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of these to be honest. They're not bad, and they fit with the rest of the game's artwork, but they just don't stand out in any way to me. They follow this very overrated trend in modern gaming art (and movies for that matter) of being super dark and grey, with the colors muted and dull (though not as bad as some of the core set art). Sometimes it's called for, don't get me wrong, but the problem with making everything so grey is that it ends up being boring and forgettable. Not bad, but it could use a bit more color.

Well, I agree. As you said, LotR LCG art direction is very high fantasy, cinematic, and dark and gritty here and there. Gondorians in full plate armor, elves in very cool poses and super muscular orcs. In that context, I think they are OK.

Have you seen Jon Hodgson and Jan Pospíšil artwork for The One Ring Roleplaying Game? I feel they fit better the classic Middle-earth imaginary.

Or even watched the films properly.

Seriously?! This game is not based on the films, it's based on the books. And however the artist wants to interpret the books is fine! That their interpretation is different than the "commonly accepted" interpretation of the movies is not a bad thing.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of these to be honest. They're not bad, and they fit with the rest of the game's artwork, but they just don't stand out in any way to me. They follow this very overrated trend in modern gaming art (and movies for that matter) of being super dark and grey, with the colors muted and dull (though not as bad as some of the core set art). Sometimes it's called for, don't get me wrong, but the problem with making everything so grey is that it ends up being boring and forgettable. Not bad, but it could use a bit more color.

Well, I agree. As you said, LotR LCG art direction is very high fantasy, cinematic, and dark and gritty here and there. Gondorians in full plate armor, elves in very cool poses and super muscular orcs. In that context, I think they are OK.

Have you seen Jon Hodgson and Jan Pospíšil artwork for The One Ring Roleplaying Game? I feel they fit better the classic Middle-earth imaginary.

I have, and I really like that artwork!

Or even watched the films properly.

Seriously?! This game is not based on the films, it's based on the books. And however the artist wants to interpret the books is fine! That their interpretation is different than the "commonly accepted" interpretation of the movies is not a bad thing.

I would rather they copy the films than unrelated franchises like WoW or Elder Scrolls (which are two that have hulking orcs as standard), if they can't follow the books. In the books almost all Orcs are small, pathetic creatures (relative to capital M Men), in the films it's merely most of them (Uruk Hai being their own weird thing).

I wasn't saying the films should be the primary source. If you'd quoted the entire post that would have been obvious.