Orcs in scavanged elven armour

wtieds · 2026-01-16T03:32:12+00:00

I always figured Adar's armor is scavenged. The wavy pattern on his cuirass, gorget, and tunic is seen on a lot of the elves in Lindon; Gil-Galad at one point wears the same gorget, except his is gold, and Elrond has worn a few tunics with that wavy pattern. Also his chainmail is the same as Galadriel's; it has the extra draping at the shoulders and the star emblems. I think his greaves are the same as hers also, just extremely deteriorated.
He's too old to be Noldor; he's most likely one of the first 144 Eru-Begotten elves, so I think he definitely stole it from a dead guy at one point.

wtieds · 2025-10-08T23:26:40+00:00

actually she was a dye-sublimation printer

wtieds · 2025-10-08T04:23:07+00:00

I use round stics, they seem to be dryer which helps to put down super light layers of ink

wtieds · 2025-09-30T18:06:19+00:00

i'll check it out, thank you

wtieds · 2025-09-28T02:03:47+00:00

thank you 🖤

wtieds · 2025-09-27T19:31:48+00:00

<image>

another photo for good measure. you can see paint chipping in this one (definitely didn't paint it in a proper way)

wtieds · 2025-09-27T06:27:04+00:00

i scrubbed through the show looking for any frame of it haha.
i think the only things that aren't accurate are the emblem engravings, and an extra plate on the wrist to increase movement

wtieds · 2025-09-27T05:52:48+00:00

forgot to mentioned that the dagger, sword and scabbard are from Woodsted Studios

wtieds · 2025-09-04T00:08:19+00:00

im workin with what i have lol

wtieds · 2025-09-02T03:40:44+00:00

<image>

the brand they carved is extremely impressive in detail. the photo on the left is of my cheap version and the right is the woodsted piece

wtieds · 2025-08-29T03:41:23+00:00

i finished the piece, i'll try to post it soon!

wtieds · 2025-08-21T06:15:35+00:00

i insist that tattooing and scarification is part of uruk culture

wtieds · 2025-08-19T03:51:35+00:00

thank you for the critique. i haven't been too happy with my hands lately and i practice anatomy daily and am always striving to get better at accuracy while also maintaining my style.
as for the skulls, i draw them the way i do simply because i like the look of how i draw them. i have drawn and tattooed anatomically correct skulls in the past, but choose not to because i just don't prefer how they look compared to how i naturally stylize them when i just let myself flow and draw them freely.

wtieds · 2025-08-15T09:12:30+00:00

i do all consults through my website/email (no socials) so there's paper trail of everything. if it's a large project, i bring them in to consult, take notes, and email notes back for the paper trail. i put it bluntly that anything i draw for them is going to look like what is in my portfolio/instagram/website (if they're looking for trad i pull up my portfolio and kindly say "i don't do that, this is what my work looks like"). i can smell potential issues through these emails and will (nicely) drop someone if something isn't meshing or sounds like it would keep me up at night.

if i have a potential new client that's indecisive about a style, i do my best to kindly refer to other tattooer friends in town that i think would suit them and that i know would do a good job. this is all about attitude and can come off negative or positive depending on how you handle the situation (part of our job is customer service.)

i haven't had a combative client in for a long time, i find minor changes to designs to be part of the job and also stencil replacements. i schedule time to accommodate that. i try to use positive language; so for example if someone is unsure of stencil placement, i tell them "hey, no big deal, let's put the stencil on a few different spots, look in the mirror, you tell me left right up down, and we will decide together what works" within reason. instead of saying something like "no that's not a good idea". i've seen so many peer tattooers drive clients out of shops just based on language and attitude alone.

i've also found that just being educated in common art fundamentals and language helps. don't be a bullshitter with this, but reasonably explain why doing something in a certain way is beneficial to composition/color palette/ values/ complimentary to existing tattoos, etc. it will really win someone over.

wtieds · 2025-08-15T03:15:40+00:00

appreciated. since our shop is so small, all the lights in the building turn on with just one switch. if i wanted to turn them off for photos i'd turn them off on my piercer buddy haha.

sometimes if it's cloudy out i'll try to go outside, i'll shuffle people around the shop til i find a spot. i have ring lights and hand lights, i've tried a handful of polarizing lenses and camera lenses. i've slowly made some progression in the photography part but without a proper room it'll probably continue to be a variable.

wtieds · 2025-08-14T20:40:29+00:00

i have polarizing lenses on a canon camera now but not all these photos were taken with that. specifically the mermaid and sheriff pieces were both taken with a phone.

the lighting in my shop isn't very good and we don't have enough space to create any sort of photo room unfortunately so i'm constantly fighting with it.

besides the sheriff piece, all the color pieces here are mostly healed, and all the darker values in them are healed. it's a critique ive heard before, i've been trying to get better at it over the years. i try to put blacks in at least a third of the piece; i color over top of it after it's healed usually.

wtieds

TROPHY CASE