Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
so here's a version of a character that may surprise those of you who have only seen the film adaptation of the Hobbit. Dwalin is simultaneously the most and least concrete of all of the dwarves in Thorin's company, as although he gets the best visual description (as he is the first to appear) he is also fleshed out the least (personality wise) out of all of the members (well, except maybe for Bifur and Bofur who we know next to nothing about). The most challenging thing about drawing Dwalin, in a way that is accurate to his depiction in the book is his beard color which is surprisingly described as blue! I tried to find a good mix of realistic looking and accuracy, and went for a look that seemed to imply it was either partially dyed, or that this was the natural color and he is greying with age (thankfully he is one of the oldest of the company so i could get away with that). I will likely mess around with some other similarly whimsical beard colors when it comes to drawing the rest of Thorin and Co., both to make Dwalin look like he fits in, and to also hint at the fact that either dwarves have more varied natural hair colors than humans do, or that it is culturally common to dye their beards, a question that seems to have been left vague by professor Tolkien.
Music: Misty Mountains (Hobbit Dwarf Song) Epic Cello Cover! - Hendyamps Studios
so here's a version of a character that may surprise those of you who have only seen the film adaptation of the Hobbit. Dwalin is simultaneously the most and least concrete of all of the dwarves in Thorin's company, as although he gets the best visual description (as he is the first to appear) he is also fleshed out the least (personality wise) out of all of the members (well, except maybe for Bifur and Bofur who we know next to nothing about). The most challenging thing about drawing Dwalin, in a way that is accurate to his depiction in the book is his beard color which is surprisingly described as blue! I tried to find a good mix of realistic looking and accuracy, and went for a look that seemed to imply it was either partially dyed, or that this was the natural color and he is greying with age (thankfully he is one of the oldest of the company so i could get away with that). I will likely mess around with some other similarly whimsical beard colors when it comes to drawing the rest of Thorin and Co., both to make Dwalin look like he fits in, and to also hint at the fact that either dwarves have more varied natural hair colors than humans do, or that it is culturally common to dye their beards, a question that seems to have been left vague by professor Tolkien.
Music: Misty Mountains (Hobbit Dwarf Song) Epic Cello Cover! - Hendyamps Studios
