Fëanor
Greatest of the Noldorin Elves
replaced on February 9, 2006
The creator of the Silmarils (and possibly the palantiri), Fëanor could probably be considered both a villain and a hero in Tolkien's world, since he was quite possibly the most talented and gifted of all the Children of Ilúvatar -- but whose pride and jealousy ultimately brought about the doom of many of the Elves, leading to wars that destroyed vast regions of Middle-earth.
This site being called The Simarillion, one could almost say that Fëanor could be thought of as a sort of "mascot" (undignified, I know, but still...). Like Varda and Luthien, Fëanor posed the problem of what to do with someone who is supposed to be "the most beautiful" of his people. At least in Fëanor's case, we were told that he had "raven-dark" hair and "piercingly bright" eyes; that he chose (and was given by his mother) a name which means "spirit of fire" also gave a pointer toward what kind of clothing to give him. But there was a bit of a problem with those "piercingly bright" eyes: if I made them bright enough to be piercing, they also looked rather Evil, and since I wanted to avoid that, I toned it down a little. In this revision of the character, the body mesh remained relatively the same, although I added some more refined details in the accessories, which necessitated a revised skin. The head is a complete replacement for the original, which I felt was never quite up to what I envisioned for the character. The mesh gives him somewhat longer hair and clearer detail to the clasp, and the skin for the face has considerably greater refinement of the features, which I had always thought were a bit too muddy and indistinct. I hope the result is satisfactory.
