This looks awesome so far
![Razz :P](./images/smilies/icon_razz.gif)
I can't wait to see the saddle
Meganbeyer wrote:Please help me make my tack more Dwarven like
the dwarven style can be tricky to get right and there's definitely two different approaches, mine is to follow the WETA designs from the hobbit, while making it a little less overbearing and more functional, maybe for some ideas on that route:
A leather-work tooling design I came up with for a sword belt (for Bumr Blackbrand over on this thread:
https://www.ranger.budgetauthenticity.o ... 5740&hilit) that you could take some ideas from:
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/cvhEt7V.jpg)
if you want more resources of that kind the WETA books are a good place to start, If your interested PM me and I can send you some stuff
Vambraces with lonely mountain motive, and runes, kind of like you mentioned ( sorry the photo's are terrible, I forgot how bad they were):
https://www.ranger.budgetauthenticity.o ... 3809&hilit
The other approach to dwarven style is a lot more book accurate, to follow viking and Norse themes, who I think are the peoples who inspired Tolkien's vision of the dwarves, Ringulf (forum member here) has a brilliant interpretation of that style, although the image hosting website goblins have stolen most of the pictures he posted here
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
here's a link to his DeviantArt page:
https://www.deviantart.com/mica1323/gal ... eatherwork
Nemo of Calh (forum member) also had good dwarven kit although the pictures have gone from that thread to, I don't know if anyone here knows if he posted his stuff anywhere else?
There's a really good thread dedicated to Numenorean design, some of this can be adapted to dwarven style with imagination:
https://www.ranger.budgetauthenticity.o ... f=7&t=3152
There's a lot of dwarven stuff scattered around the forum but I don't think there's ever been a thread of that kind dedicated to dwarven designs, maybe I might start one?
EDIT: Have you thought about where in middle earth your dwarven impression is from? because there are cultural differences hinted at in the books, Erebor has always been about stunning design and craftsmanship, where as the Iron Hills are much more about war and defenses, while the level of craftsmanship is still high, there designs would probably have been simpler and with more of a functional utilitarian approach. That's probably just my interpretation but there's quite a lot that can be read into the different cultures of middle earth if you think about how Tolkien intended them to be imagined
my persona has elements of both because Iodo Ionite is intended to have traveled to Erebor with Dain Ironfoot's army to fight in the battle of the five armies, and then stayed in search of riches, adventure and a new life so some of her kit items would have been brought with her (my interpretation of an iron hills belt:
https://www.ranger.budgetauthenticity.o ... 5267&hilit)
Gimli: It's true you don't see many Dwarf-women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Dwarf-men.
Aragorn: It's the beards.