Interview with Artist ArlenianChronicles by Anérea

Interview with ArlenianChronicles

Cassandra is the artist and author (and poet!) behind ArlenianChronicles. (Initially the title of her original mediaeval fantasy series, over time it’s also become her Tolkien moniker.) Her art spans multiple fandoms as well as characters from her own fantasy world, Omniaa, and, of course, The Silmarillion.

One of the most striking aspects that draws me back to Cassandra’s art again and again is the intricate background stories evident within each illustration, whether comic or standalone piece: they either hit the viewer with an immediate impact, or tantalisingly hint at a whole story lying just below the surface, making one want to dig down into it to find out more. Another aspect I really appreciate is that she does not shy away from depicting complex raw emotion, especially those favourite entangled themes of The Silmarillion: love, angst, and grief.

With such a singularly imaginative way of seeing and expressing characters, I was grateful for the opportunity to connect online with Cassandra and learn more about the person and process behind her art.

 

Anérea: How did you come to start creating Tolkien fanart? 

Cassandra: I “officially” started in late 2017 when I was in high school! During that time, I was reading The Silmarillion and getting acquainted with other Tolkien fanart online, but I never really got into a fanart streak because I felt I couldn’t do the book and characters justice. I drew some sketches on paper, but those were few and far between; my fanart journey only began after I gathered courage and made my first digital fanart piece–and you may not be surprised to hear this, but it featured Maedhros and Elrond!

After that, a lot of my early paintings featured Maedhros and the twins, simply because I felt there wasn’t enough fanart of them as a group, and thinking about their dynamic fascinated me (especially between Maedhros and Elrond). Looking back at my old paintings though, I notice that I was far more active a few years ago and drew more characters from the Silm than I would draw today. My interests have changed here and there, but my soft spot towards Maedhros and Elrond hasn’t!

 

A: Do you have any formal training in art, or are you mostly self taught?

Cassandra: I’m mostly self-taught! A lot of my early learning was looking at webcomics and getting inspired by/ trying to recreate the different art styles. Gradually, I started looking at more references for anatomy (mostly by taking pose pictures of myself in high school). I drew a lot on paper back then, so I think the constant practice really helped push my skills forward.

The few art classes I’ve been to didn’t really do much in the way of teaching me; most of the time, it was a “do your own thing” class, so I still had to teach myself. Nowadays I’m trying to improve on pose and anatomy, so I’ve been looking at more references and doing a few pose studies. References are an artist’s best friend!

 

A: Would you tell us a little about your creation process? Do you plan pieces, do research, and keep to your original idea, or do you find the work ends up telling you what it wants to do?

Cassandra: The most planning I do for a piece is imagining what it would look like in my head! There are times when I have a somewhat-clear image, but it can also be difficult for me to draw it because I don’t have enough knowledge on anatomy or composition. In that case I’ll look for references, but oftentimes I find myself relying on what knowledge I already have, since I’d rather draw than scroll online while my inspiration is still fresh. I’ll then play around with the poses and anatomy to see if I can at least get it looking right!

There are times when my paintings tend to move away a little from what I initially imagined. For example, my painting of Fingon and Turgon at the Fifth Battle (In The Morning Came Hope) matches pretty closely to my vision. I wanted to draw them at a low angle, with Turgon looming protectively over his brother. But in my head, the art style and colouring was somewhat different, plus Turgon was holding a sword, and the front of his robes was more visible to show embroidery, I think. That changed when I actually started drawing it, and I just went with a combo of what felt right and what I could achieve.

 

A: Do you prefer to create something within a few hours, or do you like to work on things over an extended period of time. Or is it a bit of both, depending on the project or your mood?

It’s hard for me to gauge how long I spend on a painting; lots of people have asked me, but I keep forgetting to time myself! I usually spend a few hours at a time on a painting each day, since I have work and other chores to deal with; but it really depends on the size of the painting, and how detailed I want to make it. Simple sketches without too much need for detail could take me a few hours, at least. Bigger pieces would take longer, perhaps several hours over a few days.

 

A: A theme of close, loving, family connection runs throughout your work, with a strong sense of understanding and forgiveness—what relationship does this have with your life?

Cassandra: The theme of familial love was definitely borne out of my real-life experiences; ever since I was little, I’ve come up with original characters (OCs) that have very idealized relationships with their families, perhaps more than is realistic. But I still enjoy coming up with them nevertheless! This ended up feeding into my fanart, with headcanons of close family bonds (for example, Fingon and his siblings), because it makes me happy to imagine them as a closely knit, supportive unit. Even with the kidnap fam, which is a much messier dynamic, I lean more towards a relationship that becomes warm, loving, and protective, rather than a distant, stiff one.

I also love working with the theme of gentleness, being tender and kind, and/or having the capability to do so, etc. These often mix with my familial paintings–in fact, I think this particular painting of Maedhros and Elrond (How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count The Stars) captures that theme quite well!

 

A: There's an evident progression from earlier paintings featuring various combinations of Fingon, Turgon, and Argon to your most recent paintings. Can you tell us about it?

 

Cassandra: Sure thing! In my experience, I rarely see art of Fingon with his immediate family, so I wanted to offer my own interpretation of their relationships (which is that close-knit, supportive unit I mentioned earlier). At this point, I’ve drawn Fingon with his parents and all his siblings! In my headcanons, he cares deeply for, and is protective of, his family, especially Argon. Turgon is much the same, though perhaps sterner and more serious, and tends to take the role of elder brother sometimes. And, funnily enough, I now have a little painting series of Fingon and Turgon together, starting from childhood and leading up to the Fifth Battle!

Looking back at my old paintings, there’s definitely quite a progression from “happy family feels” to “angst ahoy!” especially with my Fingon and Argon comic about the Battle of the Lammoth. Back then, I enjoyed drawing comforting scenes. But nowadays, my current interests have moved toward drawing emotional, dramatic scenes–for example, with Maedhros and the twins in my dark!Mae alternate universe (AU). Drawing those visceral expressions is fun, but I’m also finding it very cathartic to show the depth of a relationship in a stressful situation.

In my recent Fingon and Turgon painting, Don't Go There, for example, their bond is being tested on the Ice. Neither of them want to lose the other, but Turgon has just lost Elenwë and is spiralling down that path himself. Fingon can only cling to Turgon to keep him from going too far (in more ways than one), appealing to Turgon’s ties not just to their family, but to Fingon himself. And Turgon, torn between staying with Fingon and being with Elenwë again, can only scream in despair (and other tangled emotions). But there is still that note of comfort in the painting too, of Fingon holding Turgon and being an anchor of sorts for his brother.

 

A: Your paintings often have a luminous, almost otherworldly, quality that is instantly recognizable, and yet within that you also have various distinctive styles. Do you intentionally experiment with different styles, or do you find it evolves naturally?

Cassandra: I’d say my style has evolved naturally over the years–or it tends to do that, even when I don’t intend it! Back when I drew on paper, from elementary to high school, my style went from cartoony to more semi-realistic. In 2018, when I was further working on my digital art, I tried a completely different style and ended up with the famous triangle noses! That style started out as cartoony, but I always tend to veer towards realistic; so that’s what ended up happening. Another development came along when I decided to work on drawing those pesky noses correctly, which also led to realistic colouring and shading, and that’s where my style is currently.

My other art style is a more cartoony one, perhaps a spiritual successor to the first, and it does keep the triangle noses! It’s more of a stained-glass style and allows me more freedom when it comes to composition and character poses, but it also involves inking all the lineart, which tires me out. So I tend to stick with my sketchy realistic style!

 

 

A: Something that really strikes me about your art is your skilful use of light and I was wondering if you'd like to talk a little about that?

I love experimenting with and adding light to my work! I think it’s one of my favourite parts of the process. Whenever I start a painting, I’m always wondering about what palette I should give it, what kind of light and shadows, and such. Sometimes the image is clear in my head already, but at other times, I lose that vision and have to find it all over again. So I end up playing around with colours and light before settling on what fits best!

I think a lot of the ethereal, otherworldly vibes in my work comes from the lighting I choose and how I colour everything. I love warm sunlight tones (like yellows and oranges), and rarely go for the cool light colours (like blues and greens). If I want to make it atmospheric, I’ll probably reduce the light to make everything more shadowy, which will either shine light on the character’s face at an angle, or shine behind them so their face is shadowed. My recent Fingon andTurgon paintings have that dark atmosphere to them, which adds to the grim mood and setting that they’re in.

I also use lighting to help convey the characters’ positions, if that makes sense. My first painting for the dark!Mae AU, Hiding Dusk, featuring Maedros and Elros, has Mae in the shadows while Elros is silhouetted by the light. In the painting Maedhros' Court with Elrond dancing, which is relatively more complex, it has a gloomy, fairytale-like vibe to it but still stays colourful despite how shadowy it is. For that painting, I worked with a basic palette to figure out who would be “covered” in light to draw the focus/importance to them. Elrond basks in a white sheen tinted with gold because he is “good,” but he’s also Maedros’ sole focus. Mae and his guards are drenched in deep red/purple for those evil vibes. The rest of the elves are in the shadowy blue background; their features are nondescript and unimportant to Mae’s eyes.

 

A: After delving a little deeper into your art I realised that you write a lot more than just the snippets on your Tumblr posts. Are both forms of creative expression closely linked? And do you find you prefer one form of creative expression over the other, or do they each have their time/place/mood?

Cassandra: Oh yes, I write too! Not as often as I draw, I think, but I do have some Silm works on the Archive of Our Own (AO3), with many of them about another Maedhros AU (Of Maedhros and the Twin Princes of Doriath) where he rescues Eluréd and Elurín, and raises them! I've also written some kidnap fam poems; though, I think the poems I'm most proud of are the cantos for my Tolkien OCs's standoff with Tar-Mairon (The Canto of Wilwarindil and Tar-Mairon); I wrote them in the style of the Lay of Leithian, and that was lots of fun, but I doubt I could replicate it today. 

I wouldn’t say my art and writing are linked at all times; sometimes the writing part is just reduced to the descriptions I give when I post my art on socials. But sometimes they are, where I might write something and get inspired to draw for it, and vice versa. As for which one I prefer, I’d say it depends on what I’m trying to portray, or if I’m in the right mood, etc. Sometimes it’s easier for me to show a scene in painting form, especially if it’s just a snapshot of a moment. But if I were to do it in writing, I’d make it more drawn-out, go into details and dialogue, maybe show what was going on leading up to that particular moment.

If I were to use the cantos I wrote for Wilwarindil and Tar-Mairon as an example: I wrote the poems first and made the paintings after, mostly because I wanted a visual element to add interest for when I eventually posted it. If I wanted to go all out, I would’ve drawn a whole mini-comic to include the poetry and dialogue, but it was easier for me to just capture a moment of both characters’ expressions, Wilwarindil’s grief and Tar-Mairon’s triumph.

 

A: You have a number of original alternative universes; would you give us some background on them, such as what inspires you, and what factors lead you to present some as comics and others as standalone paintings?

Cassandra: Oh goodness, I have more AUs than I know what to do with!

I started making AUs for the kidnap fam (Maedhros, Maglor, Elrond, and Elros) because I found it fun to explore different scenarios with them. I even went so far as to make an Owl AU, since I thought it’d be cute! I think it came at a point when I felt that I’d drawn all I could for the canon Silm, and I wanted to try something new. The majority of my AUs are about the kidnap fam, not just because I enjoy exploring their dynamic, but because they’re a small enough group that I can simply focus on developing the AU around them. Though, sometimes an AU will spread out to the rest of Middle-earth, such as my eldritch AU; I ended up writing notes about what the Valar would look like, why the Elves wear masks, what the rest of Finwë’s grandchildren would look like, etc.

I usually make standalone paintings for my AUs because I don’t have any scenes written for them, so I have to convey the scene or story through just one image. Occasionally I’ll come up with a little scene to make into a comic, like for my Eldritch AU where I wanted to explore Elros’ future mortality and how it would look different in an eldritch setting.

For the All That Glitters Gold Rush!AU (a fantastic series written by TolkienGirl, Mythopoeia, and Victoryindeath2 which can also be found on AO3), the story is currently being written, and there are many dialogues within it that inspired me to draw mini-comics!

 

A: What do you hope to inspire in viewers through your art?

Cassandra: I think I'd like to inspire viewers to engage with my ideas, if they want to. I’m always happy to read what they think of certain AUs. For example, my dark!Mae AU has really caught people's interest and that was a very fun surprise! I honestly wasn't expecting all that when I posted that first painting of it, but Maedhros is definitely a popular character, and exploring different situations can be very intriguing and fun!

 

A: It so often happens that creators are surprised by which works take people's fancy! I think part of the popularity in this series stems not only from the evident background story—which is intriguing and makes the viewer want to know more—but also from the way you're not depicting Maedhros in a purely sympathetic or evil light, but rather showing a moral ambiguity, and very human traits and struggles with an inner inner personal "darkness" that many of us relate to.

Cassandra: That's true, I actually hadn't thought of it like that! Having a moral ambiguity is definitely more interesting to explore than pure black-or-white; and I remember wanting to show Mae's inner struggle and downward spiral leading up to his fall so that you could at least understand his motivations regardless of whether you like him or not. I think I'll really have to put in the time to flesh this out into a fic after finishing my current writing project!

And the Eldritch AU also brought up a lot of interesting thoughts and ideas from viewers! Especially how the eldritch Elves view their own appearances and cover themselves up with masks, etc.

I just love portraying stories, hidden or otherwise, in paintings; I feel like it makes the drawing/viewing process a little richer!

 

A: What has been your favourite piece or project to work on, and what made it stand out for you?

Cassandra: Hmm that’s a tough question! I feel like every painting I work on has been enjoyable to some degree, and I’m quite proud of all my works! However, there is one painting that stands out to me, mostly because I’m surprised I managed to make it look so good and match my initial vision. It’s also how I began my Nursery Rhyme AU! The Star-Touched Dusk features Elrond with a more surreal take on Eärendil and Elwing, known in the AU as Night and Day, respectively. I’m just constantly in awe of how I made this painting; I doubt I’d be able to replicate its dreamy atmosphere, or have the patience to render everything so that the painting looks clean.

[A: The accompanying poem as well as progress shots can be viewed here.]

 

A: Why do you make art? How does creating art make you feel, and how does it affect other areas of your life?

Cassandra: I initially started making art so I could bring my original characters to life. Now I make fanart more often than OC art, but I think the reasoning is the same: to bring these characters to life and make the images in my head more clear on a canvas. It’s far more satisfying to me than simply writing the scenario, I think, because with a painting you can convey the scene in one shot with all the emotions, and make it colourful and dramatic. Plus, the process is lots of fun for me, especially the part where I can add colours!

 

A: What are some of the most impactful or rewarding things you've learned through creating and sharing your fanart?

Cassandra: I think the best thing I’ve learned is that I don’t have to stick to a single fandom! I’ve drawn Tolkien fanart for years, but that doesn’t mean I have to keep up a steady stream of content (unless I was running a business, in which case I’d likely feel differently). When my interest in The Silmarillion puttered out a while back, I tried some other fandoms and created some paintings from there that I’m really proud of! I think, if I stayed in one place for a super long time, I wouldn’t really be able to expand my horizons, so to speak, and I’d get burnt out more often. Switching to different fandoms helps to keep me refreshed!

Another rewarding part of being a fanartist is that I was able to meet the Tolkien fandom and interact with so many wonderful people! Interacting with fellow artists is always a treat, and following along on their art journey is awesome too, since I can see how much they’ve progressed and be inspired to work more on my skills!

 

A: What advice would you give to aspiring artists?

Cassandra: Draw what makes you happy, and just keep practising to get better! But if you ever get tired or burnt out, please take a break–rest your hands and recharge your creative brain! And use references whenever you need help with certain aspects!

 

A: Any other thoughts you’d like to share with us?

Cassandra: I think, in addition to the familial dynamics that I like to focus on in my work, I also have a love for Elf-Human relationships! Beren and Lúthien may come to mind (they’re my OTP), but funnily enough, I tend to focus more on characters like Finrod and Bëor, Barahir, and/or Beren. There’s something about that kind of dynamic that gets me invested, where an immortal has great affection for a mortal (friendship, romance, whatever you like), but must deal with the grief of watching their mortal companion grow old and pass away. Even my Tolkien OCs fell heavily into this rabbit hole of mine, no surprise there!

 

A: Do you have any WIPs or upcoming projects that we can look forward to?

Cassandra: I don’t have any Silm paintings in the works, though I’m considering making some happy Fingon and Turgon feels to make up for the brotherly angst I’ve been posting recently. And I have ideas to redraw some of my old kidnap fam pieces, such as the Fire and Smoke paintings, which I’ve been redrawing since 2020! I also have an OC project in the works; it’s not a Tolkien project but a yearly tradition I’ve set for myself: draw a portrait for ten of my OCs and see how much I’ve improved!

A: Just for fun: if you could spend a day with any Tolkien character/s, who would you choose to be with? Where (and when) would you like to be? And what would you do?

Cassandra: Oh dear, I think I’d be really awkward around any and all Tolkien characters! I feel like I’d be more suited as a non-player character. That said, I think it would be cool to be Bëor’s attendant, especially while he’s in Nargothrond serving under Finrod. That way, I could maybe overhear their conversations for the day and just observe how they interact!

 

 

This has been just a tiny peek at the art of Cassandra/ArlenianChronicles. Her posts on Tumblr, DeviantArt, and Instagram often have back stories that are every bit as engaging as she and her art are, and I highly recommend enjoying a browse through her work on any of these platforms, while her comics, fics, and poetry may also be found on AO3.