This is the second (and last) illustration I made for Fantasy Flight Games‘ The Battle of Lake Town, which is based on the events of The Hobbit.
Disclaimer: oh my God I haven’t looked at this drawing for a while and I’m not happy with the guy’s face! Like, at all! OMG!

Oh well, I guess that means I got better at drawing faces in the meantime? Hopefully?

Anyway, if you’re familiar with the events of the Hobbit you might already know what this illustration is about.
The archer depicted in the illustration is no less than Bard the Bowman, the guy who SPOILER AHEAD, WHAT THE HELL THOUGH, IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE HOBBIT YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF kicks a ginormous dragon’s ass by firing an arrow straight into its chest, taking advantage of a weak spot that Bilbo Baggins discovered while made invisible by his marvellous magic ring.

Funny how Bard was the only descendant of the Lord of the town, who managed to escape when, decades earlier, the dragon decided – for the lulz – to lay waste of the surroundings.
Some families seem to be destined to great deeds.

What I meant to convey with his face (failing, apparently. Really, I don’t like his bloody face) is that Bard REALLY was a good guy. Responsible, courageous and altruistic, with a genuine interest in the wellbeing of his countrymen and none at all in his own gain or even safety.
As opposed, for example, to Legolas, who was more of a smart-ass with his bow and arrows, and who seemed to be more motivated by the sport involved in killing orcs rather than the actual Good implied in getting rid of them.
When Bard eventually killed the dragon and, acclaimed by his people, was offered the position of greatest power in the government, declined in favor of the current ruler.
Which, by the way, would happen only in Fantasy books.

This drawing turned out to be more difficult than expected, a lot more than the other apparently complicated illustration I made for The Hobbit.
Hell, there are few things more straightforward than drawing a guy seen from the front shooting an arrow.
At least that’s what I thought.
I got a lot of feedback about the arm being in the wrong position, the thumb holding the bow being too high or too low, and things like that.

The Art Director, who was obviously quite experienced in archery, went as far as sending me a picture of her own arm to show me a proper archer’s pose.

So well, it took a while but I eventually got there.
If I could I would shorten that nose by quite a lot. And change his mouth and a few other things.
But I guess I’ll live with that.

by Paolo Puggioni