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Description
     Sauron has assumed many names and forms throughout J.R.R.Tolkien's legendarium. Although he is only felt and never seen directly in the Lord of the Rings nonetheless this lord of the ring claims one of the riches histories in Middle-earth. I chose to redesign his appearance from the late second age at the time of the forging of the One Ring and the War of the Last Alliance. Here are some explanations behind the design choices:

    The character design of Alan Lee, John Howe, and Weta workshop for the dark lord has become somewhat iconic and while I can't deny that the film version presents a very striking image, I had something different in mind. John Howe in particular has a habit of making the bad-guys a mountain of spikes. Sure it's totally appropriate to depict evil as intimidating and nasty, but pure evil is usually a little more subtle. I tried to challenge myself to settle on a concept that felt grounded in something historically plausible and still looked terrifying without adding a ton of sharp points, barbs or prongs.

   Tolkien describes Sauron's appearance as burned and blackened once he finally wields the Ring so I made sure that he wasn't totally armored up. His harms are covered in soot, grime, and burns from the power of the Ring and he is surrounded by the smoke of his smoldering flesh. I added some bracelets and gold bands as an indication of his status and lust for authority.

    As Sauron is one of the Maiar I wanted him to resemble an ancient druid or sorcerer hence the long black robe. Years later when he appeared again as the Necromancer he was first mistaken as one of the Nazgul so the long robe helps to bring a sense of continuity to the character. In keeping with the spirit of death with the future Necromancer I added the skull of Draugluin the werewolf as a kind of shoulder pad or Pauldron as well as adding a dagger. I imagine this dagger to be his favorite blade from Numenor used in his rituals of human sacrifice. The dagger combines motifs from those used in Egypt (a loose inspiration for the kingdom of Numenor) as well as Aztec and Mayan weapon designs used in that grisly practice.

   The scepter/spear is also meant to look almost like a wizardly staff, but with a sinister twist to it with the addition of the blades. I thought this appropriate given his connection as a maiar to the Istari (though never one of them) and that as a fierce ruler his government is centered around conquest and the subjugation of others. The chains wrapped around it are meant to emphasize this point further, but have little practical use otherwise besides looking cool.

   The helmet is meant to look ancient, almost Greek-like with a Spartan or Corinthian build to it. I also found inspiration in the Samurai kabuto helmets and wanted to use the horn or crest-like Fukigaeshi element in the design. Wanting them to be thicker, I looked to the Norse deities in Heimdall and Baldr depictions for further reference and finally came up with something I liked. The Asgardian aspect also lends a godly or supernatural aura to the design.

     Finally, the breastplate features several intricate designs and motifs all referencing some of the attributes of Sauron acting as a resume, in a way, to those who know how to interpret them and adding to his might and intimidation. The two wolves near the top are a nod to one of his titles in the Silmarillion "The Lord of Wolves" as he is the head of all of Morgoth's werewolves and wargs. The serpent down the center of the cuirass references his ability to change shape into a snake such as the time when confronted by Luthien and Huan. Stylized motifs mimicking bat-wings cover other major parts of the armor as he has shown to take the form of a giant vampiric bat.

     All these elements combined convey the real nature and abilities of this lord of Mordor in a subtle, yet powerful manner. Plus the name Mordor is a form of the Icelandic word for "silent-killing" or "murder" so if that doesn't scare you...

Description
     Sauron has assumed many names and forms throughout J.R.R.Tolkien's legendarium. Although he is only felt and never seen directly in the Lord of the Rings nonetheless this lord of the ring claims one of the riches histories in Middle-earth. I chose to redesign his appearance from the late second age at the time of the forging of the One Ring and the War of the Last Alliance. Here are some explanations behind the design choices:

    The character design of Alan Lee, John Howe, and Weta workshop for the dark lord has become somewhat iconic and while I can't deny that the film version presents a very striking image, I had something different in mind. John Howe in particular has a habit of making the bad-guys a mountain of spikes. Sure it's totally appropriate to depict evil as intimidating and nasty, but pure evil is usually a little more subtle. I tried to challenge myself to settle on a concept that felt grounded in something historically plausible and still looked terrifying without adding a ton of sharp points, barbs or prongs.

   Tolkien describes Sauron's appearance as burned and blackened once he finally wields the Ring so I made sure that he wasn't totally armored up. His harms are covered in soot, grime, and burns from the power of the Ring and he is surrounded by the smoke of his smoldering flesh. I added some bracelets and gold bands as an indication of his status and lust for authority.

    As Sauron is one of the Maiar I wanted him to resemble an ancient druid or sorcerer hence the long black robe. Years later when he appeared again as the Necromancer he was first mistaken as one of the Nazgul so the long robe helps to bring a sense of continuity to the character. In keeping with the spirit of death with the future Necromancer I added the skull of Draugluin the werewolf as a kind of shoulder pad or Pauldron as well as adding a dagger. I imagine this dagger to be his favorite blade from Numenor used in his rituals of human sacrifice. The dagger combines motifs from those used in Egypt (a loose inspiration for the kingdom of Numenor) as well as Aztec and Mayan weapon designs used in that grisly practice.

   The scepter/spear is also meant to look almost like a wizardly staff, but with a sinister twist to it with the addition of the blades. I thought this appropriate given his connection as a maiar to the Istari (though never one of them) and that as a fierce ruler his government is centered around conquest and the subjugation of others. The chains wrapped around it are meant to emphasize this point further, but have little practical use otherwise besides looking cool.

   The helmet is meant to look ancient, almost Greek-like with a Spartan or Corinthian build to it. I also found inspiration in the Samurai kabuto helmets and wanted to use the horn or crest-like Fukigaeshi element in the design. Wanting them to be thicker, I looked to the Norse deities in Heimdall and Baldr depictions for further reference and finally came up with something I liked. The Asgardian aspect also lends a godly or supernatural aura to the design.

     Finally, the breastplate features several intricate designs and motifs all referencing some of the attributes of Sauron acting as a resume, in a way, to those who know how to interpret them and adding to his might and intimidation. The two wolves near the top are a nod to one of his titles in the Silmarillion "The Lord of Wolves" as he is the head of all of Morgoth's werewolves and wargs. The serpent down the center of the cuirass references his ability to change shape into a snake such as the time when confronted by Luthien and Huan. Stylized motifs mimicking bat-wings cover other major parts of the armor as he has shown to take the form of a giant vampiric bat.

     All these elements combined convey the real nature and abilities of this lord of Mordor in a subtle, yet powerful manner. Plus the name Mordor is a form of the Icelandic word for "silent-killing" or "murder" so if that doesn't scare you...