Considering how big Smaug is supposed to be, his wings will have to be ENORMOUS if they want his flying to look any bit realistic.

Thumbs way up on Howe's Smaug .

GB

Definitely, Cbernui. The design team on LOTR did the same thing with the Nazgul's steeds (or they said they did, I don't know exactly how feasible the design was) so I think we can expect a good Smaug design.

Same here.

I think his looks should reflect his personality. He is the type that likes to give the imression he is a wise guy, but he is also kind of a selfish basterd on some points, you know? So he should have this slither look in his eyes. And a big, powerful body, but still slim and acrobatic. He is an old dragon with the mind of a youngster. Though his talk seems very mature.

Hello all, this looks a very exciting forum, and btw I can't wait until the film is released in 2011 .

On Smaug.

I think that Smaug should have a lizardesque appearance. He should be a very long lean dragon whose bones have been exaggerated with age (in the same way that Gandalf's eyebrows protrude out from his face). His face should be sharp and exaggerated including an aspect of bonyness, he should look fairly withered and gaunt but at the same time he shouldn't look weak or frail, including some aspects of powerfulness too. His face should be very expressive and as a result look very sinister. He should have a long snout that points away from his face of which includes rows of very sharp teeth (obviously! ) and he should have gleaming great eyes (of which should be very scary for the viewer and not least for poor Bilbo! ). His body should have a very long tail and his claws should be sharp and shiny. His scales should be gleaming a beautiful golden colour and include the impression that they are very hard. I think getting someone to sound the part is also very important I think that maybe John Rhys Davies or Christopher Lee would be very fitting actors for the role.

Regards

Mr.Bandobras Took

I think something to consider is where dragons come from, other than the withering heath ofc.

They were a creation of Morgoth, Sauron was Morgoths second in command, Sauron also created the Felbeasts. I am just thinking Sauron quite possibly took some inspiration of Morgoth's creations So perhaps we will see a bit of Felbeast blended in there. Wing spikes anyone.

Either way Smaug cant just be a big bulk with a sharp tounge. He cleared the mountain of dwarves, so he must have fought them on thier own ground inside the mountains thin tunnels with out much space. He is going to have to look deadly even on the ground.

I reckon his wings should fold flat almost like a fan, but with razor sharp spines down its length for swiping at foes.

Oh and I think it would be cool if he had scales along his neck that start to flair as he becomes angry.

After Harry Potter, Eregon, dragonhart ect ect, dont you think its going to
be hard to come up with an original idea of a dragon. We dont want Smaug
to look like a dragon weve seen from another movie, do we?

I think you might have a point there chris63, in quite a few ways we don't want the dragon to be boring but I really hope people don't start saying that they don't want to see a 'typecasted fire-breathing dragon'. The sad thing is that lots of films had been brought out before the LotR trilogy and they had included dragons of which people have since got bored with, this sadly will also apply to the two future Hobbit films, its such a shame that that a big film company has only recently started to produce film covers of the books by Tokien. The dragons that Tolkien creates come either straight from imagination or directly from the images created in the countless numbers of short traditional fairy tales. On most occasions Tolkien appears to have brought to life, aswell as adding alot of elements himself, the images that traditional fairy tales include (they obviously have no trade mark or official author). Tolkiens ideas are either original or adapted elements of tales that nobody recieves royalty from. They are in some respects the original foundations (although I think dragons might have initially originated from China, but I suppose there could be alot of controversy about what is and isn't a dragon) of the fantasy genre today, what is ironic is that people are saying, we don't want to see another dragon just like the one in Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling being a contemporary writer) when the Hobbit could be referenced to including what is commonly known as a dragon much earliar and way before recent fastasy adventures. It is a shame that the film has had to adapt to able to appeal to audiences whose only references of dragons come from Harry Potter (Don't get me wrong I love HP, I would never really diss Hazza ) and cheap cartoons in the media in order to sell the film. I really hope the Dragon is conventional (although I have no doubt Del Toro will produce something of great quality, I think that with Del Toro having such an influence on the film I think this might be unlikely, although he is a great guy) as well as including something that other film-dragons do not. Call me a traditionalist, I know I sound terrible, do forgive me, it's just I think with something as great as Tolkien's The Hobbit its very importantant not to mess it up with too much artistic licence.

Regards

Mr. Bandobras Took

Stream-lined and sinuous, wiry and wily and wise, huge and hungry, jewell-encusted and ego-centric - not your average dragon, but its more his personality than his 'look.' Nearly any dragon I've seen so far might do - but keep him on the simple side like Tolkien drew him - and you can't go too far wrong.

Actually, Smaug is one character I'm not too concerned about. I think he'll be right up Del Toro's alley as far as how he 'looks.' I'm even confident they'll keep his personality close to that in the book. Why do I have this confidence? I don't know why, I just do.

Smaug's voice? Ian McKellen would be perfect! I can imagine a certain 'Gandalf' like quality to old Smaug's face and voice. I'm full of queer thoughts - maybe Smaug might even remind one of his Maker, old T himself!

Odo