{"id":71728,"date":"2013-05-29T04:05:15","date_gmt":"2013-05-29T09:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/?p=71728"},"modified":"2013-05-29T07:33:39","modified_gmt":"2013-05-29T12:33:39","slug":"visualising-smaug-the-kite-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2013\/05\/29\/71728-visualising-smaug-the-kite-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"Visualizing Smaug: the Kite Theory"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"intro\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DragonKiteHead.png\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"no-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-72178 alignright no-lazyload\" alt=\"DragonKiteHead\" src=\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DragonKiteHead.png\" width=\"78\" height=\"80\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>RingerSpy Bruta from The Netherlands shares with us his theory on the appearance of Smaug.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Just like everyone else I&#8217;ve been wondering what Peter Jackson\u2019s version of Smaug will look like. There have been a couple of interesting articles by TORn \u00a0about the appearance and size of the dragon. In TORn\u2019s article &#8216;<a title=\"Analysis: just how big is Jackson\u2019s Smaug?\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2013\/05\/11\/71530-analysis-just-how-big-is-jacksons-smaug\/\" target=\"_blank\">Analysis: just how big is Jackson&#8217;s Smaug?<\/a>&#8216;, Demosthenes calculated the size of the drake and Smaug appears to be immense. This is a compelling fact few can deny. Further evidence can be found in the following image of the gate of Erebor .<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugAndDwarves.png\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"no-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-72180 no-lazyload\" alt=\"SmaugAndDwarves\" src=\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugAndDwarves-300x171.png\" width=\"300\" height=\"171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugAndDwarves-300x171.png 300w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugAndDwarves-600x343.png 600w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugAndDwarves.png 704w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In comparison with Smaug&#8217;s tail, the dwarves are about the size of ants. From this it isn\u2019t surprising that in the movie the dwarves are being crushed when Smaug enters through the front gate. In the second TORn article; <a title=\"Could this be Smaug?!?\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2013\/05\/09\/71494-could-this-be-smaug\/\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cCould this be Smaug?!\u201d<\/a>, Smaug&#8217;s head is shown, but to me this is definitely not Smaug, I&#8217;ll explain why below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Kite theory<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In my kite theory, Smaug will have some basic attributes in common with the dragonkite we see the children of Dale flying in the Prologue .<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First: the dragon will indeed be red, his eyes will be yellow, and he will have sharp large front teeth and smaller back teeth.<\/li>\n<li>Second: the scales on his skin will also be of the same shape and size, as seen on the &#8216;skin&#8217; of the kite.<\/li>\n<li>Last and most interestingly: are the similarities that I believe will be shown in the shape of his nose and the number of horns on his head and chin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugsNose.png\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"no-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-72181 no-lazyload\" alt=\"SmaugsNose\" src=\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugsNose-300x169.png\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugsNose-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugsNose-600x339.png 600w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugsNose.png 680w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The evidence<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If we look at the image, where Smaug pulverizes the dwarves, you can clearly see Smaug&#8217;s head. Under the nose and on the sides of his head, you can see his horns. At least, I assume they are horns because that would be the most satisfying explanation for these &#8216;sticks&#8217;. \u00a0The stick on his nose could also be a tooth, or maybe the end of his kitedragon-like nose. But this isn&#8217;t the best picture in which we can see his horned head. When Smaug is swimming in Thror&#8217;s gold he dives up, at that moment, in a brief second, the other horns on the top of his head are visible.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugSwimmingInGold.png\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"no-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-72182 no-lazyload\" alt=\"SmaugSwimmingInGold\" src=\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugSwimmingInGold-300x148.png\" width=\"300\" height=\"148\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugSwimmingInGold-300x148.png 300w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugSwimmingInGold-1024x508.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugSwimmingInGold-600x297.png 600w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SmaugSwimmingInGold.png 1176w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>According to my kite theory, Smaug will look something like the kite dragon. \u00a0When Smaug&#8217;s eye is shown we can see some small horns on his head. Based on the picture above we can estimate how many horns this magnificent dragon has. The number of big horns on his head could vary from 5 to 8 or something like that. \u00a0With this information I searched the web to get the most accurate and satisfying picture of Smaug\u2019s head, as it would look in accordance with my kitedragon theory.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Peter Jackson&#8217;s first hint of the dragon?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I think there are similarities between the dragon and the kite, mainly because they came from the same people or group, with the same style, who are creating the look of this creature. \u00a0So, working on this theory, it can&#8217;t be a coincidence that the dragon and the kite would be similar. Alongside of this, the kite may have been made as some sort of illustration of the real dragon as a &#8220;visual backstory&#8221;, to show that its existence has been handed down in legend amongst the people of Dale and as such would be another reason why there are so many similarities between the two.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/HornedDragonBust.png\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"no-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-72179 alignright no-lazyload\" alt=\"HornedDragonBust\" src=\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/HornedDragonBust.png\" width=\"171\" height=\"232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/HornedDragonBust.png 407w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/HornedDragonBust-221x300.png 221w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 171px) 100vw, 171px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The kite can, in this way, serve as a hint for the viewer because they do not get to see the real dragon yet. The audience only gets quick glimpses of the dragon, small signs of the creature, like wings, claws, feet and then at the end of the movie a potentially large spoiler: Smaug&#8217;s eye. \u00a0From this perspective it isn\u2019t unreasonable to surmise that Peter Jackson chose to show the kite in the Prologue of the movie as another type of teaser\/spoiler. Because in the Prologue, we haven\u2019t really seen anything of the dragon yet! It could be the first sign.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, until the release of Desolation of Smaug, this will only be a theory, time will tell. \u00a0One thing <em>is<\/em> certain though, Smaug is going to be awesome!<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Bruta is a psychology student from The Netherlands, who first discovered Tolkien in 2000 and has been hooked ever since. \u00a0The views in this article are his own, and do not necessarily represent those of TheOneRing.net or its staff.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RingerSpy Bruta from The Netherlands shares with us his theory on the appearance of Smaug. Just like everyone&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":72178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[499,197,7,4,148,1911],"tags":[1788],"class_list":["post-71728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hobbit-movie-characters","category-fans","category-hobbit-book","category-hobbit-movie","category-hobbit","category-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug","tag-library"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DragonKiteHead.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1tLoH-iEU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71728"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72197,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71728\/revisions\/72197"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}