Hello all,
I have been doing a bit of thinking about the elemental forms of the Valar, and I have some ideas. For a while I was trying to decide whether to draw them out or not, but I don't think my art skills are good enough to properly depict what I have in my mind, so I will do my best with descriptions and internet images alone.
My first thought is that in their pre-elf-contact forms they can be vaguely humanoid. I feel like this is one of those things that most people agree on, but we have never overtly stated it, so I am putting it on the record. The main point in my reasoning is that Aule did a pretty good job of approximating the firstborn when he made the Dwarves, so it stands to reason that the Valar have an idea of what shape the children of Illuvatar are going to take.
My second thought is that we use a variety of methods to produce the elemental effects, from physical makeup and costumes to Visual effects, depending on the Vala in question. For example, Bre's version of Manwe has his lower body looking partially cloudy and nebulous, so I assume we would use VFX for that, but his upper body is feathery and bird-like, which we could use prosthetic makeup to achieve.
So, without further ado, I am going to go through the Valar and explain what I have in mind. I will be linking to some of the images that Bre posted in the beginning to illustrate some of my ideas.
Manwe:
Bre pretty much nailed it.
Finished that Manwe piece
Varda:
I think Varda's form could be primarily humanoid face and hands, and the rest of her body could look as though it was robed in the night sky. I really like this art as inspiration for her elemental form.
http://40.media.tumblr.com/0a97e7b559464cb9976fbe463f798159/tumblr_nl8jzhCecI1t0919xo1_250.jpg
Ulmo:
Ulmo must look like the sea, and these two pieces really evoke to me the humanoid-but-still-elemental feel that I imagine for all of the Valar's pre-elf-contact looks.
http://41.media.tumblr.com/498c08da7146032dde80dff1e8dcf248/tumblr_n55zr58AgG1rfrbx8o2_250.jpg
http://36.media.tumblr.com/d2234f8bc768a9a1b31303c570751e59/tumblr_n55zr58AgG1rfrbx8o4_250.jpg
Aule:
Now, this may seem weird to most people, but I think Aule aught to look like he is made of stone. Now, I have not decided whether I think we should go with a more smooth-skinned stone giant feel like this
http://cdn.tabletitans.com/img/bestiary/stonegiant.jpg of a rougher-hewn stone giant feel like this
http://pre14.deviantart.net/c18e/th..._stone_giants_by_rodolfoguerreiro-d5vgbm7.jpg
Hear me out though, because I think this could provide a beautiful story-telling device. If I am remembering the discussion of Aule and the Dwarves correctly, there was a moment of discussion about how making the Dwarves look like Aule could make him seem vain, and we need to make sure he looks humble, like the only reason he makes the Dwarves is because he is impatient and wants to make things. His elemental form being one of stone could provide a visual cue. As he makes the Dwarves he begins to look more like them, as though he is changing his form to be more like them rather than the other way around. This could also be a fun pre-cursor to the change which occurs with all of the Valar when they meet the firstborn.
Yavanna:
We actually have a cue for Yavanna's elemental form from the text:
"Yavanna is next to Varda among the Queens of the Valar. In the form of a woman she is tall, and robed in green; but at times she takes other shapes. Some there are who have seen her standing like a tree under heaven, crowned with the Sun; and from all its branches there spilled a golden dew upon the barren earth, and it grew green with corn; but the roots of the tree were in the waters of Ulmo, and the winds of Manwë spoke in its leaves. Kementári, Queen of the Earth, she is surnamed in the Eldarin tongue.” -The Silmarillion
So I am thinking her elemental form is pretty much an Ent. Although, this image shows a slightly different way we could approach Yavanna looking like a tree
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e1/25/03/e125036dd23b9eaa72238387baf3fb69.jpg
Here is a good image of a makeup application from Faceoff that we could also use as inspiration
http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/2013/01/16/previews/Faceoff-0020-20130116-63.jpg
I also imagine that plants spring up wherever Yavanna walks, like the Forest God from Princess Mononoke.
Side note - Vana: In the Silmarillion it says “The spouse of Oromë is Vána, the Ever-young; she is the younger sister of Yavanna. All flowers spring as she passes and open if she glances upon them; and all birds sing at her coming.” I think we can make this happen and still differentiate between the movement of plants as Yavanna and Vana pass by making it clear that Yavanna's step creates plants, and Vana's step makes existing plants bloom and turn towards her.
Nienna:
I actually imagine her in her elemental form as being a completely veiled form, so that the defining feature of her form is the veil itself. I think this could work really well with what we have already discussed about Nienna and her veil, If her entire form is veiled, then at key moments she could still unveil herself to mourn or to speak, but it would not be the movement of a costume piece, it would be a change in her actual embodiment.
Shoot... I have to get ready for work. I am not sure whether I will have time to finish this list before the next session, but I hope that this gives an idea of what I think the elemental (pre-elf-contact) forms of the Valar could be.
Let me know what you think, or whether I have missed anything. As I have said before, I am struggling to catch up on all of the discussions that took place while I was absent from the forums, so I really appreciate it when people come in and mention pertinent discussions that are happening elsewhere on the forums.