Ungoliant's home

[Marielle]

So the published Silmarillion says that Ungoliant 1) lived in the south, as "[the Valar's] vigilance had ever been to the north, and the south was long unheeded"; 2) lived in a ravine; and 3) wove black webs that blocked out all light, until "she was famished".

So not a whole lot to go on, but playing with the idea of the south maybe being associated with more tropical/wet climates, and the ravine, I suggest a starting point.

There's, obviously, too much light in this pics, and it's from Turkey Run State Park in Indiana, which isn't particularly near the equator, but I immediately thought of here when playing around with the idea of wet ravines. The park is absolutely filled with that clearly layered rock, and has a lot of little streams/waterfalls throughout. If you visit on an overcast day, it can actually be quite eerie. So if we 10x the number of trees in the background to block out the light, could this be the entrance to Ungoliant's abode?

 

[Ray Burns]

This is an entrance to one of the many lava tubes on Hawaii. I don't think it should be this lush, but the way that the entrance is 'hidden' might be cool. Also, the moss that you see hanging from the trees could easily be 'webs of darkness'. Plus I get to show off one of my Hawaii pictures ;-)

 

[Ren]

How tall is Ungoliant? Here one of the largest caves on earth that would fit the needs if she is really huge.

 

[Marielle]

I think we can play around with her size in the beginning. The published texted says that, as she consumed the light of the Trees, she "swelled to a shape so vast and hideous that Melkor was afraid." And later on, when she's demanding the Silmarils, "but she had grown great".

Both lines suggest to me that she grows in strength, size, and power after consuming the light. So we could depict her as roughly human size in the beginning, like this:

*credit Brunild on deviantart

but when they quarrel, she can change to this:

*credit rubendevela on deviantart

All this is to say she needn't have the biggest cave in the world ever for a home.

*Final note: didn't Corey at one point suggest that she still be in woman form when Melkor approaches her, and she only change when "they're ready to go"? And Melkor be more than a little unnerved by this? I have to re-listen to some podcasts now....

 

[Ray Burns]

I like the idea that at first, she is in 'human' form and then changes and because of the power that she consumes and how great she becomes, she is 'locked' into that form from that time forward....

 

[Marielle]

Exactly. Which is sort of what happens to Melkor in this scene, no? After the Darkening of Valinor, he loses his ability to walk around "uncloaked" or change his form, doesn't he?

 

[Ren]

You mean that's also why Fingolfin can fight Morgoth in physical form, back in Middle-Earth. Interesting.

Ok, a cave of human size form then for Gloomweaver. That means she maybe is of similar size as Shelob, before she consumes the light of the trees. In this case your first pic is fine.

That means later on in Nan Dungortheb she needs a lot of space!