"How big is your ideal orc?" Topic

Decrepit and mis-shapen cretins?

Burly fantasy-hulks?

Human-like with fangs?

How big is your ideal fantasy orc compared to a human?

Slightly shorter.

Dwarf height.

Less than a man.

I think Tolkein said about man size, but look shorter as they stoop, though some were definitely larger and smaller than this ball park figure!

Frodo and Sam could pass for little snagas.
But uruks would be biggish men

Uruk-hai were man sized orcs according to Tolkein, but most were smaller. Not the steroid enhanced muscled beef cakes that are often made by many manufacturers today

Like in the LOTR movies, man sized with non flattering makeup.

10-20% bigger than a human

Winston – I knew a guy who used some old, really crap sculpts of medieval troops for his orcs.
He figured since they barely looked human to begin with, just paint them green and go.

Nice one Weasel. My first Mordor Uruks were Hoplites painted all black with red eyes and red eye shield. I was happy enough with them at the time.

To the OP

No bigger than a man and often much smaller. Stooping as well ideally.

Elf-sized.

Since this is not limited to wargame, I prefer RPG-orcs… like throrr666, around 10-20% taller and beefier than normal humans, fits more with the RPG, "threatening, feral, ferocious monster," reputation.

Man sized or smaller, stooped, bent, somewhat bestial.

I like the 80s early 90s Games Workshop interpretation of orcs/orks where they're apelike, roughly man sized and greenish/brown/yellowish. See also Flintloque. I don't like the pig faced Gamorrean Guard look or the modern huge bulky look with massive teeth GW/Mantic.

Google Paul Bonner orcs/orks for my favourite look.

I've always though of Orcs as just bigger goblins. The really big ones might be man sized, but generally smaller.

As the twisted products of evil, rather stooped, deformed and rather like an unpleasant Victorian urchin produced by industrialised urban deprivation. Which given Tolkeins background, seems quite likely what he had in mind

Certainly not the steroid pumped Gamorreans seen today.

Excellent thread/OP.

I go to Tolkien so… varied. As has been said small – so small that Hobbits in mufti can pass for them (maybe 4ft when not stooped) – up until big and strong enough that another (with his ape like stance and strength) can pick up a pair of Hobbits – one under each arm – and run with them like Grishnak. Maybe 5ft 6in and very broad but stooped with long arms.

Uruk-hai are some sort of crossbred, improved model and have more of the physique and heinght of men but with great strength and stamina: more upright. So 6ft or so.

Tom Meier's work was always hard to beat…

John T

I'm not a huge fan of the "arms bigger than the average person is wide" Orc.

I always liked the idea of Orcs being deceptively stooped and wiry, but full of explosive muscle power, able to lash out and batter an opponent in a fight.

Yes,compare to a chimpanzee--deceptively smaller than human,but with great strength and stamina.

Elves were tall--Galadriel about 7 feet,IIRC.

Only Uruks were anything like man-size.

I'm talking Tolkien here,obviously, not PJ or GW.

These are my ideal Uruks and I would put them at about 6'.

Your run of the mill, descended from gene mangled Elves, I would put anywhere from four feet to six feet (leaders, bodyguards and such).

Moreover, I figure by the Third Age, there were as many tribes/breeds as there are dog breeds today.

Always loved Tim Kirk's illustrations! Don't know where he got the green skin,though. Not from Tolkien,certainly. Some of his other orc pics are more "normal-colored".

From passages in LOTR,and the draft books, I believe T had a sort of heavy iron scale armor in mind for the orcs.

I'm a big fan of orcs that are taller than a man if they stood up, but are hunched over and thus are a bit shorter (although taller than a dwarf). Stronger, but gangly. Pig snouted for sure. Definitely with tusks. That's my preferred orc!

There is this representation.

"I've always thought of Orcs as just bigger goblins."

This. Just better fed & more muscular, and better equipment, comparable to human size.

Green? Maybe (depending on the setting's fluff…)

Here's Pippin among the orcs :

"In the twilight he saw a large black Orc,probably Ugluk,standing facing Grishnakh,a short crook-legged creature, very broad and with long arms that hung almost to the ground. Round them were many smaller goblins. Pippin supposed that these were the ones from the North".

Ugluk was leader of the Isengard Uruks in the raid, Grishnakh of the Mordor Orcs.

I'm not near my library, but Tolkien gave a description of his general conception in a letter: an extreme form of the "(to Western eyes) least lovely Mongolian type", or words to that effect.

Acres of ink and pixels have been spilled trying to figure out what colour Tolkein thought orcs and goblins were, based on the few vague descriptions in the books and modern interpretations of what a late victorian gentleman may have actually meant by 'sallow', 'black' etc.

The very first Minifigs 'Mystical Earth' orcs I bought in the mid 1970s, were naturally painted green, because everyone knew orcs and goblins were green.

I would point out that Tolkien was not just a Late Victorian( I 'd say Edwardian) Gentleman, but also a man who,in the words of T.A.Shippey,"at one time,knew more about the English language than anyone alive".

What the heck,I painted some Minifigs Snout-Noses orange.

Huge but more like Warcraft movie than GW Orcs.

So smart as well.

But very, very warlike.

Man-sized or a bit smaller. They should rely more on numbers than on individual strength.

(It's the job of orcs to die in droves, and I'm sorry, but the GW steroidal brutes just don't look the part.)