The stories of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings have been such genre-defining monuments to fantasy that I think it’s impossible to not be enamored by the world. Who doesn’t love castles and orcs, elves and wizards, hobbits and giant eagles? The sheer scope of the fantasy lore is enough to get anyone longing to take a few steps out their front door. But that’s enough waxing about how amazing the Lord of the Rings is. Now it’s time to gush over how amazing the Minecraft community can be at making skins from (dare I say it) the best fantasy of all time.
1. Frodo Baggins
Check Out This Skin There’s no better place to start than with the ring-bearer himself, Mr. Frodo Baggins. While his long journey with the ring into Mordor had him looking rough by the end of Return of the king, this skin by Jaikthesnake shows Frodo looking clean and pristine as ever. Donned in fresh hobbit garbs, deep greens and medieval earthen tones, this Frodo skin carries all the softness of Elijah Wood’s shaggy-haired bare-footed performance. All that’s left to do is download the skin and assemble your own Fellowship to venture into Middle Minecraft with.
2. Gandalf the Grey
Check Out This Skin You shall not pass… up this opportunity for a great skin! That was a bad joke, but this skin is genuinely great. PlanetMinecraft creator ebbony nailed the intensity of Gandalf the Grey, citing the Balrog duel in the skin’s description. The flowing ashen-grey robes on top of the flowing ashen-grey hair give the skin a loose feeling, despite the furrowed brow of the soon-to-fall wizard. Equip yourself with some potions and an iron sword, and you’ve got yourself about as good of a Minecraft copy you can find out there.
3. Samwise Gamgee
Check Out This Skin Who doesn’t love Samwise Gamgee? That isn’t rhetorical. I mean it genuinely: how is it possible to not love Sam? Obviously, Sean Astin brings more than a little heart and soul to the beloved character in the movies. But Sam has everything that makes a great character. He’s kind, giving, strong-willed, and loyal. And in the end, it’s a real question of whether or not Samwise was the true hero of Frodo’s story. That’s a discussion for another time on another day. Right now, it’s time to get to the dangerous business of downloading this skin and setting out as the Gamgee himself.
4. Aragorn
Check Out This Skin The Lord of the Rings character designs have a unique softness to all of them. Flowing robes, large cloaks, and baggy pants accompany most of their designs. Not Aragorn’s design, though. Creator Felinka drafted this Strider skin to be darn near battle-ready. Equipped with a sword on with hood pulled back, this Aragorn skin looks ready to pounce from the wood into the frey. Seriously, Felinka makes skins with so much texture and depth of color that they remind you that these aren’t just pop culture references, but are pieces of art. Really good ones.
5. Legolas
Check Out This Skin Another Felinka gem of a skin, this Legolas is strewn with so many small details – it feels like it almost shouldn’t belong in Minecraft. Small touches of texture highlight the difference in the bracers and boots on the skin, from the elven green armor that covers it. The long billowing cloak sticks out from the skin’s backside in a separate layer too. Even the back of Legolas’ head has a little ponytail in the middle of head. I didn’t even know you could do that with MC skins.
6. Orc
Check Out This Skin No discussion of Lord of the Rings would be complete without Orcs. Isn’t it crazy that Tolkien invented orcs? Before him, there was no such creature in the human mythos – but now the mighty orc is a staple of all things fantasy. And I’d argue that gab51299’s orc skin should become a staple of any fantasy Minecraft Realm. Not only does it perfectly capture the gross colors and war paint of LOTR orcs, but it also has a gentleness to the design that makes it perfect for playing around with. Are you playing as a friendly misunderstood orc? Or a vicious, warmongering orc? The choice is yours. Just be sure to only do the latter on a PvP server.
7. Arwen
Check Out This Skin It’s hard to understand how the breathtaking effect Arwen has in the movies and books could possibly be translated to a Minecraft skin. Until you see this one, of course. I couldn’t begin to explain how creator Beverly managed to create an Arwen skin so delicate and engaging, but that’s exactly what they did. The off-shoulder pale green dress, the layered hair, the traditional big Minecraft eyes. It’s as perfect of an elven representation as I’m likely to ever find in Minecraft.
8. Smeagol/Gollum
Check Out This Skin When I set out to make this list, I thought finding this skin would be the most fun one. And I was totally right. Gollum’s gross, miniature, hunched demeanor just can’t be translated into the blocky, upright sprites of Minecraft PC’s. But Gollum’s utter grossness totally can. That’s what you get with creator FilaStyle84’s Gollum skin. All the pallid grey grossness of the corrupted hobbit from the stringy hair to the bulbous eyes to the protruding spine. It’s a gloriously gross skin. I love it.
9. Gimli
Check Out This Skin Creator ebbony strikes again with what I have to assume is the most recognizable skin on this list by far. That seems like a stretch considering this is Gimli, a dwarf that has less renown than the more popular characters like Frodo or Gandalf might. But this skin is an exact copy of Gimli from the films, a facsimile. It’s incredible. From the armor to the burly beard, even the dimensions seem right – even though that’s impossible because it’s Minecraft. This is a skin that you just have to see for yourself. And while you’re at it, might as well get to fighting mobs like you’re one of the last of the dwarves as well.
10. Treebeard (with some hobbits)
Check Out This Skin The community strikes again with skins so creative they blow me away. Never did I think that ents, the giant talking trees, would be a Minecraft skin. Because well, they’re talking trees. That didn’t stop creator Aximili from creating this hilarious Treebeard skin, fully-loaded with two little hobbits on each shoulder (amazing by the way).
11. Elrond
Check Out This Skin If there’s anything to prove the longevity of LOTR and Minecraft skins, it’s this Elrond skin by creator D-Man from all the way back in 2011. The details on this skin are basic because it was made a long, long time ago. But the essence of the Elrond character shines through. The tall, receding hairline punctuates the humorously stern face and golden, elven battle armor. Seeing skins like this just brings a smile to my face.
12. Galadriel
Check Out This Skin It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that creator Beverly, who made the amazing Arwen skin earlier on the list, also managed to make this amazing rendition of Galadriel. The skin is so gloriously white that it practically shines with the radiance captured in the books and films. It almost feels wrong that mere Minecraft-playing mortals can just wear this skin anytime. Almost.
13. Bombur the Dwarf
Check Out This Skin While this character comes from the earlier story The Hobbit, this skin was too good for me to pass up for our list. This rendition of Bombur isn’t anywhere as rotund as that of the dwarf in the source material, but that hardly matters when a skin looks this good. I mean, look at the braided ginger mustache and beard combo on Bombur. And then tell me you don’t want that in Minecraft right now. You can’t.
14. Ringwraith
Check Out This Skin The Lord of the Rings isn’t all about fun heroes and hobbits like the majority of this list. The stories wouldn’t be complete with some antagonists, some evil forces. Hardly any character in fantasy has represented a pure, corrupting, evil force quite like the Ringwraiths, the Nazgul. And now you can play as one! Just don’t let it get to your head too much.
15. Sauron
Check Out This Skin If you’ve scrolled through this whole list so far and wondered where the cool armor and edgy evil character skin is, congratulations. You’ve found it. This Sauron skin by rupi8a is the prime depiction of the Dark Lord in all-black, craven and edged armor. The design exudes amazing Medieval-themed evil energy. And the best part: the only pop of color is on its right hand. A tiny speck of gold. The one ring to rule them all.
