I found the presentation or adaption of both elves and dwarfs in TES to be very disconcerting to me. They shouldn't have called them by such names - kind of made up their own names/races. I'm well versed in LOTR and some fantasy literature but the video game world is relatively new to me so I can't draw parallels with WOW or similar popular games. None the less, if we're talking aesthetics, I prefer the LOTR appearance. If we're talking power and magical nature, I still prefer LOTR. The elves in TES don't feel particularly powerful or ancient. All the TES elves kind of run together for me; I guess I need to play more...

Definitely LOTR elves, the elves in Skyrim with the exception of the High Elves are disappointing in terms of looks especially the Bosmer, My god are the Bosmer hideous. Dunmer are ok at least the males are, females look horrible.

Pff, Jenassa looks good. And that Hlaalu chick in Solstheim. The Azura priest, and the nerdy one in the college too.

I like my people with knives on their ears like I like my poop... Colorful.

But then... what about Santa's Elves... where do they fit in this mess?

Hmmm I couldn't vote. I prefer LOTR elves to stay in LOTR. They have their own lore and reason for being. TES elves would be different and should be. However I do not *prefer* Skyrim elves as they are in the vanilla game. They did a poor job of exaggerating features to the point of the elves looking like caricatures. Particularly Bosmer males. Holy cow that chin. Just look at the 1st preset. I do like the looks of the Dunmer. I wished they'd bring back some of the facial features they use to have such as the beading across the brow, etc. but I like them well enough in Skyrim. Altmer are looking better that they did in games past.

I would pay lots of good money to see an Altmer stand up to the Valar like Feanor did. Or take on a Balrog.

You also forgot Cirdan's epic beard that makes the Greybeards' shrivel in shame

Remember that part in FotR where Galadriel puts on her scary-lady face? That's what the Elves in Valinor are like. As much as I like TES mer, they are no match for Tokien's Quendi.

Between the two of them, I like Tolkien's more. I like to play around in TES's sandbox more, but I will always hold Arda as the superior world in my own head.

The less human they look the better, they're not human so they shouldn't look like sparkly skinned people with pointy ears.

TES elves of course. Though to be honest if I had to pick between Bioware's Dragon Age Dalish elves vs TES elves... that would be a tough one for me.

Well I have to give it to Tolkien for pretty much bringing the most widely known image of elves into fantasy, but I prefer the unique and different qualities and cultures of TES mer

Yes, exactly. Feanor could take his army and annihilate the Dominion in a few months.

I like both versions, but prefer tes elves more. I wish other games made their elves more unique looking, than recycling the same look.

They were both a part of Iluvatar's Third Theme... so it makes sense that they be similar. But there are vast differences. Not outwardly obvious, and the movies can't capture it. But the face of a Quendi who has looked upon the light of the Two Trees... no Man can match that. The Quendi is not so misshapen, relative to Man, as the Mer, but the subtler differences are far vaster. A Mer is basically a Man with an oddly-shaped face. Can that compare to the shining eyes and face, the eternal, brightly burning fire, the almost godlike appearance of the Quendi, where Man is merely Man? (Fun fact: Feanor = Spirit of Fire, his actual name was Curufinwe).

LotR elves of course.

Much deeper and more interesting and thought out backstory.

Elves in TES are so ugly just like those potato head children didnt liked their head parts especially looks more like weird aliens where as LOTR elves were more human looking beautiful people just beautiful............
LOTR for me

I like ES elves, LOTR look too human for me.

If I remember correctly, they weren't so human-looking in the books.
It is sad how much the movies have changed things...
Did you know that there was no physical large flaming eye in Mordor, in the books?

Anyways,
I can't find the answer to this one. TES elves are more realistic, obviously,
but I must say I don't know enough about the Lord of the Rings elves to vote.
I think I would need to read Silmarillion first.

Elves should not look like "man with pointy ears".

Had this been about Dwarves, LotR.

*Still have issues "Deep Folk" == Dwarves, because of Giants? When can anyone understand the Giants? O_o

Definitely read the Silmarillion.

The elves as they appear in the Lord of the Rings are at their lowest point. It's like the Dunmer after the Red Year - you can tell that they were once great, but they've fallen far.

I think a lot of people are only taking Jackson's movies into consideration. Those elves are all right, but they're not really... Elves, if that makes sense. They don't have that same ageless feel that Tolkien was able to convey.

The other thing Tolkien's elves get, of course, is the fact that they led the way . There have been many elves since, and TES has thankfully made theirs very wonderfully unique, but the Quendi get seniority.

I always pick the deconstructed over the stock. Thus, my vote for TES.

TES elves are my favorite elves really. But I can't say I really know that much about LOTR elves, both books and movies are distant memory. However, at least compared to all the other video games that feature elves, TES elves are my favorite (in comparison to, Dragon Age, Baldur's Gate, Warcraft, to name a few).

Actually now I think about it, TES humans are also my favorite humans as far as fantasy goes. I think in both cases what helps is a truly extensive and detailed world that you just don't get from other games or movies, even books can only cover so much.

Wow there was no eye in Mordor that a big change from the books. I didn't get around the books maybe I should start too.

I can't vote on this. The problem is I'm not ultimately preferring any type of elves out of context. I have played TES since Morrowind and I really like to have the elves in TES like they are - they perfectly fit there. But I have also been Tolkien fan since I was a kid and I really like how the elves are described in Silmarillion, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - they fit perfectly in Tolkiens Middle-Earth. But I would never like to see TES elves in LOTR or LOTR elves in TES.

Craftworld Eldar.

You can't really compare the two , they existed in diffrent world , in diffrent stories, and have diffrent role.

Also is it just me that feels that when people mentione Tolkien elfs they don't think Tolkien elfs they think D&D( and to the lesser examplePeter Jackson) elves that where based on Tolkien elves( because half of fantasy take's its roots from Tolkien)

Let us not be snobbish here.

I love LotR, and the Silmarillion, it was the first book I ever read. Well, major book. The different sorts of Elves all had a powerful and mythic resonance that has imprinted itself on the culture and fantasy of generations.

I came late to TES, but I appreciate the rich back story and unique flavour to each sort of elf all the same. I think they are one of the few works that isn't just copying Tolkien style elves and putting them in their world. I get a real sense of character from the different sorts of Met.

They're different things for different worlds, and beyond compare. Each is a jewel in popular mythos