The following is an excerpt from an analysis made by the theoneringnet of those wonderful EW photos featured in their article on The Hobbit.
You can access the entire article at the link below:
I have marked in red some of the comments that make me most proud of and excited for Richard. It seems as if at least some of the hard-core Tolkien fans are definitely impressed by what they see thus far in RA’s look as and interpretation of Thorin.
Ainu Laire:I simply adore all the details on his costume and the details on Orcrist. He looks like a proper dwarf-lord to me.
Deej: Bad ass. 
Elessar: A dwarf who’s ready to kick some butt is what this says to me. You get a sense of a dwarf with a chip on his shoulder ready to prove that he can lead, and also someone who wants what is supposed to be coming to him.
Garfeimao: Orcrist is stunning, a blade worthy of the King under the Mountain, to be sure. But I also love his fur-lined leather duster. Thorin is definitely regal looking.
Grammaboodawg: For some reason, this portrait of Thorin has him seeming a little less “in control” and a part of the dwarves instead of their rock-hard leader. He’s warrior-like and formidable, but I like this portrait better than the original posed shot.
Linuxelf: He looks like the confident leader that he is, and he looks like he knows how use that sword well!
MrCere: Is it possible people still don’t get that this movie is about three people moving the action? Gandalf, Bilbo and Thorin are the center of this film. Let me go on record again and say that Richard Armitage is going to be a gigantic star when these two movies are over.
Quickbeam: Thorin Oakenshield has graduated from using an oak branch to one of the finest weapons of old Gondolin. Imagine this sword might weigh and handle completely differently for a dwarf as opposed to the elf who forged it.
Sarumann: I’m still getting used to dwarves looking this cool. But, man does Richard Armitage own that role! He’s going to exemplify what it means to be a warrior dwarf. I also love the design of Orcrist, and will be hard pressed not to buy a replica once they become available.
Richard, honey, we all knew you’d wow ’em. Vive Thorin, the King Under the Mountain and one bad-ass warrior dwarf!
Thorin Oakenshield: on his way to conquering the world . . .
the armitage effect 
I read that bad ass comment and thought, “Good, I’m not the only one who sees it!” They really were quite complementary (as they should be). Now we just need the movie to come out!
Yeah, he just looks like a guy you do not want to mess with if you know what’s good for you. 😉 It’s good to see that others are seeing what we see. And I am so glad the one staff member stressed there are three lead characters, Bilbo, Gandalf and THORIN. 😀 😀
Amen. I wish I could ask Thorin to please take care of certain creatures as bad as that dragon.
Thorin AND Guy AND Porter- oh in fact send all the Sloth FIction lads – they’d be invincible!
Leigh & Judit, with you a hundred percent.
Hmmm, yes. Wonder if a beheading would be out of the question for said creature.
I read the article earlier this evening and thought of course he owns this role. Richard is going to blow everyone away with his performance as Thorin. And I can’t wait!!!
I love that picture of dog, Thorin and the laptop because it is so common in my life, between my dogs and my laptop!
I think there are a lot of animal lovers here. 😀 I love the fact he’s also wearing eyeglasses. 😉
Angie, you should have seen me reading this post! I was clapping and sqeee-ing (sp?) and generally behaving like an excited 3 year old who’s just seen his b’day cake!!! 🙂 Thank you, thank you,thank you for sharing these quotes and the link! Ohhh the artwork…The one with Thorin’s reflection on the water is simply mesmerizing! I love the Thorin newspaper dress tooo!!!
Well, I knew some people had already seen it but I wanted to make sure everyone had. It was too good NOT to share. As Mezz has said, it’s so good to see someone outside of the RA fandom per se really eagerly anticipating Richard’s performance and already believing he owns the role and will do a great job. 😀 I continue to be amazed at all the photo editing stuff out there. I just found another site. 😉