It runs so counter to the prevailing pop culture view of Elves in heroic fantasy fiction, doesn't it? 
It also doesn't elp that Dungeons & Dragons and other Fantasy RPGs have tried to merge Tolkien-style Elves with the faerie creatures of British legend. This led to things like AD&D saying that HIgh Elves (Noldor cognates) were about 5'6" in height at most, and slightly built. And that would be true for Anglo-Saxon elves or Welsh Twyleth Tweg types that were described as being the size of "youths". Add in the movies with their own sense of descriptive logic, and elves become fashion models with pointy ears and Renfaire wardrobe.
However, the Eldar and their Green-Elf cousins were not described as that sort of people. Consider these points.
1. Read every description of the named & featured elves in LOTR & Silmarillion. How many of them come across as fashion models or being no larger than human teenagers?
2. After that, consider the feats of strength performed by many of the Elven champions. Even given the nature of Elven technology, they are tough heroes who aren't slim & skinny. Even the Noldor women were strong enough to survive crossing the Grinding Ice, so both genders are covered!
3. The preferred ranged weapon of the elves in Middle-Earth is the longbow, which requires a great deal of strength to wield effectively. There are many videos on Youtube that can summarize it. Or you can read the historically derived description of archery in Agincourt by Juliet Barker. The arrows of the elves of early Medieval myth were feared because "elf-shot" used poison or magic. (People who were "elf-shot" suffered from what would be described nowadays as blood clots (aneurysm/embolism) or paralytic stroke.)
This is not to suggest that Elves were not beautiful or graceful, they definitely had that in abundance! But would the standard of beauty might more approach Classical (or Neo-Classical) sculpture instead of shoujo manga, or the models of pre-Raphaelite art? That is subjective to the artist, so here I have to shrug and leave it to them. We all know what we like, anyway. Still, that's why I advised Steamy to draw Elven heroes as physically powerful people first, and then turn them into elves as part of the detailing process.
It also doesn't elp that Dungeons & Dragons and other Fantasy RPGs have tried to merge Tolkien-style Elves with the faerie creatures of British legend. This led to things like AD&D saying that HIgh Elves (Noldor cognates) were about 5'6" in height at most, and slightly built. And that would be true for Anglo-Saxon elves or Welsh Twyleth Tweg types that were described as being the size of "youths". Add in the movies with their own sense of descriptive logic, and elves become fashion models with pointy ears and Renfaire wardrobe. However, the Eldar and their Green-Elf cousins were not described as that sort of people. Consider these points.
1. Read every description of the named & featured elves in LOTR & Silmarillion. How many of them come across as fashion models or being no larger than human teenagers?
2. After that, consider the feats of strength performed by many of the Elven champions. Even given the nature of Elven technology, they are tough heroes who aren't slim & skinny. Even the Noldor women were strong enough to survive crossing the Grinding Ice, so both genders are covered!
3. The preferred ranged weapon of the elves in Middle-Earth is the longbow, which requires a great deal of strength to wield effectively. There are many videos on Youtube that can summarize it. Or you can read the historically derived description of archery in Agincourt by Juliet Barker. The arrows of the elves of early Medieval myth were feared because "elf-shot" used poison or magic. (People who were "elf-shot" suffered from what would be described nowadays as blood clots (aneurysm/embolism) or paralytic stroke.)
This is not to suggest that Elves were not beautiful or graceful, they definitely had that in abundance! But would the standard of beauty might more approach Classical (or Neo-Classical) sculpture instead of shoujo manga, or the models of pre-Raphaelite art? That is subjective to the artist, so here I have to shrug and leave it to them. We all know what we like, anyway.
Still, that's why I advised Steamy to draw Elven heroes as physically powerful people first, and then turn them into elves as part of the detailing process.
Wow I really enjoyed reading your reply! I have to say I agree that they definitely are a strong people. I think perhaps I've been brain-washed by the movies too much to really conjure up what they're really like inside my own head. Especially after reading fanfiction where the writers really take the beauty idea and run with it!