The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook is a book by Tolkien artist Alan Lee featuring numerous of his art portraying J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It was the first of Lee's own publications of his Middle-earth illustrations.
Produced on the heels of Lee's substantial concept art work for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (finished in 2003), and of Houghton Mifflin's Centenary 1 Volume Edition[1] of The Lord of the Rings which Lee contributed to, it was published in 2005 by Houghton Mifflin. A foreword is given by Ian McKellen, actor of the wizard Gandalf in the films.
The book thoroughly covers every significant location in the story of The Lord of the Rings: the Shire, Bree, Rivendell, Moria, Rohan, Ithilien, Mordor, Mithlond, and others. Alongside his illustrations, Lee writes about his work on the films, his relationship with Tolkien's world, and his artistic process and philosophy in general. Much of the book's commentary on the films parallels the information given in Gary Russell's series covering the art direction of the trilogy.
Alan Lee later put together a similar book, The Hobbit Sketchbook, published in 2020.
External links[]
See also[]
- John Howe's A Middle-earth Traveler: Sketches from Bag End to Mordor
- The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien