Your favourite Tolkien artistes

Post by **yovargas** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:36 pm

Oh, her hobbits are wonderful! She may not have the technical skill of some more professional artists, but the spirit of her hobbits might be the most dead on I've seen in drawings.

Post by **Pearly Di** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:03 pm

Oh, it's so nice to hear this.

What a shame Lucy isn't around to hear it.

Well, wherever she is, and whatever she's doing, I hope she's happy!

Post by **Mrs. Frodo Baggins** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:03 am

Well I highly doubt I am anywhere close to being someone's favorite Tolkien artist, but seeing those wonderful hobbit drawings by Lucy Wade again inspired me to draw my own hobbit picture!

This is Violet Goodbody from a RPG that I played a long time ago (Rowanberry would remember her though

). I still like to draw her though.

I'm pretty happy with the way this one turned out because I didn't copy it. She is completely from my head!

~Sid

Post by **anthriel** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:47 am

*rushes in*

*tacklecrunchhuggles Sid*

*rushes out*

Post by **Rowanberry** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:37 pm

Frelga wrote: One of my favorite Tolkien artists is Jane Dolfen (http://www.goldseven.de/) I think she used to have more Tolkien art on her website. And I can't remember if it was she or Eissman who had really charming comic strips of the Gondor Brothers as children, based on Calvin and Hobbes and done in the black-and-white ink(?). Can't find the link now.

Frelga, it was neither Jenny Dolfen nor Anke Eissmann, but Catherine Karina Chmiel (another great one):

The Boromir comics

And, Chmiel's portrayals of the Fëanorians -

Post by **Frelga** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 4:55 am

Yes! Thank you, Rowan! I've been looking for them.

And I certainly appreciate her Boromir, too.

Sid, Violet is so wholesomely hobbitish!

Post by **Mrs. Frodo Baggins** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 9:45 pm

YAY!!! An Anthy tackle hug!!! My life is now complete!!

Thanks so much Frelga! I had so much fun drawing Violet that I drew myself as a hobbit for my DiviantArt ID.

Hobbits sure are fun to draw!

~Sid

Post by **yovargas** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 10:26 pm

awww, that's adorable, Sid.

Post by **Rowanberry** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:56 pm

Sid, your hobbits are just great. Somehow, I missed at first that the first one was Violet!

I think that you've found your own style.

Post by **Mrs. Frodo Baggins** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 2:11 am

Awwww! Thanks guys!

That means a lot to me!

Sat Jun 16, 2007 2:35 am

Beth came home today with the words "you can sometimes find something interesting at Goodwill". She then handed me a 1984 J.R.R. Tolkien calendar, illustrated by Roger Garland. I like it very much. It has pictures from LOTR, Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and (even though it doesn't say so) The Book of Lost Tales. I think my favorite one is the first one - The Tale of the Sun and the Moon. I also very much like the one of the Two Trees (which I actually have seen before).

Post by **truehobbit** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 12:31 am

Googling for something to use on MoME, I just found this Russian artist.
The illustrations seem in the tradition of classical Russian illustration art (they reminded me of Bilibin's style). I liked quite a few of them.

http://Eressëa.ru/library/gallery/lyazg ... a.shtml#03

They aren't all Tolkien topics, there's quite a bit of Lohengrin, too.
Unfortunately, the letters aren't displayed properly on this site (at least for me), but when I click on an image, the mouse-over shows the title in Russian letters.
I can decipher the names (am pleased to remember that much), but don't get any of the other words.
Maybe Frelga or Breogan can help?

Anyway, here's some I liked:
Nienor

Fingolfin

Fëanor
(Too handsome for Fëanor, if you ask me.

But a great drawing.

)

Post by **Frelga** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 12:44 am

Very nice find, Hobby! Of course Frelga can help.

What is your wish? If you can decipher Cyrillic, you can set your browser encoding to Cyrillic Windows-1251. Otherwise, just ask.

I likeThe Bow and the Sword. Túrin is doing a great job of guarding Beleg's back.

Post by **truehobbit** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 3:09 am

That would have been one of my questions.

Thanks, Frelga!

I'm not even too sure about all the letters anymore, but if they make a name, I can usually read it. But if it's other words, chances are I'm lost.
(And I don't know the Sil well enough to recognise the scenes.

)

I guess 'poshdenye...' (transcription being of course another problem

) is the creation of sun and moon? (Not my favourite, though. An odd picture, I'd just like to get the topic right.)

I like this one http://Eressëa.ru/library/gallery/lyazg ... na03.shtml and wonder if it's "death of Felagund"?

And just out of curiosity, is the artist a guy or a girl? (St00pfid cases, I can't even tell what the name is from its genitive.)

Post by **Frelga** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 4:01 am

Julia Liazgina, definitely a she.

And yes, the one you linked is Death of Felagund (Gibel' Felagunda), and Rozhdenie Solnza i Luny is the Birth of Sun and Moon. Creation is probably a better translation, but less literal.

She also has Ring of Felagund, although I think it should read Ring of Barahir, shouldn't it? Not a favorite either.

Then, the second row, The Last Battle of Fingolfin. The other three you already deciphered. And the next row is Fëanor, Maeglin, and the rest is from Lohengrin.

Fëanor is definitely my favorite. Gorgeous work, such confidence and arrogance in that curl of lip.

Did you see this one? Very cool Beren. And check out this Maedros!

Post by **N.E. Brigand** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 5:53 am

Frelga wrote:She also has Ring of Felagund, although I think it should read Ring of Barahir, shouldn't it?

Either way. It was Felagund's ring first, after all.

Post by **Frelga** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 8:15 am

True, true, it's just that it is usually referred to as Barahir's.

Post by **truehobbit** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 12:43 pm

Frelga wrote:Julia Liazgina, definitely a she.

Ah, thanks!

(I thought 'Julii' would be from 'Julia', but the rest of the name I couldn't trace back to its original form, and there might be a male 'Julius' or so, too.)

She also has Ring of Felagund, although I think it should read Ring of Barahir, shouldn't it? Not a favorite either.

Yes, I've seen that, and didn't have a clue what it was. I thought of Lúthien and Beren in front of Thingol and Melian, though, I just didn't know what to make of the shiny thing in his hand...
I looked it up, and Beren says "by the ring of Felagund' when he reacts to Thingol's insults - so that explains the title of the pic.

Did you see this one? Very cool

Wow, those are great!

I didn't find any other galleries, because I didn't know where to click - I tried some links but only got to the home page and some lists.

I think it's not my PC not being set to display Cyrillic - when I click on the pic, the heading says Маглор, but on the index-page it gets displayed as Ìàãëîð.

(The pictures of Maglor on this gallery are swoonsome, btw.

)

Post by **MithLuin** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:42 pm

Ah yes, very lovely Maedhros and Maglor. <steals>

And here is a Fëanor for you, should you want it...

I am more interested in Jenny Dolfen, Catherine Karina Chmiel and Anke Eissman than in Lee, Howe or Nasmith. But they all have their plusses!

Lee I like the least, even if he is very skilled. I loved his work on the movies, because my complaint with his artwork is that it is too...washed out. Everything is just grey. PJ fixed that

. My favorite picture by Alan Lee is the House of Tom Bombadil.

I like some of his others as well, but most of them do not move me. The Fords of Isen might look nice, but it is so blah!

I like Nasmith for his landscapes and his colors, which are both wonderful. His characters are best when they are indistinct, though - they tend to be very stiff and clunky in their movements, and his hobbits are almost...ugly! For shame! (Though, again to be fair...his Rosie is not bad - I like this picture a lot!) My favorites by him are Lúthien dancing by moonlight, and Maglor throwing the Silmaril into the sea (even if the covering-of-the-face is a bit forced...)

Howe is great for his action and his portrayal of movement. I like his covers for HoME, mostly. My favorite of his, though, is his Gandalf:

Getting Gandalf's look 'right' is not difficult, because Tolkien described him in such detail and he is so clearly an archetype we are all familiar with. Many artists can do that much. But...this painting evokes the entire feel of Middle Earth for me, with the rain and the tree and the lighting and...everything!

Of the ladies, my favorite is probably Chmiel. She is able to tell an entire story in just one snapshot. It's...an amazing ability for an illustrator! All of her pictures are amazing (including the young Boromir comics!), but this one in particular: Elros and Elrond were taken

Anke Eissmann is very prolific, and does such beautiful work. Most of her scenes are quiet, but engaging - she's in between the flashy battles and the barren landscapes. The picture of the Hall of Fire on this page is one of my favorites of hers, but I also enjoy her Beren and Lúthien series. Her Tom Bombadil is quite nice, Old Tom!

Jenny (pronounced 'Yenni') Dolfen generally has blah landscapes (with a few exceptions) - but her characters come to life. When her Curufin smirks in such a self-assured way...it's just, oh, wow! Her Maglor and Fingon are beautiful, and her Maedhros is just great

That, and she very kindly drew Finrod for me when I asked! Her 'Fields of Gold' painting is Amarië, Finrod's beloved, and that does have a lovely background. So does her picture of the Sons of Fëanor after the Fifth Battle! More importantly, she just had a baby girl last month

Her main page: http://www.goldseven.de/
Her elfwood page: http://www.elfwood.com/art/g/o/goldseven/goldseven.html
Her deviant art page: http://gold-seven.deviantart.com/
Her epilogue page: http://www.epilogue.net/cgi/database/ar ... llery=5458

(Most artist are very willing to let you repost their work if you ask first. Since I didn't, I tried not to in this post; my pictures are all from sites beyond the artist's original site anyway. But hotlinking can be just as annoying, so you really can't win!)

Post by **solicitr** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 7:48 pm

Nasmith I blow hot and cold on. Sometimes he's very evocative and subtle- as with his Lúthien on Huan- but sometimes he's stiff, plastic-y, and even Hildebrandtish (yuck!).

I think Lúthien dancing is one of his best- but he also betrays his New World origins. Reading Tolkien's "hemlocks" like a good Canadian, he depicted them not, as Tolkien intended, as cow-parsley, or what Americans would call Queen Anne's Lace, but as giant coniferous trees of the genus Tsuga!