Best Tolkien Art

[MarkB]

If it was pink and purple, it could be a pulp romance cover.

Spoiler

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"Does he have a dagger in his pocketses precious, or is he just happy to meets us?"

 

[Krachek]

I remember this one

 

[jian]

There was a wonderful book I had as a kid - no idea where it is now - which was A Tolkien Bestiary by David Day (apparently written in 1979). It contained some very varied and evocative art that still shapes a lot of how I think of Middle-Earth. Here are a couple of examples, which IIRC are the Battle of the Five Armies and Thingol, Melian, and Luthien.

No idea who the artists are, sadly.

 

[jian]

There was a wonderful book I had as a kid - no idea where it is now - which was The Tolkien Bestiary by David Day (apparently written in 1979). It contained some very varied and evocative art that still shapes a lot of how I think of Middle-Earth. Here are a couple of examples, which IIRC are the Battle of the Five Armies and Thingol, Melian, and Luthien.

No idea who the artists are, sadly.
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The artists are John Blanche and Victor Ambrus respectively.

I had a particular fondness for Victor Ambrus’ art, which was very delicately medieval and yet down to earth - very suitable for drawing LotR elves, who are as much perfected humans (no pointy ears etc) as anything. Here are some other pieces:

 

[sophotek_bliss]

One of my absolute favorite pieces of Tolkien-inspired art is "The Wizards River Horses" by Rob Alexander.

 

[Mannahnin]

There was a wonderful book I had as a kid - no idea where it is now - which was A Tolkien Bestiary by David Day (apparently written in 1979). It contained some very varied and evocative art that still shapes a lot of how I think of Middle-Earth. Here are a couple of examples, which IIRC are the Battle of the Five Armies and Thingol, Melian, and Luthien.

No idea who the artists are, sadly.
View attachment 394966
View attachment 394967

The artists are John Blanche and Victor Ambrus respectively.

I had a particular fondness for Victor Ambrus’ art, which was very delicately medieval and yet down to earth - very suitable for drawing LotR elves, who are as much perfected humans (no pointy ears etc) as anything. Here are some other pieces:

Thanks for crediting those wonderful artists. I have this book as well, and when I think of it I always think of Ian Miller's distinctive (and incredible, though as a kid I found it remarkably dark in tone for LotR) art from it, including the cover.

The full list of artists credited is, I believe, Ian Miller, Michael Foreman, Allan Curless, Lidia Postma, John Blanche, Pauline Martin, Sue Porter, Linda Garland, Victor Ambrus, John Davis and Jaroslav Bradac.

 

[jian]

Thanks for crediting those wonderful artists. I have this book as well, and when I think of it I always think of Ian Miller's distinctive (and incredible, though as a kid I found it remarkably dark in tone for LotR) art from it, including the cover.

The full list of artists credited is, I believe, Ian Miller, Michael Foreman, Allan Curless, Lidia Postma, John Blanche, Pauline Martin, Sue Porter, Linda Garland, Victor Ambrus, John Davis and Jaroslav Bradac.

Yes, and of course Ian Miller did a fair bit of WFRP art as well (such as Death on the Reik) which was very appropriate.

 

[Mannahnin]

Yes, and of course Ian Miller did a fair bit of WFRP art as well (such as Death on the Reik) which was very appropriate.

Oh yes, I think I got my copy of the Bestiary earlier, but I really discovered and fell in love with Miller's stuff in Warhammer, where it's incredibly on-theme.

 

[dbm]

found it. There is so much going on in this painting. I love it. I wish I could find a higher res version so you can see all the details.

Spoiler: POSTER

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My parents had this on a chopping board, hung up in our kitchen when I was young - before I ever got into role playing. Which is interesting because they aren’t particularly fantasy fans. My first exposure to the hobbit was an audio adaption which I think was on the radio.

 

[Jolly Ruby]

This one is my favourite, by Tolkien himself: