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The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings Sketchbooks

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Presenting two richly illustrated books in one elegant slipcase, this deluxe, limited edition boxed set celebrates in words and pictures the beautiful work that award-winning artist Alan Lee has created for J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Sumptuously bound in full cloth, with a miniature colour image embossed into the front board, each large-format volume overflows with hundreds of delicate pencil drawings and conceptual sketches, and dozens of haunting watercolour paintings, including many brand-new Hobbit paintings and drawings that take us deeper into the magical world of Bilbo Baggins.

This very special set unlocks the secret of how Alan creates his own Middle-earth magic and provides a fascinating insight into the imagination of the man who breathed new life into Tolkien’s vision. It is limited to a worldwide printing of just 3,000 numbered copies and each copy of The Hobbit Sketchbook has been personally signed by the artist.

384 pages, hardcover

Published October 4, 2019

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About the author

Alan Lee

64 books243 followers
Alan Lee is an English book illustrator and movie conceptual designer. He was born on 20 August 1947 in Middlesex, England and studied at the Ealing School of Art, specialising in illustration, and has illustrated a wide range of books, including Faeries (with Brian Froud), The Mabinogion, Castles, Merlin Dreams, The Black Ships of Troy and The Wanderings of Oysseus.

He is best known for his award winning work on The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - having done illustration work for both the books and the Peter Jackson directed movies. As of 2011, he is working on The Hobbit movies, based on Tolkien's book, again directed by Peter Jackson.

Tolkien's work has inspired him ever since he read his books at an early age. Alan Lee is also inspired by nature, myth, legends and Folklore.

Alan Lee draws a lot of inspiration from nature around in which he lives - he lives and works on the edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England.

Recommended articles:
* http://www.endicott-studio.com/gal/ga....
* http://gaytonvanryn.blogspot.com/2011... and http://gaytonvanryn.blogspot.com/2011....

His artistic influences include:
"I've been strongly influenced, in technique as well as subject matter, by some of the early 20th-century book illustrators — Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac in particular, Burne-Jones and other Pre-Raphaelites, and the Arts-&-Crafts movement they engendered. I'm continually inspired by Rembrandt, Breughel (I've wondered whether his brilliant "Tower of Babel" had inspired Tolkien's description of Minas Tyrith), Hieronymous Bosch, Albrecht Durer, and Turner; it's not necessarily that they influence my work in any particular direction, more that their example raises my spirits, re-affirms my belief in the power of images to move and delight us, and shows me how much further I have to go, how much is possible. Having visited Venice and Florence for the first time, I am besotted with the Italian Renaissance artists — Botticelli, Bellini, da Vinci and others. Their work is calm, controlled, and yet each face and landscape contains such passion." - Alan Lee

fan homepage:
http://alan-lee.narod.ru/Bio.htm

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Profile Image for Justin.
13 reviews1 follower
July 9, 2020
Beautiful sketches to compliment the illustrations most Tolkien fans have in the illustrated editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (although not all of the colored illustrations are included in the sketchbooks). The binding and bookcase of this edition are lovely. Also, the signed edition is only for The Hobbit. Also, Mr. Lee’s commentary goes into detail on the design and production of the Peter Jackson films.
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