Tolkien Years: Greg and Tim Hildebrandt

I hadn't actually heard of the Hildebrandt brothers,but got this book for the simple fact that it bore the name of Tolkien.I opened it up and there it was,scenes I pictured in my head were now right in front of me,in richly painted acrylic colors,with moods of sadness,fear,peace,and courage.I recommend this book and give it five stars!Get it come on you know you want to....

The Bros. Hildebrandt were *the* Tolkien artists of my youth, and even today, when I find my own artistic interpretion of the scenes varies so much from theirs, I still deeply appreciate what they did, and am thrilled to see their calendar work -- with the associated sketches and model photos -- reproduced here. The childhood anecdotes by the author -- son of one of the Brothers -- are occasionally interesting, more often annoying. But the art itself remains glorious.

Greg and Tim Hildebrandt's "The Tolkien Years" is a wonderful set of illustrations that go along with mostly "The Lord of the Rings" but this book does have a few illustrations from "The Hobbit." These gorgeous works of art were originally apart of calendars that the Hildebrant brothers worked on. This book will make reading "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" much more fun as you will be able to visualize things perfectly. Along with beautiful illustrations this book has a lot of text that includes quotes directly from Greg and Tim and full text entries by Greg Hildebrant, Jr. All of the artwork in this book is in full color and look just like original pieces of art. In addition to the final artowrk there are also concept drafts from "scribble" stages, to a general rough draft, all the way to the ginal, full color, and eye-catching pictures. There is also a very nice pull out poster as a special bonus. This is a book of artwork from Middle-Earth that no Tolkien fan should be without. The art in this book will be appreciated by everybody. Get this book and enjoy!Happy Reading!

The Tolkien Years isn't just another survey of Tolkien's titles so much as a superb presentation of the bestselling Lord Of The Rings calendars by Greg and Tim Hildebrandt which appeared in 1976-78. Stories of the artists' creation of these calendars, the source of their ideas, and how they were conceived is written through the memory of Greg's son, who posed for the Hobbits. Packed with color, The Tolkien Years is a "must" for Tolkien fans and includes a pull-out large poster.

I grew up with these images in my parents home. Having read the lord of the rings at 12, the Hildebrandt's best captured my vision of the books. As a film Major and Graphic Artist I work to take imagination and make it real. Greg and Tim have perfected this craft, they made this world come alive in images the way it did in the imagination of a boy. It is great that this book not only has the final images, but all the work and ruff drawings that went into them. Some of the final drafts are more impressive to me than anything else. Also because you see it through the eyes of there son, the human side of the creative is shown, a rare look in to the lives of two great artists.