The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook

Alan Lee has, til recently, been living much in the shadow of Brian Froud, his co-illustrator of Faeries. Lee's more "realistic" depictions of fantasy tend to have taken second fiddle to Froud's more "free form" and "metaphysical" musings. And, while Lee has been a substantial contributor to genre films for ages (Erik the Viking comes to mind), and has contributed to other books of his art (Castles, and the Mabinogion, come to mind), it's taken Tolkien's films to break him out of his shell. In this work, Lee basically takes us along through the filming in a sort of set diary, showing us the graphic evolution of the artwork that ultimately made it to celluloid. While some of the artwork can be found in his illustrations of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (a must have edition, in my opinion), there's a surprising amount of new material in here, and fans of the Ring (movie) trilogy will find his commentaries of high interest.

Alan Lee is a celebrated artist who has elected to limit his endeavors to the world of myths and fantasy (his illustrations for 'The Iliad' are state of the art). With the publication of this fine book his place in the pantheon of illustrator artists is secure. In this well-conceived book Lee's beginnings at age 17 with his fascination for JRR Tolkien's books are discussed and his early sketches well reproduced. Then in an orderly but revealing fashion we are allowed to follow his successful illustrations for the centenary editions of 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' through his assignment and subsequent designs for Peter Jackson's cinematic adaptation of the Ring Trilogy. The book is rich in both black and white intricately involved sketches as well as watercolor renderings that lead to the magic of the Jackson films. The interaction between sketchpad to screen is a conversation we are invited to share. This is a must for those young readers who are exploring Tolkien for the first time, but it is also a splendid overview of the art of illustration, a volume that deserves a place in every art library. Grady Harp, April 06

When an author creates a whole new world, as Tolkien did in the 'Rings' series, you can't help but get a vision of what world from his words. Tolkien's 'word pictures' have stayed with me for years - Hobbits live in holes in the ground, but not smelly, dank holes cherry and bright holes. Mr. Lee was first commissioned to produce a set of drawings for the magnificant 'The Lord of the Rings Illustrated Edition' (Which is still available although it was published in 1991.) Just how he could take Tolkien's description and so perfectly the image that I had developed in my own mind has puzzled me for years. In this book he shows how he developed what a hobbit really looks like in his cherry, bright hole in the ground. Indeed what does middle earth look like? He shows us. He shows us so well that when Peter Jackson was trying to see middle earth for his films he had Alan Lee to show him the way. This book is a sketchbook. It shows how Mr. Lee approaches illustrating a book. Here is how he began thinking of hobbits, how he sketched out many, and as he puts it, [illustrating] is more of a process of editing out than attempting to delineate something that already exists as an image in my mind.' This book is a marvelous description of a process that worked supurbly well.

One of the other reviewers took issue with the term "sumptuous" to describe this book because it was not "large format" (although at 8x10 inches it is larger than a standard hardcover book). Then how about "exquisite"? I have long thought Alan Lee the artist who most captured the real essence of what I imagined Middle Earth to be. And I suppose a good part of my positive reaction to the Peter Jackson film trilogy was due to the influence that Lee exercised over visual aspects of the movies. In this sketchbook, we are treated to hundreds of delicate pencil sketches of characters, landscapes, buldings, and artifacts, almost dreamlike in their impact, not so much overwhelming the viewer as permeating the mind. It is a wonderful volume through which to browse, filled with images that were later brought to vivid life on the screen or, in some cases (such as Tom Bombadil) remained only on paper. This book is simple exquisite.

There is a quote on the back of the book by Peter Jackson who says that Alan Lee's work is lyrical. And that it is. The work invokes the music, the beat, the poetry of Tolkien's storytelling. Everything about this book exceeded my expectations. After reading the first review I was very pleasantly suprised by the size. The overall size is fine and the quality and number of drawings is immense. Even the small ones have amazing details and there is a joy of discovery and pleasure to be had on each and every page. Size is NOT an issue here. What you fine on each page is text but also a number of drawings and or sketches. Each of which will take you back to the movies AND back to Tolkien. There are also many heretofor unseen sketches. In fact, in many ways after viewing and reading this book you will realize the movies where probably more visually Mr. Lee's doing than PJ's or anyone else's. The color pics are WATERCOLORS, at least the ones I have seen. Mr. Lee uses somber colors for his watercolors. These colors are reproduced well. This book is an amazing work of art. It has been published and bound in Italy to exacting standards especially consdering the price. The cover is very cleverly done to invoke an aged sketchbook. Everything about this book is quality. And every page in the book is magic.