Your favourite Tolkien artistes

[Passdagas the Brown]

No, you're too cartoonish. Hmph.




So good!

I know you are, but what am I?

Though the Mt. Doom one is the best of the bunch. Very nice! And as ax says, it does come perilously close to "art"...

[yovargas]

Heh, I was just teasing. Cartoony isn't a word that comes to my mind - the style is mimicking stained glass which one doesn't associate with "cartoony" - but I can see that, I guess. . Though I can't help but be amused that when I said:

I can see the appeal of Blok but I find the way he draws people kinda silly looking, almost like kid's-book cartoons.

PtB said:

I like his broader landscapes best (such as Amon Hen and the Hornburg) but appreciate his figures as reflecting a lighter take on old medieval forms. They're a bit like the figures on the Bayeux tapestry, but infused with a child's sense of wonder...Like Tolkien, I don't really believe in the child-adult distinction when it comes to art and literature...

No, it's this Guo's fella who's infused with a child's sense of wonder, and Blok who looks too cartoony. So declareth I!

[axordil]

In fact, the drawing done in preparation for assembling a complicated piece of stained glass is called a cartoon. Fun facts!

[Passdagas the Brown]

From the Italian "cartone" or "heavy paper." Though its not limited to stained glass. Artists prepping frescoes via drawings also use "cartoons."

You learn something new everyday!

yov.

You're wrong, of course.

Yes, the style mimics stained glass, but they are further stylized into an animation form that I see a lot in modern cartoons. Blok's figures are infused with childishness, but there is a naivete and effortlessness in his figures that don't exist in the stained glass-esque pieces, which are more illustration and detail-conscious.

[Gorthaur the Cruel]

Except those super-sweet "glass" pieces up above, right? :poke:

I enjoy those, but IMO, they don't even come close. Too cartoonish and more of an elaborate illustration than a piece of art.

I also think they feel quite second-hand, being depictions of PJ's films rather than Tolkien's books, which again is a personal and potentially sniffy response.

[Elentári]

I agree on the cartoonish aspect of the stained glass, and whilst it's not my preferred style it has a place and I admire the talent., and it probably works better for TH, as I pointed out.... but I did also say my favourite was was this series of designs for LotR covers, which is less garish and less obviously cartoon-like... (clickable thumbnail)

I really adore his(?) designs for the LotR covers, and I kinda think Tolkien would approve also!

[Smaug's voice]

So I am the only one who thinks these don't look cartoonish. More than anything these designs and styles remind me of the Middle-ages frescoes present in various chapels.

I especially like the Silmarillion artwork (which imo negates the claim that they are derivative of the PJ-films in this particular case)

[Elentári]

I think it's the figures that are the most overtly "cartoon-like" in style... To me, the landscape elements have a certain stylized Art Deco appeal, and overall the look is reminiscent of an illuminated manuscript brought up-to-date!

[Elentári]

So, how about another artist who I've recently discovered on DeviantArt...

This is a articular favourite of mine...reminds me very much of Burne-Jones in terms of style and composition




I happened to come across this article in Middle-earth News about her work:

The Tolkien-inspired art of Steamey

[Passdagas the Brown]

SV,

They also remind me of Middle Ages stained glass and some frescoes. But they are cartoonized, if you take my meaning.

[Elentári]

Telperion goes to sleep, Laurelin awakes



Haven of the Eldar

Both by Benef on DeviantArt

[Passdagas the Brown]

IMO, those two paintings by Benef are better than any of the landscapes I've seen from Lee, Howe or Nasmith.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I don't know about better (I don't really understand the need to rank different artists), but they are very, very nice.

[Passdagas the Brown]

I don't know about better (I don't really understand the need to rank different artists), but they are very, very nice.

There's no need to rank on an objective scale, of course.

But among my likes and dislikes, there is indeed a hierarchy.

[Smaug's voice]

Telperion
goes to sleep, Laurelin awakes



Haven
of the Eldar

Both by Benef on
DeviantArt

Totally love these!

[kzer_za]

Here's a fantastic 54-page comic of Ainulindalë:
http://www.evanpalmercomics.com/#/Ainulindalë/

[Alatar]

That's fabulous. Thanks kzer za.

[Elentári]

Awesome!

[Smaug's voice]

That is brilliant. Thanks kzer ca!

[Passdagas the Brown]

That's a gem! Really great work.

Melkor looks a bit like Sonic the Hedgehog, but it is otherwise one of the better Silmarillion-related pieces of art I have seen.