You’ve probably already seen the that fabulous picture of Thorin holding Thrain’s key — the one that they…
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You’ve probably already seen the that fabulous picture of Thorin holding Thrain’s key — the one that they need to get into Erebor.
Now Herr-der-Ringe has a spy image of the artwork.
The keys is exactly the same, but the runes on them seem to be slightly different? Was the artwork an earlier iteration that was subsequently simplified? Maybe it’s the equivalent of text greeking? Any runes experts out there able to help? Potential spoiler warning
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For JRR Tolkien, languages evolved at least in part in reaction to the history of their speakers. Looking at recent photos and screenshots of the cities of Dale and Esgaroth, I was struck by the thought that for Peter Jackson’s design team, Middle-earth history could exert a similar effect on architecture.
Curious how the architectural set design choices for the Hobbit might reflect the history of these two cities, I asked Barliman’s chat regular and archaeologist Jenniearcheo to provide a few professional insights on some of the set images that have found their way onto the internet.
This brief essay is the result. We hope you enjoy it.
Warning: SPOILERS.
Continue reading “Dale and Laketown: the tale of two cities”
Remember The Hobbit production vlog #2 that came out back in July 2011?
Well, we’ve watched it again (and recommend you do too), especially the bit between 2:05 and 2:25, where it isn’t hard to spot Peter Jackson and his crew wearing a “200 Days To Go” sweatshirt. What is hard to spot though is the logo on the front of that sweatshirt… until now.
Our Dwarves at TORn who spend their time mining the interwebs for gems of information came across an image of the hoodie that reveals the logo is none other than Smaug the Golden.
Our staffers then got down to discussing it, and some said Yes, and some said No. Some said it couldn’t be the real design for Smaug, and some said it only offered clues to what the real Smaug will look like. One staffer called Greendragon was (aptly!) drawn to this image more than the others and said it looked very much like “a John Howe Smaug“. Finally, the end of it was to put the image out for your consideration and see what you thought of it.
So, what do you think? Real or not? Mildly interesting or surprisingly faithful? Sound off on our message boards.
The long-awaited revised edition of the award-winning board game, based on J.R.R.Tolkien’s novel will be released on December 15th.
The epic board game inspired by Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” is back! Publisher Ares Games announces the release of War of the Ring Second Edition, featuring several changes from the previous edition, principally a new graphic design, larger Tarot-size cards and revised rules. The English edition is now shipping to distributors and will reach the stores in North America in mid December.
The first edition was published in September 2004 by Nexus Editrice and the game has been acclaimed as one of the best thematic games of all times, winning several awards. In August 2011, Ares Games announced the acquisition of publishing rights from Sophisticated Games, as well as the upcoming revised edition.
Created by the Italian game designers Roberto Di Meglio, Francesco Nepitello and Marco Maggi, the strategy board game “War of the Ring” allows players to immerse themselves in J.R.R.Tolkien’s classic story, leading the Fellowship in its quest and the armies of the Free Peoples against the assault of the dreadful minions and armies of the Dark Lord, Sauron. The original illustrations were created by John Howe, one of the world’s foremost Tolkien illustrators. Continue reading “Ares Games releases War of the Ring™ Second Edition”
uruloki.org recently interviewed artist John Howe. In the interview John talks his influences, childhood and technique. A very cool read for fans of this wonderful artist. More..
From the LOTR Trilogy Facebook Page: Ever wonder how the design & effects came together in The Lord of the Rings trilogy? Well, now you can ask the experts. Alan Lee & John Howe Illustrators & Conceptual Artists for The Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as Richard Taylor, Design and Effects Supervisor for The Lord of the Rings trilogy will be answering YOUR Facebook fan questions! Submit questions below & be sure to let us know who it’s for. More..
