The Art of the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

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In 1976 he received his Master of Arts in Library Science degree from the School of Library Science of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and from that year has been Assistant Librarian in the Chapin Library (rare books and manuscripts) at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

However, it’s important to remember that concept art is just the starting point, and adjustments are often made during the production process. As a Tolkien linguist I was especially interested in seeing sketches of texts that shows Tolkien's use of his nexus of invented languages - such as in the brilliant drafts of The Ring Inscription and Tolkien's attempt (in the style of the new Romancer H Rider Haggard) of creating the distressed and bloodied pages of The Book of Mazarbul that the Fellowship finds in Moria (which sadly was not reproduced in the original volumes). I think those were the most informative, and they have way deeper meaning than I ever gave them credit for.Tolkien did not finalize the entire world associated with his book series but published several outstanding maps. One year after graduating from high school, he studied in a college in Strasbourg, France, then at the École des arts décoratifs in the same town.

Among the illustrations 101 are previously unpublished, and 42 are published in colour for the first time. This is a beautifully presented book, full of artwork from Tolkien, that he used to aid him in his writing of "The Lord of the Rings. The Maiar is like the Valar and they can change their appearance or form and shapeshift as part of their divine origin.More than 180 images are included, all of them printed in colour from high-quality scans and photographs. According to the writings of Tolkien they were black-hearted, hateful, wicked and cruel and the outstanding Lord of the Rings concept art depicting it magnificently and artfully correct. If you’re a fan of their work or just want to dive deeper into the artistry of the films, this book is a must-have. It shows Tolkien as a struggling artist at times and I think it's a very good thing for fans to see (or at least some of them who think of Tolkien as nearly a godly figure). Tolkien did many illustrations for The Hobbit, and whilst they’re not exactly masterpieces, they show how he pictured his world.