Subject: Huh. Didn't quite notice that at first (nm)
Author:
Posted on: 2018-08-12 00:00:00 UTC
- Collection of illustrations for The Hobbit by on 2018-08-11 19:50:00 UTC Reply
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That's awesome! by
on 2018-08-13 12:42:00 UTC
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I recognise all of the Tolkien images; the Mountain is iconic, though I've always found the sketch of the dwarves to be highly ridiculous. ^_^
The Swedish one is... actually I don't know what that cover puts me in mind of, but I know I've read a picture-book in exactly that style. Possibly it is the Moomins, but my immediate reaction was Noggin the Nog. Either way, pike-and-shield Bilbo in his nightcap is hilarious. As is Angry Dwarf Concert.
(WTF Gollum count: 1)
The Japanese ones I think show signs of being influenced by the Western artwork - that design of Bag-End is pure John Howe, for instance.
(WTF Gollum count: 2)
Russia, again, reminds me of something, but I don't know what. Possibly the images I've seen from the very first, 12-minute Hobbit film, which was animated in Russia. The shot of the sad dwarves looks like the faculty of Unseen University.
(WTF Gollum count:3)
The Czech one is... er... um... what was the scene were all the dwarves got naked in a river, again? o.O Must've missed that one. I love the little image of Thorin's tomb, though: "coffin, jewel in coffin, sword on top, job done!".
(No Gollum, just some rather violent head-stabbing.)
And the Sendak... can you imagine a Sendak Where the Wild Goblins Are-style Hobbit? I never knew I wanted this. :(
hS -
There's a reason the Swedish one reminds you of the Moomins by
on 2018-08-14 01:54:00 UTC
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The illustrator for that edition was Tove Jansson, whose most famous work is, er...
The Moomins.
Yyyyyyyyyyyeah. =] -
Yeah, no, I know. by
on 2018-08-14 08:58:00 UTC
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But I don't think it is the Moomins, is what I was trying unsuccessfully to say. That cover is absolutely ringing a very strong bell, but I don't know what it is.
I want to say Vikings, but that brings me back to Noggin the Nog, and the art style is actually quite different. The cover for Rosemary Sutcliff's 'Dawn Wind' is faintly similar, but again, I can't see why I'd go 'that shield! Those mountains! That dragon!' at it.
The inside illustrations don't have the same effect at all; it's very specifically the cover. (Though I am quite baffled by the one of Bilbo summoning the storm... did I miss that along with the naked dwarves??)
hS -
Bathing dwarves by
on 2018-08-14 16:10:00 UTC
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The dwarves bathed at the ford from the Carrock (where the eagles left them) to the eastern bank of the Anduin (from where they proceeded to meet Beorn the were-bear).
But "Bilbo summoning a storm"? Are you sure this is Bilbo? What is in the valley left to "Bilbo’s rock"? A bridge? Buildings with illuminated windows, mirrored in a lake? If I could unsee what now appears to be a faraway bridge or town, I would wonder whether the background is a thunderstorm or a not so faraway waterfall. I have no idea where and what this is meant to be.
HG -
I figured you'd like these. by
on 2018-08-13 17:23:00 UTC
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One of my first thoughts when I stumbled onto this was "I know hS will be interested."
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Aw, these are gorgeous by
on 2018-08-12 04:44:00 UTC
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My favourite of these might be the Jansson ones but they're all real cool in their own ways. All the unique versions of Gollum are especially interesting and I like all of them (but especially the Jansson one who is real proper ominous). They should all team up.
I remember, a while back, finding a bunch of artwork on Tolkien's stuff by a guy called Tim Kirk - I plugged a bit of it on the Discord. His stuff can be found in here.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/425793119511117824/453016377419104286/moria_well.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/425793119511117824/453016595141230612/road.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/425793119511117824/453016481748353034/riddle.png
Those are some of my favourites. They're so dreamy and colourful. Proper whimsical fairy tale stuff right there. -
Yeah, but... by
on 2018-08-13 12:45:00 UTC
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... the Test Tube of Galadriel, though. XD
I like the one of Bilbo walking in the forest - Tolkien would approve - and also the shot of Smaug the Golden over Lake-Town. There's an excellent sense of menace there.
hS -
Unrelated: A play loosely based on Cursed Child by
on 2018-08-12 00:12:00 UTC
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Part of this got linked in chat, and I thought it was worth pointing out to everyone.
So, a fellow named Austin McConnell made a video complaining about the storytelling issues he found in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (spoilers for Cursed Child).
Then, he made a followup video explaining how he'd rewrite the story while sticking to the existing costuming, sets, etc.. Said video has spoilers for the original play, and probably also spoils Nineteen Years Later, an actual, you can buy tickets to it stage play based on the rewrite. How this came to be is documented in this video, which also has interviews with the writer and actors, as well as giving you a sense of what a performance was like.
Anyhow, I thought this was interesting and didn't want to start a new thread.
- Tomash -
I've seen some of the Russian ones before. by
on 2018-08-11 23:57:00 UTC
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Still the strangest.
I very much like the Japanese illustrations. They most closely match the Dwarves in my head—though unsurprisingly, the Swedish artist comes in a respectable second place.
I wonder, were these mostly done before the retcons to make The Hobbit fit better with LotR? Is that why Gollum appears so un-hobbit-like—he wasn't a corrupted hobbit originally?
I am very disappointed we don't have a Maurice Sendak-illustrated Hobbit. {= (
A friend of mine was telling me there's an annotated edition of The Hobbit that points out all the changes that were made. I'd love to get my hands on that. Has anyone else seen it?
~Neshomeh -
Interesting to see how they reflect their cultures of origin (nm by
on 2018-08-11 21:31:00 UTC
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Huh. Didn't quite notice that at first (nm) by
on 2018-08-12 00:00:00 UTC
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I can think of some examples. by
on 2018-08-12 21:54:00 UTC
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The Swedish dwarves and the Japanese Gollum definitely reflect traditional art styles from those areas. A lot of the Russian stuff does too.
-Twistey -
Nice, some of these are hilarious. (nm) by
on 2018-08-11 20:31:00 UTC
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