Alan Lee
| [[File:File:Alan Lee (Greg Martin Photography).jpg|300px]] | |
| Alan Lee | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Born | August 20, 1947 |
| Style | Realistic/Romantic |
| Images | Gallery |
| Location | Dartmoor, Cornwall, UK |
Alan Lee (1947) is a renowned British artist. He has illustrated numerous Tolkien Calendars as well as books. Lee and John Howe were the lead conceptual designers for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.
Life
Alan Lee was born in London, and attended the Ealing School of ArtTemplate:Ref. At the advice of a friend, he read The Lord of the Rings when he was 17, and it greatly influenced his professional work. He had at that time never heard of J.R.R. Tolkien or The HobbitTemplate:Ref. He moved to Dartmoor and married Marja Kruÿt. They have one daughter together, VirginiaTemplate:Ref.
Alan has suffered many deaths in his lifetime, including his father's when he was only 13 years of age.
In his paintings, Lee uses watercolour. He describes his style as a combination of Realistic and RomanticTemplate:Ref.
Alan is a quiet person. He usually locks himself in his studio, and its where he spends most of his day. He even has a matress there because he sleeps there when he works late. Poeple in his neighborhood claim him to be such an imaginitive person, talking about mythical creatures a lot and rarely talking about the current way of the world. News such as a new war will reach him months after it started, for he doesn't read the newspaper or even have cable. The only time the television is used is to watch fantasy movies. He is a calm and peaceful person living in his own mythical world, as does his wife.
Vivendi's The Fellowship of the Ring
Two pieces of artwork were used in the epilogue of this game; one with Frodo and Sam, and one with Gollum. He does not appear in the game's credits.
Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings
On November 13, 1997, New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson sent a parcel containing "Forgotten Silver" and "Heavenly Creatures", and a letter explaining an upcoming movie project, then still for Miramax. Jackson was greatly inspired by Lee, and wanted him to be part of the crew. Lee watched the movies, and phoned back 3,5 hours later to say yesTemplate:Ref. Three weeks later he flew to New Zealand, where he and John Howe joined the Weta Workshop. He would live in New Zealand for six years, before returning to DartmoorTemplate:Ref. His daughter Virginia also worked on the movie; one of her contributions was woodwork for the throne of ThéodenTemplate:Ref
Lee has two cameos in Peter Jackson's movies: he appears as the second from the right of the nine Kings of Men in The Fellowship of the Ring, and as a man of Rohan at the armoury of the Hornburg in The Two Towers.
Lee has expressed interest in working on The Hobbit, "[B]ut it would have to be a pretty special film to match the experience of working on The Lord of the Rings"Template:Ref.
Published artwork
- 1991: The Lord of the Rings
- 1992: Tolkien's World; Paintings of Middle-earth
- 1992: The Fellowship of the Ring
- 1992: The Two Towers
- 1992: The Return of the King
- 1993: Tolkien Calendar
- 1994: Tolkien's Ring
- 1994: Realms of Tolkien; Images of Middle-earth
- 1997: The Hobbit
- 2005: The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook
- 2007: The Children of Húrin
- 2007: The Lord of the Rings Calendar
- 2008: The Children of Húrin Calendar
- 2008: Tales from the Perilous Realm
Awards
- 1998 - World Fantasy Award, Best Artist.
- 2002 - NBR Award, Best Production Design/Art Direction, Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring
- 2003 - VES Award, Best Effects Art Direction in a Motion Picture, Peter Jackson's The Two Towers
- 2004 - Academy Award, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Peter Jackson's The Return of the King
- 2004 - Golden Satellite Award, Best Art Direction, Peter Jackson's The Return of the King
References
- Template:Note IMDb biography
- Template:Note Interview, EInsiders.com.
- Template:Note Biography of Marja Lee Kruÿt.
- Template:Note Interview, HerenIstarion.org.
- Template:Note "Disigning Middle-earth", Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring, Extended Edition.
- Template:Note "Lord of the Drawings", BBC Interview.
- Template:Note "Designing Middle-earth", Peter Jackson's The Two Towers, Extended Edition.
- Template:Note "Lord of the Drawings", BBC Interview.
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