Alan Lee (artist)

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Alan Lee winner of the "Swabian Lindwurm" 2016
Alan Lee on November 29, 2003 at the world premiere of the third part of The Lord of the Rings in Wellington ( New Zealand )

Alan Lee (born August 20, 1947 in Middlesex , England ) is a British illustrator and film designer . Together with John Howe and Ted Nasmith, he is considered one of the most important illustrators of the works of JRR Tolkien .

Life

Alan Lee studied at the Ealing School of Art . Already at the age of 17 he became enthusiastic about Tolkien's world after a classmate gave him a copy of the first frequency of The Lord of the Rings - The Companions . Before that, he had shown a great deal of enthusiasm for mythical creatures in his childhood , but reading the Tolkien trilogy also delighted him during his student days.

In 1975 he moved to Dartmoor to work as a concept designer on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Originally his stay was planned for six months, but in the end he worked for Peter Jackson in New Zealand for six years

He became known in 1978 for his illustrations for the book Faeries , which he brought out with Brian Froud . Alan Lee painted with water color and a classic, Romanesque style, which he also appropriated through the works of Arthur Rackham and Charles Robinson . After this success, his book covers were an indispensable part of the fantasy scene.

Alan Lee established himself as a Tolkien artist in the 1980s. He not only painted motifs for covers and calendars, but also illustrated the entire Lord of the Rings for a 1200-page special on the occasion of the 100th birthday of JRR Tolkien .

At the same time he also created the first film designs. In 1985 he conceived the look for Ridley Scott's fantasy film Legend , four years later the design for Erik the Viking . In 1988 he was awarded the World Fantasy Award for best artist. He won an Oscar in 2004 for his designs for the Lord of the Rings film trilogy . In 2018 he received the Chesley Award for his life's work .

His last project so far is the book The Fall of Gondolin , which he also illustrated. It was released by Christopher Tolkien in 2007 .

style

Alan Lee is known for his watercolor and pencil technique, which draws its charm mainly from the diverse interplay of light and dark surfaces. The picture surface is usually only indicated with rough outer lines, but gains an outstanding depth through the following hatching or design with watercolors. In his work, he pays great attention to details and a very intuitive composition . In contrast to John Howe , Alan Lee avoids the comic exaggeration of characters and landscapes; his pictures are relatively low in contrast, kept in earth tones and mostly viewed from quite conventional perspectives. As a result, there is a magical calmness inherent in his motifs, which makes his success in the classic fairy tale and fantasy sector.

Books

Movies

Albums

Web links

Commons : Alan Lee (artist)  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c David Barnett: Making fantasy reality: Alan Lee, the man who redrew Middle-earth . In: The Guardian . September 3, 2018, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed February 27, 2019]).
  2. ↑ Alan Lee. Retrieved February 27, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b "Alan Lee" portrays Phantastika in the Bibliotheka. Accessed February 27, 2019 (German).
personal data
SURNAME Lee, Alan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British illustrator and film designer
DATE OF BIRTH August 20, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Middlesex , England