In the same small village as mythic artists Brian & Wendy Froud, William Todd-Jones, Terri Windling, and others. When not working on film locations, Alan still makes his home on Dartmoor in southwest England, where his studio takes up two floors of an ancient, rose-covered stone barn. He has also designed for other films, including Legend, Erik the Viking, and Merlin. A comparison of the films to Alan's prior illustrations for The Lord of the Rings gives a clear idea just how influential Alan's vision has been to the project. As conceptual designer for the films, it is Alan's job to create the distinctive 'look' of Middle Earth. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.įor the last few years, however, book projects have been set aside while he labors on the New Zealand set of Peter Jackson's film trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Since that time, Alan has established himself as one of England's preeminent book artists, creating exquisite watercolor paintings for, among other works, The Mabinogion, Castles, Merlin Dreams, and Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Illiad (winner of the pretigious Kate Greenaway Award), and for the lavish anniversary edition of J.R.R. It went on to become a bestseller, published to acclaim all around the world. At the urging of Ian Ballantine (the legendary American publisher), Alan and Brian created the book Faeries, inspired by the Dartmoor countryside. Alan worked as an illustrator in London until the mid-1970s, when he moved to Dartmoor with fellow-artists Marja Lee Kruyt (to whom he was married for many years) and Brian Froud. Enchanted by myth and folklore from an early age, he gravitated toward the field of book illustration - following in the footsteps of Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, master illustrators of the nineteenth century.

Alan Lee was born and raised in London, where he studied graphic art and design.

The hobbit alan lee