27 May 2009 1 Comment
in fantasy, Inspiration Tags: desktop, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings
I have a secret vice… I like making repeating patterns out of images. This time around I was inspired by my previous post, illustrations by John Howe.
I have linked each pattern to the image they were generated from. Click on a pattern to see the original image. More
26 May 2009 2 Comments
in fantasy, Illustration Tags: john howe, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, tolkien
Sometimes I find an illustrator who captures on paper what I imagine as I read. This is especially rare for old favourites like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings that have been growing in my imagination since childhood. But when I look at the drawings and paintings by John Howe, I recognise people and places I have known all my life.
I’ve been enjoying myself digging through his unusually thorough and entertaining site. and am sharing some of my favourites here. More
19 May 2009 3 Comments
in books, fantasy, Illustration Tags: john howe, laura ingalls wilder, tad williams, The Hobbit, the wind in the willows
When I was a child, one of my favourite day dreams was building my own home. It was usually underground, inside a tree or under water, and often featured wall-sized fish tanks. I’ve gathered together a number of fictional homes and rooms that inspired my day-dreams then and now.
First off – the familiar classics, starting with Bilbo Baggins’s own Bag End: More
01 Jul 2008 4 Comments
in books, Illustration Tags: creative process, hobbit covers, JRR Tolkien, story telling, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, writing
Where do stories come from? The process of story creation is fascinating. I’ve been reading a lot about JRR Tolkien, and how he came to write The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Most of the following information was found in Humphrey Carpenter’s biography or Tolkien. You can also read about them here at Tolkien online.com and here at warofthering.net
Tolkien was someone who immersed himself in stories. He had been creating the language and history of Middle Earth for many years, and his stories seem to emerge out of this preoccupation. Tolkien, as quoted in Carpenter’s book: More
Masha du Toit 
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