Product Description

With complete access to artwork created over a five-year period, this guide illustrates the creative development of "The Return of the King". It contains over 600 images, from the earliest pencil sketches and conceptual drawings to magnificent paintings, sculptures and digital imagery that shaped the look of the film. Contributing artists include John Howe and Alan Lee, artists who have inspired Peter Jackson's vision of Middle-earth and worked with him to bring the trilogy to the big screen. Peter Jackson himself provides the afterword in which he discusses the importance of the conceptual art to the film. It covers most aspects of the eagerly awaited finale to the enormously successful trilogy, from locations and costumes to weaponry and creatures. The artists who created all of these diverse elements explain how they contributed to the development of the film.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #402168 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

About the Author
Gary Russell is a freelance writer, magazine editor and author of nine novels. He has worked as an actor and currently co-runs an audio production company, Big Finish.

Customer Reviews

By far the best tome of the three
Publishing production art from a major movie that demanded a lot of world-making can be a tricky thing - you're letting people get a glimpse of the meanderings of the creative process, and this can, some would say, dispel a bit of the mystique. People might even like some of your rejected concepts better. As for the first bit, I've long since discovered that knowing the inner workings of the cinematic medium actually enhances the enjoyment. And as for the second - well, everyone's idea of Middle-earth is a tad different from the next person's; I just drool every time I see a Daniel Falconer design, including his discarded ones...

What's important is that this book is the best repository of the production art done for a LotR movie so far. It doesn't have the layout that hampered The Art of Fellowship; and it covers things like Gondorian Armor, Fell Beasts, and the Tower of Barad-dur, which should have been included in The Art of Two Towers, as that book had considerably less ground to cover. But none of those items feel short-shrifted, fortunately. And even though Alan Lee spent by far the most time designing the film yet again, this finally feels like a true collaboration between him and John Howe - who was mostly charged with designing the Mordor stuff in the trilogy, and was thus a rare visitor before. The previously-not-featured designs from Dan Hennah and his art department are a real bonus, so that by the end of it you feel that no stone has been left unturned in the design process. And even though any 'Art of' book has to exclude much by default, this one feels thorough; for every piece of production art you get a sizable blurb by the artist involved, and those are longer and more detailed than in the previous two.

Furthermore, the book is over 30 pages longer than its predecessors, and wisely incorporates much material that is going to appear in the Extended Edition of the film. If you wish to get a single tie-in book to this film, or have to pick one Art of book among the three, this one packs the most punch and probably has the most lasting value.

Adds Depth and Appreciation to LOTR: ROTK
Impressed by astounding cinematography of LOTR? I am. "The Art of The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings)" by Gary Russell shows the amazing art behind the movie is more than pretty pictures.

From "The Siege of Gondor" to "Shelob's Lair," Russell walks us through the stages of design that created a real and surreal world of Middle Earth.

With Shelob, for different artist's reasons for the balance of spider- and crab-like characteristics. Part of the problem was in trying to stay as close to Tolkien's own version while bringing plausible life to Shelob that would work in a movie.

Some of the pictures are pencils. Others are full-color, finely detailed views. Various angles are provided as in the many scenes of Mordor. There are photos of early models, both colored and plain, giving a 3D perspective of what the artists were thinking.

The insight here will intrigue nonartists like myself who are amazed at how complex the making of LOTR was, and serve as a primer for character and building studies. There are elements of technical discussion, but I felt I learned about the relationships of style and message.

I fully recommend "The Art of The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings). It is a beautiful book, with interesting text. Having recently watched the movie, I appreciated both Tolkien and the makers of the movie so much more.

Anthony Trendl

Brilliant book to finish the series
Point one - I adore these films. Point two - I love art.
An awesome achievement, painstakingly studied, re-studied, a fantastic job. This series of books is an utter must for fans of the film who want to see the whole design process. A perfectly designed companion to the great minds that worked on bringing tolkiens characters and places to life. Buy it, you will not be dissapointed. Glorious full colour pics and a real sense of achievement. Well done PJ and crew.