[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-a-visit-to-alan-lees-studio":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"When the three films of \u003Ci>The Lord of the Rings\u003C/i> came out, I watched the featurettes obsessively after each one, to see how the enormous teams had crafted the films. Most illustrators work alone in their homes or studios, and the idea of using illustration skills to work together on a massive project like that fascinated me. So of course I came across the work of \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Lee_(illustrator)\">Alan Lee\u003C/a>, who together with \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Howe_(illustrator)\">John Howe\u003C/a>, created the look of the LOTR and \u003Ci>The Hobbit\u003C/i> films. And then I started working with \u003Ca href=\"http://philip-reeve.com/\">Philip Reeve\u003C/a>, whose own artistic inspiration comes from artists based around where he now lives, on Dartmoor: Alan and \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Froud\">Brian Froud\u003C/a> (\u003Ci>The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth\u003C/i>) in particular. So I was thrilled to meet up with Alan for the \u003Ca href=\"https://jabberworks.livejournal.com/821575.html\">first time last Christmas\u003C/a>, along with remarkable artist \u003Ca href=\"http://www.davidwyattillustration.com/\">David Wyatt\u003C/a> (who has illustrated several of Philip's books). I never thought I'd actually get to visit Alan's studio and see where he worked, but last week I did! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/672588_original-c4310a20a8.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nPhilip and I were in Chagford to do a \u003Ca href=\"https://jabberworks.livejournal.com/827868.html\">couple events for Chagword Lit Fest\u003C/a>, along with \u003Ca href=\"http://instagram.com/moorland/\">Sarah Reeve\u003C/a> and my husband Stuart. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/675679_original-e6ada8b4be.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAfterward we met up for a pub lunch with Alan and David, and then I didn't know if it would be too cheeky to ask to pop in for a peek at Alan's place (but I really, really wanted to see it). And he kindly let us visit. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/672819_original-9a1a746461.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nA lot of the drawings we looked at were ones he's been working on for \u003Ci>\u003Cb>The Hobbit Sketchbook\u003C/b>\u003C/i>, which comes out in September this year, and looks amazing. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/673111_original-600841f01b.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's Gandalf's staff from the films, with the little pipe that slides out of the knot at the top. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/673343_original-260062a512.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAlan mostly works in pencil - sometimes in charcoal - and keeps a big selection of pencils to hand. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/673564_original-987f365856.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for lots more under the cut!-->\\r\nI kept finding spectacles, but he said he uses different glasses for different tasks. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/673862_original-dd122b3586.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nOne of the most interesting things was seeing all the different places he has to work: a front room where he does some sketches over breakfast, a room for scanning, and a room with a big screen for digital artwork. We walked out into the courtyard where we found two more studio buildings: one that I've shown here, for drawing and painting.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/674427_original-29f5111de2.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThe other building inside was the opposite to the first; almost stark, with an open floor for dancing. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/674278_original-0211b47640.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's the table there where Alan plots out his books, cutting out and gluing down thumbnail images so he can see everything laid out all at once. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/674860_original-9b806313f7.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd, of course, a tasteful selfie holding Alan's big gold Oscar statuette aloft. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/675245_original-cb601b125a.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHuge thanks to Alan for giving us such a wonderful look into where he works, I'm still rather a-buzz from it! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/674773_original-6ee8ed5522.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd here's Dartmoor, where it's easy to understand the inspiration for Alan's drawings. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/676036_original-2ef93a3fba.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nIf you want to find out more about Alan's work, there are lots of LOTR features online, as well as this interview of Alan by my friend \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LordWoolamaloo\">Joe Gordon\u003C/a> at last year's Edinburgh Book Fest. You can follow Alan on Twitter (\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/alanlee11225760\">@alanlee11225760\u003C/a>) and his \u003Ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Alan-Lee-18562522279/\">public Facebook page\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"4437\"/>","2019-03-16T23:07:00.000Z","a-visit-to-alan-lees-studio",[],"a visit to alan lee's studio",1776628730080]