Rating: 
Summary: Hobbition to Rauros, Drawing Board to Finished Film
Review: This book beautifully shows the reader how just about every facet of "The Fellowship of the Ring" was developed. Characters, locations, and even the title sequence have pages showing conceptual drawings, intermediate work, and the final product. Anyone who appreciates good art will enjoy this book, casual Lord of the Rings fans will thoroughly enjoy this book, and die-hard ringers (like myself) will devour every page. It's a great way to while away the time while you're waiting for "The Two Towers."
Rating:
Summary: one of the prettiest arkbooks i've seen....
Review: this book has soooo many colorful conceptual drawings and stuff. i love to draw and i thought that i should pick up this book to sorta "learn" from it. i couldn't keep it down for the longest time!!! this artbook is very well organized and also has the costume designs and the conceptual drawings for the lands in middle earth. the one that i thought was the most beautiful was lothlorean. :) this book is a lot more colorful than the TT one, which makes it a lot more appealing.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive and quality
Review: This book is an excellent coffee-table sized hardcover edition containing hundreds of paintings, digital mat scales, pencil renditions, computer-generated and conceptual images that served as concept art.The book includes works by Alan Lee and John Howe, noted Tolkien artists who assisted Peter Jackson in creating the wonder and awe that comes across in the massive cinematic scale that we see in the movie trilogy from New Line Cinema. Compiled by Gary Russell, it also includes explanations and descriptions by special effects supervisor Richard Taylor, and designers Grant Major, Ngila Dickson and Paul Lasaine among others. The sketches include everything from sets such as Isengard, the Shire, the mines of Moria and the Dwarven dwellings of Khazad-Dûm, and the Elven land of Lothlórien to sketches and layouts of costumes for hobbits, Rangers, warriors, orcs, Elves, and Dwarves. Also included are armor drawings and conceptual art for everything from heroes to evil creatures, as well as the vast array of swords and weapons incorporated in the films. You can see it through the pages, these guys sincerely cared about getting this series right, and staying true to the spirit of Tolkien's beloved trilogy for the millions of fans who expect it. Make sure you want this book, though - it's $35 and definitely does ruin some areas of the film. (Not only spoilers, but descriptions of composite shots, as in "with added background" and "without added background" comparisons) For a big fan of Lord of the Rings, I rate this 9 out of 10 stars, quality-wise.
Rating:
Summary: a must for all lord of the rings art fans
Review: This book is the best lord of the rings art book i've ever seen. It's got over 500 paintings and drawings of john howe and alan lee artwork, story boards, custume designs, sword designs, charater designs, sketches of all the creatures and orcs. But the best part of all is at the end of the book, 12 sketchs, sculptures AND photos of BALROG AHHHHHH Yesssssss it's so sinister looking I love it. Excellent book, great book layout and design. My highest recommendation for all. This book is about as good as the movie. This book shows how much work and dedication went into LOTR it should have won best picture, instead of that other movie A Beautiful Mind, 10 years from now who will remeber A Beautiful Mind anyway, and we will always remeber LOTR for the next 100 years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely gorgeous book
Review: This book is tremendous! Many of the movie-based books out on the market are very dumbed-down and repetitive. For example, The Fellowship and Two Towers Movie Companion books, the Two Towers Creatures book, etc, all show you about the same things. Sure, they may have a few treats but not worth your 10 bucks. But this -- this is worth every penny. It's long - about 200 pages I believe, hardback, and contains beautiful illustrations and interesting info on every page. It mostly deals with the artists of the movie describing how they made Tolkien's books into reality. Thankfully, the main focus is on the art. It's divided into 4 sections: 1. Places -- sketches and full color photos of Lothloien, Moria, and more. 2. Costumes -- detailed pictures of not only the costumes, but alternative designs, pictures of the actors wearing them, etc 3. Creatures -- stunning pics of orcs, trolls, etc 4. Weapons -- I'm not much into this, but it has VERY detailed info about swords and such. Not only is there drawings, but photos from the movie -- some I'd seen before, some were new. Overall, I'd say this one of the best movie-based LOTR books out there. BUY IT!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, excellent compilation
Review: This is a high quality book that is a joy to read and go through. The book is mostly made up of sketches - which is fine with me - they are the most beautiful pieces of art that I have ever been priveleged to see. The conceptual sketches cover everything from the evolution of Sting to the pedestal of the Mirror of Galadriel. Very wonderful stuff. The book also has a lot of information on the CGI aspect of The Fellowship of the Ring; it has "before and after" pictures of Weathertop, Bree, and other locations that are extremely interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!!!
Review: This is a wonderful book for anyone who loves art. You can see different illustrations of things that didn't make it into the movie, and see how the things that did were created. I love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Artwork
Review: This is one of two books about the Movie I've bought, I've read the LotR many times since years back. I was happy too see they were being filmed, but I promised myself not to support the huge flow of merchandise I knew would come by buying it. I was partly wrong, right by the sole number of stuff, but wrong when I discovered some true quality among this work. This book is one of my favourite art books, and it gives a good picture of the job they did to make the films really brilliant. I do some painting and drawing myself, so if I happen to draw something towards the fantasy style, I don't hesitate a second to open this book and get some inspiration. I won't get into the different parts of the book, as I saw some people did, but I instead say; if you're any interested in art and drawing, and you enjoyed the film; buy this book: =) OR if you want some really great artwork to enjoy, Alan Lee is outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: This is unlike many books i've come across. No, the pages aren't all beautiful illustrations from the movie. Rather, this book shows you the creative process the designers went through in order come up with the final product. It is WONDERFUL to see how Sauron's costume evolved or how the idea of the balrog underwent numerous changes. Also in the book are sketches and ideas for all of the places in the book, which shows you just how much background thought and work was put into making this movie. Recommended for all who are even slightly interested in the lord of the rings.
Rating:
Summary: Art of the Fellowship of the Ring
Review: This is,(using that old cliche) and AWESOME book! The talent, creativity, and love that went into the making of the movie really comes thru in this book. It is a must have for all Tolkien and LOTR fans!
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