Deconstruction analysis of a painting by Alan Lee

Alan Lee (20 August 1947) is an English book illustrator and movie conceptual designer.  He was born in Middlesex, England and studied at the Ealing School of Art. He has illustrated many fantasy books including several works of J.R.R. Tolkien: the centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings (1991), a 1995 edition of The Hobbit, and the first edition of Narn i Chîn Húrin: the tale of the children of Húrin (2007).  This meant he was perfectly suited to become one of the lead concept artists for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films alongside John Howe. Lee has also worked as a concept artist on films such as Legend, Erik the Viking, King Kong and the television mini-series Merlin.

Alan Lee works exclusively with fine art mediums and this particular piece of artwork entitled ‘Frodo and Gandalf’ was created using water colour paints. He painted it in 1991 to illustrate the reissued edition of The Lord of the Rings which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Tolkien.  Lee interpreted what Tolkien had written to create the painting; ‘He was smoking in silence, for Frodo was sitting still, deep in thought. Even in the light of morning he felt the dark shadow of the tidings that Gandalf had brought.'

The painting depicts Gandalf the wizard smoking a pipe by the fire in the Hobbit hole; Bag End with the hobbit Frodo Baggins sitting nearby deep in thought. The fire takes up a large portion of the foreground and some of the hobbit’s home can be seen in the background.

Lee uses a variety of art elements effectively to create such a captivating painting. He uses thin wispy lines to create the textured look of hair and the detail on clothes.  The figures he has depicted are lifelike and well proportioned, he has given them real character; the white flowing hair, the piercing eyes and the crooked nose makes Gandalf seem old and wise as you would  imagine a wizard to be.  Lee has minimised the empty space in the painting, the majority is taken up by the two characters, meaning the focus is on them and the gravity of their situation is fully expressed through their clearly visible facial expressions.

The textures in the painting are predominantly rough with the thick clothing material and textured stone and wood giving the painting a charmingly old fashion quality.  The colours are warm and complimentary of each other, giving the painting a cosy, inviting feel.  There is a fairly wide range of tones in the painting, from dark shadow towards the back of the room to the bright fire which illuminates the characters and adds to the warm, relaxed feeling the painting creates.  The white colour of the fire creates the illusion of heat and the glow that it casts onto the characters minimises the need for detail in the foreground and throws shadows across areas of the painting, adding to the intensity of the piece.

There is a real depth to Lee’s painting with the fire in the foreground, the characters in the mid ground and details of the house in the background.  This makes the painting seem more three dimensional and sets the scene perfectly.  The body language and facial expressions makes the characters seem still and silent, clearly deep in thought.  There is a real emphasis on the characters’ grave faces with the light illuminating them well.

The painting was intended to illustrate an edition of Lord of the Rings, so it therefore adheres to Tolkien’s incredible vision and makes his descriptions come alive.  Being an illustration, the painting is unlikely to have any hidden meanings or symbols.  The book belongs to the Fantasy genre, so Lee’s painting is in keeping with this, the setting and clothing emphasising the old fashioned feel that is common to fantasy books.From a viewer’s point of view I find the painting warm and comfortable to look at, however there appears to be an underlying sense of fear.  Regardless of the story behind the painting, it is very aesthetically pleasing. 

Alan Lee’s painting greatly appeals to me, both because I am a fan of the book the painting illustrates and because the painting is captivating in its own right.  I really like the sense of depth the painting has which makes it appear three dimensional and interesting to look at.  I also think the use of lighting is very strong; it adds a diversity of tone and makes it bold and eye-catching. When creating my own concept artwork I will try to mimic the emphasis on composition that Lee has displayed here as well as the high level of detail and realism.

Ralph McQuarrie artist research

Ralph McQuarrie was born on June 13, 1929 in Gary, Indiana and was raised on a farm near Billings, Montana. McQuarrie moved to California in the 1960s studying at the Art Center School, then in downtown Los Angeles. Initially he worked for a dentistry firm, drawing teeth and equipment. He then went on to work as a technical illustrator for Boeing, as well as designing film posters and animating CBS News's coverage of the Apollo space program at the three man company Reel Three.

Impressed with his work, director George Lucas commissioned McQuarrie to illustrate several scenes from the script of the film, Star Wars. McQuarrie designed many of the film's characters, including Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO and drew many concepts for the film's sets. McQuarrie's concept paintings, including such scenes as R2-D2 and C-3PO arriving on Tatooine helped convince 20th Century Fox to fund Star Wars, which became a huge success upon release in 1977.

Ralph Mcquarrie’s concept paintings greatly appeal to me. They seem epic with stunning alien settings and imaginative character and costume designs. He is able to capture the tone of each scene he depicts perfectly  through his excellent use of colour and layout. For instance the striking contrast of the orange clothing against the snow makes his painting seem bold and striking. It also defines the character as a protagonist. The positioning of the machine in the  background moving towards the protagonist in the foreground adds to the exhilarating sense action in the scene.
Ralph uses soft delicate brush strokes and a wide variety of tones to give his paintings a realistic quality. He also uses non-naturalistic geometric shapes and lines to make objects or settings look metallic and futuristic. He includes sharp contrasts in colour with white streaks of paint in places to create a metallic gleam.

Ralph’s paintings are unmistakably defined as concept art. He has paid careful consideration to the framing and angle of each of his paintings giving them a cinematic feel. The camera angle is also key to creating the right mood. For instance his painting of Luke and Leia depicts the characters from a high angle making them look small and vulnerable and adding to the sense of danger that is crucial to the  scene. It is important that he focuses on cinematic elements like this so that his ideas can be incorporated easily into the movie.

Ralph has clearly embraced the science fiction genre that the Star Wars films belongs to. Many of his settings are very metallic, giving them the  futuristic look that the narrative requires. His designs of characters like C-3PO and R2-D2 and his spaceship creations  adhere to the conventions of a science fiction film yet exhibit his individual creative flare. I am extremely inspired by Ralph Mcquarrie’s concept paintings. I hope to incorporate his attention to detail and his creation of different moods into my own concept art work. I will also try to give my paintings a cinematic feel like his work, through my choices of framing and camera angles.

 http://collider.com/ralph-mcquarrie-dead/149967/

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_McQuarrie

Alan Lee concept pieces

http://alan-lee.narod.ru/Lord.htm

Alan Lee artist research

Alan Lee (20 August 1947) is an English book illustrator and movie concept artist. He was born in Middlesex, England and studied at the Ealing School of Art. He has illustrated many fantasy books including several works of J.R.R. Tolkien: the centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings (1991), a 1995 edition of The Hobbit, and the first edition of Narn i Chîn Húrin: the tale of the children of Húrin (2007).  This meant he was perfectly suited to become one of the lead concept artists for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films alongside John Howe. Lee has also worked as a concept artist on films such as Legend, Erik the Viking, King Kong and the television  mini-series Merlin.

I am fascinated by Alan Lee’s work, particularly his concept pieces for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Lee has clearly scrutinized Tolkien’s books. He is able to take elements from the original novels and bring them to life in a creative and hugely imaginative way, yet still adheres to the preconceived vision that Tolkien described in his books. This is a trait I will try to mimic with my own concept artwork. 

Lee has successfully intertwined elements of the fantasy genre that were evident in the original narrative. The giant foreboding black tower and the plethora of fictional creatures illustrate this point well. There is also a clear mood being conveyed with each of his paintings created by the colour scheme, composition and context of the paintings.

Lee has used oil paints to create his concept artwork, allowing him to achieve a high levels of detail in an imaginative array of colours and textures. He has used soft and delicate brushstrokes to add to the sense of realism and richness of the work. He also blends colours subtly to give an accurate representation of different textures and the way light affects them.

It is interesting to note that the colour schemes used in his artwork do not necessarily  represent the colours you might expect. The tones are more exaggerated, seasons are  represented by rich and vibrant colours that although in keeping with our understanding of those seasons are far more fanciful.

It is obvious that Lee’s concept art is intended to inspire and  inform the film makers and help them visualise how the film should look and perhaps more importantly how it should feel. He has displayed high levels of detail in his work  making it easy for the film makers to embrace his vision.

All of Lee’s concept work is very emotive conveying a wide range  of moods and emotions. Through subtle considerations to colour, lighting and texture and general design  he is able to express extreme joy to extreme terror.

As somebody who is very familiar with the finished movies I can tell that the film makers drew a great deal of inspiration from Alan Lee’s concept art. I intend to follow their example and seek inspiration from Lee’s creativity in my own concepts. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Lee_(illustrator)

Concept Art for Toy Story

http://shoutitforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Toy-Story-3-concept-art.jpg

Concept Art for Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Askaban

http://www.linesandcolors.com/images/2008-08/brockbank_450.jpg

Concept Art for Avatar

http://www.scifiscoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/avatar_concept_art-3.jpg