The Illuminated Silmarillion
The Illuminated Silmarillion
How beautiful can a J.R.R. Tolkien book be? There are some fantastic illustrated versions of “The Hobbit,” “The Lord of the Rings,” and “The Silmarillion,” and each is beautiful and can be an impressive part of any library. There have been some deluxe versions of LOTR printed over the years which are expensive and impressive. But Benjamin Harff has done something on a whole new level. Following the tradition of ancient forms of book making, often by monks or priests working before the printing press, Harff has used the old style to make a simply amazing version of Tolkien’s “The Silmarillion.”

He produced the book as part of his schooling and says, “…but the main problem was my strict limitation in time and money. Looking back I cannot understand how it worked! For my exam it would have been enough to do calligraphy for only one or two chapters. But I didn´t want to have a book with maybe twenty printed and 380 empty pages! That would not have been worthy for a Tolkien-work and I had better done a short story or so. But I thought: „This is your exam and maybe the last time that you can do what you want as an illustrator!“ So I did it, and couldn´t have done it with that fire, wouldn´t it have been a Tolkien-work. And although this was extremely hard, the fire did not cease.”

The Tolkien Library has an interview with excellent images. You can read the whole story right here.

TORN-Tuesday-300-250Today join us again for our weekly webcast TORn TUESDAY, as we our big presence at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con as we present all the juicy dish on THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG!

Let’s have a closer look at what brings such huge interest and different fandoms together at this amazing show — and prep you for what we will reveal during our presentation! Bring your questions and comments to the chat!

We launch TORn TUESDAY every week at 5:00PM Pacific: brought to you by host Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway and producer Justin “I Make Excellent T-shirts” Sewell — Our innovative live show includes worldwide fans who join us on the Live Event page with a built-in IRC chat (affectionately known as Barliman’s Chat room). Be part of the fun and mischief every week as we broadcast *live* from Meltdown Comics in the heart of Hollywood, U.S.A.!

WE APOLOGIZE that there is no available archive of this particular installment on our YouTube channel —- it was a “sneak preview” after all!

 

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bilboThe UK’s The Independent features an in-depth interview with Martin Freeman where he talks about playing the titular character in “The Hobbit,” Bilbo Baggins as well as other roles John Watson, Tim from “The Office,” and an upcoming movie with Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

“I get more 12-year-olds coming up to me than I used to,” he says of his path on fame’s superhighway. “But, I promise, I still have a lot of conversations with people that have no idea who I am. Which is great for me as I usually just want to eat a bowl of pasta in peace.” He also says he gets more fan mail for Watson than Bilbo. You can read the whole article right here.

SDCC 2012 Tolkien cosplay
 

San Diego Comic Con has begun to release their schedule, day-by-day, along with a ton of other information regarding everything a con-goer will need to know. But let’s concentrate on what you, the Tolkien fans need to know.
 

Earlier this week we heard direct from Peter Jackson that he would not be attending SDCC, nor would he be sending any cast or special filmed footage. While that is a bummer for Hobbit fans hoping to get a first look at some exclusive footage, all is not lost. We at TheOneRing.net have you covered, with our ‘Unofficial Sneak Peek of “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” panel taking place on Thursday, July 18 at 5:30 pm in room 6A. We’ll have numerous staff on hand to showcase the most current rumors, spy reports, conjecture, a surprise or two and a Q&A session.
 

This is where you, the fan, come in. We can’t have a Q&A session without insightful questions from a curious audience. In fact, because Peter Jackson and the cast will not be appearing, it is down to TORn and you, the fans, to represent for Tolkien fandom. We’ll bring the analysis and you bring the energy. Like last year, we will do a photo op for the Tolkien Cosplayers right after the panel. But if you don’t have a Tolkien themed costume you can still support this fandom by wearing a TORn shirt, you’ve got 13 years of shirts to choose from. Let’s turn the San Diego Convention Center into a demonstration of TORn Thursday.

 
Speaking of the Convention Center and the exhibit hall floor, you can find TheOneRing.net in not one, but two locations, just like last year. We’ll be with our good friends at Badali Jewelry in booth #532/534 and Weta Workshop at booth #3513. Stop on by to say hello, buy a TORn shirt or button, take part in one of our games or contests or maybe even be featured in our live stream.

 
We’ve created a Facebook Event page for our Thursday panel, which you will find linked here. TORn SDCC panel event Please RSVP for it if you intend to come, and make a note if you will be in costume or wearing your TORn shirt.

 

While Americans enjoy a long weekend and those in New Zealand continue to shoot the final weeks of the last two Hobbit films (any bets about more pickups next year? Anybody?) we thought it would be a good time to share 49 hours and 33 minutes of work by one hand on one picture in a three-minute time lapse. Using an array of ball point pens, this is a pretty cool version of Gollum and since we are fans of fans, well, we thought it might be a nice thing to share. Thanks to SupermanIsNoHere for the link. Enjoy!