Frank Frazetta does Middle-Earth

Frank Frazetta is my favorite fantasy artist. No, seriously. When I see any kind of art related to fantasy spectrum of things (card games, book covers, rpg, etc) I rate it next to a Frazetta. As far as I'm concerned, he invented modern fantasy art, thus sets the standard. I'm not going to ramble about him this time, this post is only to display some Pen & Ink art I found of his based on characters and scenarios from Lord of The Rings. Even in his clean line drafts, his inertia is still there, showing the constant energy of toned organic bodies amongst hard steel. You know exactly what is going on in the minds of all of characters in every piece of art he's ever done.

There is still a sense of rawness in these, which keeps it from being too clean and "safe". Yes, safe. His art is NOT safe. All of his work is raw and has a threatening texture to it. It's gritty and violent, but it is portrayed exquisitely. But now I'm ranting. I'll save that for a future post. Anyways, check out these drawings. The bottom drawing of Gandalf The Grey is thee best image of the character. Step aside, John Howe. (FYI- I have high respect for John Howe, and enjoy his work Immensely, but Frank Frazetta is King)











Simply Brilliant