2008 GUEST OF HONOR: ALAN LEE

ALAN LEE is an international best-selling illustrator, author and Oscar Award winning conceptual designer, who is recognized as one of the finest fantasy artists of our time. His exceptionally detailed drawings and consummate skill with watercolors reflect his profound connection with the wild hills, rivers and woodlands of Dartmoor in Devon, England where he makes his home. Alan has always been deeply connected to this land and conversant in it’s ancient lore as well as the mythologies of the world: it informs every aspect of his creative work and life.

His love for rapport with nature and it’s mythic and folkloric denizens is imbued into his two best known published works, the international best-selling classic, Faeries, co-created with Brian Froud in 1977 that defined modern faerie art for generations; and his landmark illustrations for JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and related books. Other books illustrated by Alan include, The Mabinogion, Castles, Merlin Dreams, The Mirrorstone, The Moon’s Revenge, Lavondyss, Titus Groan, The Iliad: Black Ships Before Troy for which he won the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration in 1993 and The Odyssey: The Wanderings of Odysseus. In 2005, Houghton Mifflin published a book of his conceptual artwork for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, entitled The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook. Alan won the Best Artist Award at the World Fantasy Awards in 1998.

Alan has also worked as a concept designer for feature films and television, including, Erik The Viking, Legend and the television mini-series Merlin. Based on his organic, richly defined vision of Middle Earth, Alan was chosen by Director Peter Jackson as one of the lead concept designers for New Line’s feature films, The Lord of The Rings, which have generated over one billion dollars worldwide and are among the Top Ten Movies of All Time. Alan spent over five years in New Zealand working with the Weta Workshop and contributed designs for nearly all aspects of the films. As the films progressed, Alan’s exceptional ability to create detailed scenes within the realistic scale and perspective required for physical and digital production advanced him to the position of production designer, further imprinting his unique vision on the films. In 2004, he shared an Academy Award with Dan Hennah for art direction on The Return of The King. Alan has also contributed concept and production designs to King Kong, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

LOTR ARTWORK BY ALAN LEE