This was the second of the two cards I produced for Fantasy Flight Games Lord of the Rings living card games. It depicts a dry river bed in the heart of Mirkwood forest, a location more prominent in the Hobbit than the Lord of Rings. It’s part of the encounter set titled ‘Return to Mirkwood’ if there are any LOTR card gamers interested.
It’s quite something being able to illustrate scenes from Middle-Earth. I would happily paint from Tolkiens stories all day if I could! I have always loved the way Tolkien described the scenery of Middle-Earth It has become very vivid in my minds eye, which makes it quite easy to depict from my point of view.
Click on the card to see the actual artwork at a slight better viewing size.
Quite recently I was very lucky to get the opportunity to paint a few cards for the Fantasy Flight Games’s The Lord of the Rings; the card game. As I’ve always had an interest in the books of J. R. R. Tolkien I was more than happy to do so!
Since this card ‘The Highlands’ is in publication I’ve added a smaller copy of the original image to my gallery, which you can view right here on my blog.
The scene depicts a daunting view of the Emyn Muil and is appropriately part of the encounter set – The hills of Emyn Muil (available from Fantasy Flight Games).
The lord of the rings is a special trilogy for me, I first read it when I was around elven/twelve years old. Unfortunately I am not a fan of the Peter Jackson films but that does not diminish my love of the works of other artists who have interprited Tolkien themselves.
I recently managed to watch the first season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. It was a real pleasure to watch a TV show that follows in the spirit of the original books by George R. R. Martin, especially after the personal disappointment of the antipodean Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Great locations, excellent acting especially from Sean Bean as Eddard Stark and Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister , also worth mentioning that Peter Dinklage does a good job as Tyrion Lannister. There are lots of great performances in the show just too many to list here!
It reminded me of the Game of Thrones artwork I did for Fantasy Flight Games quite a while back. I’ve never played with collectable card games so I don’t really understand them to be honest, but having the chance to illustrate from something you’ve read is quite a frill. My own personal favorite from the bunch was the very first one I did for Fantasy Flight Games called Summer. I enjoyed doing that one the most.
Now I’m looking forward to the second season of Game of Thrones, I really do hope that HBO keep up the excellent work they’ve done with the series so far..
Checkout the Art Class is this months ImagineFX magazine (issue 70). I was fortunate enough to mentor a very talented young artist from Brazil by the name of Luisa Rafida. We corresponded over her fantasy painting and I provided help in the form of advice and technical know how. It was really fun to do and Luisa was a great student. You can see the final result on Luisa’s Deviantart art page here
I was quite fortunate last year to be able to paint ‘Sacrifice to Khaine’ for the Warhammer Invasion Card Game, The Morrslieb Cycle. (c) Games Workshop Limited 2011
I have always wanted to do something Warhammer related to this was a great opportunity given to me by Fantasy Flight Games. I don’t play these card games myself but I’m always interested in seeing the illustrations painted for them.I guess I’m quite fortunate having painted so many myself for other games.
I’ve posted a copy of the original image in my gallery for viewing. The card itself is now available through the ‘Chaos Moon’ edition of the Morrslieb Cycle – if you happen to be a player/collector.
See the Fantasy Flight Games Website for more details..
