~Alan Lee~

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Alan Lee is an Academy Award winning, English book
illustrator and movie conceptual designer.
He was born on August 20, 1947 in Middlesex, England
He moved to Dartmoor in 1975
and studied at the Ealing School of Art.
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He has illustrated several fantasy books,
notably several works of J.R.R. Tolkien, such as the
centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit
and The Children of Húrin. Other books he has
illustrated include Faeries (with Brian Froud),
Lavondyss by Robert Holdstock (as well as the cover
of an early print of this book), The Mabinogion,
Castles and Tolkien's Ring (both by David Day),
The Mirrorstone by Michael Palin,
The Moon's Revenge by Joan Aiken and
Merlin Dreams by Peter Dickinson.
He has also illustrated Rosemary Sutcliff’s adaptations
of Iliad and Odyssey (Black Ships Before Troy and
The Wanderings of Odysseus.) He has also done
a cover painting for Mervyn Peake’s Titus Groan.
He won the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration
in 1993 for Black Ships Before Troy and the
Best Artist Award at the World Fantasy Awards of 1998.
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Lee and John Howe were the lead concept artists of
Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies,
and have been contacted by director Guillermo del Toro
to keep continuity of design for his upcoming
The Hobbit films. In a documentary interview on
the Extended Edition of Fellowship of the Ring,
Jackson details the comical story of how he managed
to contact Lee, a rather reclusive man, in his home
in the south of England. By couriering a package to him
containing two of Jackson's previous films,
Forgotten Silver and Heavenly Creatures, with a note
from himself and Fran Walsh, Alan's interest was piqued
enough to become involved. He went on to illustrate and
even help construct many of the scenarios for the movies,
including objects and weapons for the actors.
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In 2004, he won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction
for his work on the third film in the trilogy,
The Return of the King. Lee has also worked as a
conceptual designer on the films Legend, Erik the Viking,
King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the
television mini-series Merlin. Lee recently released
a portfolio of his conceptual artwork for the
Lord of the Rings film trilogy, entitled
The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook.
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Alan Lee werd geboren in Middlesex, England  
op 20 augustus 1947.
Hij verhuisde naar Dartmoor in 1975.
Hij  is een Britse illustrator van boeken en
een conceptual designer van films, die vooral bekend
is door zijn illustraties van J.R.R. Tolkiens
In de Ban van de Ring
en het ontwerp voor Peter Jacksons verfilming hiervan.
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Hij heeft vele fantasy-boeken geïllustreerd, zoals de
millennium-editie van In de Ban van de Ring,
Faeries (samen met Brian Froud), Lavondyss van
Robert Holdstock, e.a. Ook zijn er vele kalenders verschenen
met zijn illustraties, en heeft hij gewerkt als conceptual
designer van films (Legend, Erik the Viking, e.a.)
en miniseries (Merlin).
~Film~Legend~
In 1993 heeft hij de Kate Greenaway Medal gewonnen
en in 1998 de Best Artist Award tijdens
de 'World Fantasy Awards'.
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Zijn werk als conceptual designer voor Peter Jackson's
verfilming van Lord of the Rings wordt beschouwd
als een essentieel onderdeel van het succes van deze films.
Samen met John Howe was hij verantwoordelijk voor
de vele decors, objecten, wapens en het uiterlijk van
de wezens die in deze film een belangrijke rol spelen.
In 2004 wonnen Howe en Lee een Oscar (Best Art Direction)
voor The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
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http://fan.theonering.net/middleearthtours/lee.html
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http://www.lordoftherings.net/
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http://www.eldar.org/artgallery/tolkien/alee/justpixs.html