You, my brown-eyed Frodo

[Galin]

Incidentally, in a note to The Bladorthin Typescript (ii Bladorthin, note 14, Mr. Baggins), John Rateliff describes an essay written circa 1970 and now in the Bodleian Library (Tolkien Papers A61 a, fol. 1-31). Mr. Rateliff quotes a description of Gandalf from this essay (which includes 'Which should make him a short man even in modern England, especially with the reduction of a bent back' for example), noting also that it was written in response to Pauline Baynes' art for the poster-map of Middle-earth -- which included the Fellowship and Bill, and certain evil types too.

In note 8 to Gollum this is referred to again: '... in which he describes each member of the Fellowship of the Ring as he pictured them -- an invaluable aid to any future illustrator of his work.' JDR then quotes another bit concerning Gollum and describes the essay as from 'Bodleian, Department of Western Manuscripts,' and etc. (as above).

Parts or snippets from this work have already been published by CJRT and Hammond and Scull, but to date, not the whole thing. I've no idea how detailed the full version gets concerning the Hobbits and I assume the questions of Legolas' hair colour and ear shape are not answered, as H&S likely would have cited that much for their companion to The Lord of the Rings.

But that's an assumption about what they 'likely' would have done

[mark12_30]

I was hugely affected by Pauline Baynes' illustration that was published below her map of Middle-Earth, and of The Hobbit. Since I first 'met' Pauline Baynes during Narnia, and later enjoyed her Smith of Wooten Major and the Tom Bombadil collection etc, and Tolkien himself was pleased with her work, I am mostly content with that.

That said, I was also influenced by other art, and still am. The picture of the redhaired, rosy-cheeked Frodo (taller than most) recovering in Elrond's guest bed with Gandalf seated by his side, remains my portrait for Frodo. Aragorn was perhaps somewhat influenced by Bakshi. (I know.) But then slightly dissatisfied with that, I went back and reread some descriptions... and didn't find TOO much to change.

I used to draw my own pictures specifically for Aragorn, Boromir and Faramir. My favorite drawing of my own was Boromir. It's long gone. Too bad.

[Loslote]

1). If you read the books before the movies, what (if anything) did the characters look like to you?

I rarely create mental pictures of characters. Sometimes, if an author is very specific in their description, I'll make a basic Barbie and stick the proper features on it, but never anything more personalized.

2). After the movies came out, did this change?

Yeah, I borrow images from movies all the time. LotR, Narnia, pretty much everything. It's a bit of a lazy tick.

3). If your answer to 2 is yes, have you tried to recover your previous mental pictures and/or create new ones in response to the films? If so, how?

Nah. That sounds quite a bit like work.

4). Have any of your mental associations with characters been otherwise influenced by other sources (i.e. illustrations, fanart, other adaptations)?

Some of the Sil characters, definately.

5). Have you ever engaged in any sort of sub-sub-creative effort that draws upon any of these mental pictures (i.e. RPGs, fan fiction, fanart)?

Oh, yes. I most write parodies, so my chars end up being movie-verse plus some. My Frodos are even more pathetic, my Pippins are even more clueless, my Legolases are even more "perfect", etc. So I take the profiles given to the other chars and I make them "even more so". Fan-art, for me, focuses more on obscure Sil chars than LotR chars, so the movies don't really have an effect.