Gandalf In Moria – Preliminary Sketches & Ideas For A New Lord Of The Rings Illustration

‘I have no memory of this place…’

Over three years ago now I sketched out the piece below with a sanguine pastel and I recently decided that I would like to revisit the scene as it is a favourite of mine.

The journey through the Mines of Moria is a truly pivotal moment for the Fellowship especially with the fall of Gandalf less than a month after they all set out from Rivendell.

Once I have created the final artwork for this scene I’ll publish a blog post going into a lot more detail and excerpts from Tolkien’s writing.

For now though, let’s take a look at the new loose sketches I’ve been doing in order to prepare for the new artwork!

Exploring different points of view and playing around with surrounding elements has been the aim of the game with the sketchbook so far, however I will be attempting a new style with this piece as well. I want to give the piece a vignette look and once I have settled on a pose/view, I will be experimenting with different ways to get the vignette style that I am searching for.

I’ll be back soon with another update on the progress of this new artwork!

The Farewell Speech!

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Until next time, farewell!

JGlover