Cover for Chinese edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, 2014, by artist Jian Guo
This beautiful cover, reminiscent of Chinese jade carvings, was part of a competition by WenJing Publishing to release the trilogy for an Asian market. I like it when the books receive artistic interpretations of the country they are released in.
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There he lay, a vast red-golden dragon, fast asleep; a thrumming came from his jaws and nostrils, and wisps of smoke, but his fires were low in slumber. Beneath him, under all his limbs and his huge coiled tail, and about him on all sides stretching away across the unseen floors, lay countless piles of precious things, gold wrought and un-wrought, gems and jewels, and silver red-stained in the ruddy light.
— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit |
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Smaug is probably the most famous dragon in fantasy fiction. With a starring role in The Hobbit, he’s been interpreted countless times by different artists, some off the cuff, others more faithful to the book. Let’s look at some of them.
Tolkien’s version of Smaug
Though J.R.R. Tolkien described himself as not much of an artist, this is actually a decent rendition that would not disgrace a children’s book today. Here Smaug looks appropriately smug and lazy, but his size is… well, underwhelming. There’s nothing here of the evil power and majesty of the creature from the book. Bilbo’s proportions (if that is Bilbo at the right foreground of the treasure pile) also look off; he’s more humanlike than hobbitlike. I get the feeling Smaug might swallow him whole, but it would be a struggle for him.
Smaug by Tim Kirk
As I wrote in this post, Kirk’s Smaug remains my favorite, even though his coloration is not true to the text. His eyes with their horizontal pupils — like a goat’s, that animal of Satan — are different, and hypnotizing in their alien aspect. The skeletons in the foreground add a gruesome touch and are indicative of his great size
Smaug by Ted Naismith
Along with Alan Greene and John Howe, Ted Naismith is one of the most prolific Tolkien illustrators. I have to say he has a better hand with landscapes and buildings than characters though — his Smaug looks too spindly and static to be much of a threat, even though, by his nasty expression, he thinks he is. I’m reminded more of Gollum hissing, “My Precious.”
Alan Lee’s Smaug
Alan Lee was instrumental in designing the delicate, pastoral look of Peter Jackson’s movies, yet like Naismith he misses the mark on Smaug, who is just too ethereal and pretty here to be a man-eater as he sleeps gently coiled and dreaming on his nest.
Smaug, by the Brothers Hildebrandt
From pretty Smaug we move to this massive creature by the Brothers Hildebrandt, which graced a Tolkien calendar in 1976. The color is right, the treasure, the size, the power… yet, he could be any dragon. There’s nothing here that says Smaug. He’s neither coiled nor sleeping on his treasure heap, and his expression is just… BLAARGH! MAKE FIRE! Plus, his butt is too huge to belong to Tolkien’s snakelike coiler.
Ian Miller’s Smaug
Ian Miller, who has also done other Tolkien illustrations, contributes an abstract, tissoplastic version. His technique recalls Victorian-age scientific illustrations like this. It’s interesting, yet doesn’t much recall Smaug either.
John Howe’s Smaug
Howe does a wonderful Smaug here. His color, size, expression, and sleeping habit make him the dangerous antagonist of the book. My only quibble is his head is too long and narrow for his body.
Smaug from an Italian edition of The Hobbit
Smaug gets extra goofy here (admittedly, so is Bilbo, at lower right.) His size is way too small considering the open treasure chest by his side. And why the lion paws?
Smaug by Katarzyna Kniecik
Kniecik gives us a wonderful version here inspired by movie Smaug yet not adhering 100% to it. Smaug is red-gold, large, greedy, and coiling on his pile — in fact he is dwarfing it — and his downturned jowl, pouched neck, and hooded eyes suggest malice and craftiness, and the ability to swallow things whole. Bilbo can only stand before him in awe, perhaps a little too closely. The watercolor technique recalls Alan Lee’s version.
Smaug from the 1977 Hobbit movie
Rankin/Bass made an animated television special of The Hobbit which was aired in 1977. It’s pretty fun, but not definitive. Smaug is a strange creature in this pic, with a wolflike face, furry back, and bloated red body, but the depiction was effective in motion combined with the voice acting, done with gravelly roughness by actor Richard Boone. When he utters, “And my breath… death!” he takes aim at a suit of armor and melts into slag. That’s the Smaug I love!
The Desolation of Smaug, by Mas Barlett
DeviantArt, a showcase site for fantasy artists, has many wonderful versions of Smaug that are as good as, or better than, the older ones from the 70s and 80s. This one by Mas Bartlett captures the dragon’s size, suspiciousness, and power. He is not exactly “red-golden” but his underside glows from the internal flames within.
The Council of Elrond, Lego style
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy has been a major influence for many, many, fantasy writers, myself included. (Or course, many fantasy writers detest it also.) And also like me, probably, at some point, budding young fantasy writers made up people, places, and things that sounded very much like Tolkien’s, in his inimitable naming style. Many, many Boromirs have bitten the dust in some junior high dungeon adventure, and many, many Galadriels and Arwens wielded magic in some fantasy kingdom, not to mention barked or purred if they were female.
If you still have a liking for Tolkien’s names and don’t want to give them up because they fit your character so well, try some of these variations.
| FRODO
Frodá Frodí Glodo Clodü Smerri Glodí Frodé Frojalo Szodo Snumo Snodo Frovillí |
GANDALF
Hanalf Gandulus Gandbar Gandius Barralf Granbar Grisalve Gandthan Gandeart Gandbor Gandián Boryalf |
ARAGORN
Arazhor Perorn Aragës Aragairn Aragobra Sephorn Shenorn Imlürn Zillárn Wynnorn Aragéton Aragyr |
| GOLLUM
Woddum Gílltaun Goddfer Golljer Gollaik Glossum Tollum Zhollum Gïrrum Gállanul Smodae Zaffum |
GALADRIEL
Phaladriel Zhalamelly Gyladrieth Gamorriel Wihodhiel Sobraniel Khuzaziel Rhábbathiel Grévodiel Vhurakiel Kashyriel Lyrabriel |
BOROMIR
Borovaler Boräbrin Baryzim Alfomich Boroshen Boroelf Zarömir Athümir Boravins Borovat Bestomir Auromir |
German edition
This German cover of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit changes the title slightly to “The Little Hobbit” and pairs a bloated, toadlike, crazy-eyed Smaug with a tap-dancing Hobbit waving a top hat. The whole is enclosed in a trompe l’oeil frame with a spider crawling on the bottom, which alludes to the dwarves’ misadventures in the forest of Mirkwood. One could say the artist didn’t bother to read the book, but it’s also common practice in publishing for the project manager to give them a description of what they want, not the whole book, and those descriptions are open to interpretation, or omit what’s clearly in the text. Thus, “red-gold” Smaug becomes greenish-gray and sprouts butterfly wings. Nevertheless, I find it delightful.
In the 1980s the Russians made their own version of The Hobbit (unauthorized — copyrights, shmopyrights!) for TV.
It is not so big budget, but the acting is delightful. I particularly like the baby crocodile Smaug.
Sauron’s forces on the move
It’s Tolkien Month here on my website! A little odd considering I have been writing mostly erotica and horror, but my roots are in SF and Fantasy. Reading E.R. Eddison’s The Worm Ouroboros, a progenitor of Tolkien’s and a probable influence, has made me appreciate the good professor even more. Not that Eddison is bad, mind you — it’s that by reading his work that I was able to see the historical, literary context behind Tolkien’s, and the roots of modern fantasy itself. And like it or not, Tolkien certainly laid the groundwork.
Other Tolkien scholars have said what I could say 1000% better, so the point of me adding my two cents to the topic is not one of deep analysis. Rather, it’s a scrapbook that highlights what I like, have found, or find interesting about his work, and in particular his publishing history.
Let’s start with an appreciation of Tim Kirk, an artist who gave, in my opinion, one of the best Tolkien interpretations around, and whose vision I prefer over Alan Greene’s and John Howe’s. The orc army above is what I continue to see in my mind’s eye whenever I re-read the trilogy: greenish-skinned, hulking samurai striding out of the mist. I like the way Kirk has limited his palette and chosen to highlight the three figures at the left in detail, while the ones in the rear are more stylized, recalling the work of Barbara Remington’s 1960s Ballantine paperback covers, which I’ll highlight later — all streaming flags and surreal, elongated glaives.
Smaug
This is by far my favorite Smaug. As a teen, I received this calendar containing Kirk’s artwork one Christmas and I remember trying to duplicate his Smaug again and again, to poor result. Again, the palette is limited to murky browns and purples, and the image is clear and iconic. Kirk cuts loose from the book in that Smaug is black, or dark maroon, rather than the red-gold creature of the book, but it’s very effective paired with the creature’s hypnotic, yellow-green eyes, which have side pupils that give him an otherworldly air. And I love the way he lightly yet possessively holds his front talons over the pile of treasure. It’s as if he’s sitting for a portrait.
Galadriel, Celeborn, and Frodo
I was not so fond of this picture as I was of Smaug’s, as Frodo looks unfinished, but again, it’s a good, iconic rendition with a limited palette, muted grays and lavenders contrasting with the more earthy browns of Frodo’s garb. Though described in the calendar as “fan art” these pictures were actually painted by Kirk as part of his Master’s Degree in illustration from California State University. Later he worked commercially, doing cover illustrations for DAW books, and founded his own design firm. In recent years, he served on the advisory board of The Museum of Pop Culture here in Seattle.
Gandalf arrives at Bag End
I find Kirk’s Gandalf the most wizardly, Gandalf-y Gandalf outside of Ian McKellan’s movie depiction. Frodo varies in appearance across the calendar, so taken as a whole the pics are less unified than they could have been, but I assume that since they were for a thesis, they were done over a long period of time and professional publication was not the goal.
Smaug attacks Rivertown
Again the town I see whenever I re-read The Hobbit, though the flying, glowing shadow does not seem to belong to the Smaug in the earlier pic — it seems more like a Nazgul. I like the rich forest greens and jades of the buildings and the yellow lights reflected in the water.
Orc soldiers
Two orcs on the march, perhaps conversing to pass the time. They are the book’s villains, yet, they seem oddly sympathetic here. They’re just a pair of grunts doing their job.
Frodo comes to the end of his journey
I always liked this pic as well. Frodo arrives at the Far Shores, a scene never depicted in the books, only told in postscript. He eagerly climbs up on the foremast to get a batter look. The mountains are green and lush, the city inviting, if a little R’lyeh looking. The domed building, in fact, reminds me a little of Florence cathedral. From here he passes into myth.
What’s a writer to do when they want to set a story, series of stories, novel, or game in a large American city, but can’t for one reason or another? The answer: Make up their own.
H.P. Lovecraft did this well with his Cthulhu Mythos stories, basing the made-up New England city of Arkham on the actual Massachusetts cities of Salem and Boston. Arhkham was set on the fictional Miskatonic River and boasted a university where much of the stories’ action took place, as well as many seedy riverfront dives and run-down Victorian housing where supernatural events also occurred.
In a similar vein, the Batman World’s Gotham City was a stand-in for New York, and Frank Miller’s Sin City (short for Basin City) for Los Angeles, with the similar-sounding Sacred Oaks subbing for Thousand Oaks. The naming of the latter is what I aim to do here, with names twisted to the right, or left, of those in the real world.
Continuing to further flesh out the cities, how about some Broxton baked oysters, the cuilinary specialty of this blue-blooded port city? And have you heard of, perhaps, Persephonia’s Freedom Cannon, which was only fired once, and cracked its iron casing? Or how about Miamö fashion designer Augustus Mercedes, tragically gunned down by a disgruntled ex-lover on his luxury yacht? Stories abound, if one will but write them.
| WASHINGTON, DC
Wickington, DC Moonington, DV Washgirdle, DR Waterington, LS Blisterington, DF Thrashington, DC Washseed, DS |
BALTIMORE
Bultimoran Badhimere Boltplior Balbrimora Balteborough Balvimure Baltchausor |
BOSTON
Broxton Bostol Banthon Bostoth Rostoz Baltoch Bostitch |
| PHILADELPHIA
Phuladelia Philanterra Persephonia Trilladelphia Phoenixia Shilasandsay Peurredonia |
MIAMI
Liamá Triami Diano Mazori Ziamu Miamö Maiamsta |
NEW YORK CITY
Yew Port City Sédh Raorn City New Tory City New Shorp City Yez Yurk City Newkhurk City Suthnork City |
…into the depths of the sea.
(The Inundation of the Beisboch in 1421, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema)
It’s pretty easy to name a new species of bird. Their beaks and tails adhere to certain shapes, and body parts such as eyes, breasts, and wings share certain features also. Their habitats name them, as well as their food, calls, and mating behavior.
So if you want some fictional avian or avians in your story, you can get one here.
| Mermigan
Short-Breasted Forest Wren Pidgekin Scarlet-Tailed Bobber Shearback Ground Fisher Bee-Eating Blue Swift Soft-Tailed Warwill Snowy Finch Canyon Goose Mullsnip Emerald-collared Finch Sedge Thorntail White-Backed Warbler Sagebrush Grouselette |
Ground Swordbill
Rose-Crested Sucker Sultan Swan Soft-Bellied Sismou Sapphire Spineback Rose-Throated Creeper Long-Tailed Lowlands Jay Gypsy Bluff Ibis Saddletail Whooping Spadebird Parokha Long-Eyed Prairie Pigeon Woodriole Whiskered Sickleback Double-Plumed Kakarata |
Glossy-Spotted Spadewing
Gray-Backed Swift Pidgeonette Screaming Pheasant Evening Redback Emerald-Crested Mullboola Russet Scythebird Golden Creeper Bush Goose Glossy-Chinned Stork Forest Redbird Short-Rumped Warkin Sedge Stork Sapphire-Tailed Parakeet Lesser Coslet |
What is more horrifying to see… a dead mouse, or one so obviously transformed by genetic manipulation?
