Vintage Concept Art from the Original Animated LORD OF THE RINGS Film

I grew up watching the 1978 Ralph Bakshi directed animated Lord of the Rings film. When I was a kid that movie was epic. It's still a beautiful film to watch, and is a great work of animation art. We've got a fantastic collection concept art from this film that is a must see for any art or animation fan.

The art you see here was supposed to be part of a art book published back in 2008, but the Lord of the Rings section of that book was removed before it was published. Apparently the publisher axed it for some reason which is a shame. Thanks to the Bakshi team we have the missing LOTR's chapter from the book, which includes a great collection of concept art that was done for the film.

Ralph especially loves the artwork that was produced during the development of this film. It was one of the few films that he directed with a budget that could afford a decent development phase at all. Ralph made the most of the opportunity by hiring esteemed fantasy artists and young upstarts to visually imagine Tolkien’s world.

Check out the collection of art below and tell us what you think!