If you were to choose an image for a custom playmat (by http://www.inkedplaymats.com/ ) , which would it be and why?
I would pick the image of a fellowship facing generic enemies (found here http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=3709 ) , or this image: http://tolkienilu.chez-alice.fr/epopee/illustrations/seigneur_des_anneaux/fotr/caradhras_howe.jpg

I prefer something that involves landscape and conveys the impression that “these are the good guys” as it will not be used as the staging area. John Howe is my favorite, though I love much of what FFG is producing, especially on the Quest cards.

So, how about you guys?

I'm in the same boat. I love scenic shots… and Howe's work. Or even a single iconic figure on a mat… What I have a hard time with is playmats that are TOO involved… busy, overly lush, or lots of movement. It gets a bit distracting, and kinda takes away from the enjoyment of the cards for me. That pic with the backs of the fellowship would be a solid choice… anything more involved than that, and I start to lose interest

You know what I would absolutely LOVE to have as some playmats would be designs based off of some of the old Tolkien book-covers.

I would commit minor crimes to get a playmat with either of these old Hobbit covers as a backdrop.

1) This is a bit dark and the blue-green is a bit visually busy, but it's a classic:
lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net/gallery/bookcovers/pages/01.htm

(Edit) Here is the version of the above cover I was looking for… the blue/green has been muted a bit, and the overall cover has been shaded a bit, making it a better (backdrop):
www.abebooks.com/servlet/FrameBase

2) And this one is really simple, but I enjoy the clan look and retro appeal:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/TheHobbit_FirstEdition.jpg

This is another one that I would be stoked to find. Alan Lee's series of four continuous book-covers (The Hobbit and Ring-cycle) edited to fit together would be breath-taking!

lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net/gallery/bookcovers/pages/10.htm

The Hobbit cover on the right (extended a bit) would be nice to have:

lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net/gallery/bookcovers/pages/16.htm

Or for one of my favorite character, an iconic picture would do (this one's for you, Rich!).. the book cover in the middle…:

lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net/gallery/bookcovers/pages/38.htm

A final entry would be a sweeping scenic scene (book in the middle):

lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net/gallery/bookcovers/pages/71.htm

These all would be playmats that I could spend hours enjoying just looking at, while my cards do a merry dance across their surfaces…

You got my juices flowing. This guys has some interesting Tolkien-based artwork!:

tednasmith.mymiddleearth.com/

Some of his that I think would make decent playmats:

Smaug scouring the mountain:
tednasmith.mymiddleearth.com/files/2012/08/TN-Scouring_the_Mountain.jpg

A Conversation with Smaug:
tednasmith.mymiddleearth.com/files/2012/08/TN-A_Conversation_with_Smaug_sketch.jpg

Bilbo and the Eagles (LIKE THIS ONE!):
tednasmith.mymiddleearth.com/files/2012/08/TN-Bilbo_and_the_Eagles.jpg

Elf Woods:
tednasmith.mymiddleearth.com/2012/08/27/elf-woods/

Tol Brandir (the coloring on this one is amazing!):
tednasmith.mymiddleearth.com/2012/08/27/tol-brandir/

At the Foot of Mount Doom:
tednasmith.mymiddleearth.com/2012/07/05/at-the-foot-of-mount-doom/

I've got to stop! I'll let you look through more of his stuff and find what you like!

As a final thought, some of the maps of Middle Earth would look great as oversized playmats! I'm thinking of the classic tan/weathered map of ME of course….

@benhanses- i have an old-ish hardback of the trilogy with gandalf on the front here

also i highly recommend art by joe gilronan here

his art is probably the closest to my imagination than most

rich

@ Ben…Holy Crap! I love this one! http://tednasmith.mymiddleearth.com/2012/08/27/tol-brandir/ again, HOLY CRAP http://tednasmith.mymiddleearth.com/files/2012/08/TN-Bilbo_and_the_Eagles.jpg Do you remember the Christmas party we had about ten years ago where you bought the trilogy for me (after drawing my name in the gift exchange) only to have that stupid rotating "pick you gift" game ruin our lives and scar our souls (blast you Trina!)? They were paper bound and had those cool emblems…(see book on far right http://lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net/gallery/bookcovers/pages/71.htm ) It puts me of a mind, I am hosting games and using nearly all my cards, so why not have a themed set of four playmats? I'm not suggesting we use the cover art from the triligy you got me (and Phil-Lip stole) ten years ago, but something uniform, as were they…er…as they were. Hmmm…I like the large dustcover though… http://lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net/gallery/bookcovers/pages/01.htm

@ Rich

I would have never peg you as a fan of Joe Gilronan! That's cool! Which one is your fav?!

now thats a good question- its like he literally paints images out of my mind.

i think the misty mountains one though if i had to choose….i would love to see some art by him in the game

rich

His landscape is superb. I understand why you would like it. Alan Lee really captures the desparation, and John How the action. But the Elven contrast to "such reckless hate" is perfectly rendered by Joe (IMO).

richsabre said:

I enjoyed the Misty Mountains one, as well as his other larger landscapes (The Feloowship Doors of Moria)… some of his other ones were a bit too lush for me personally. The colors remided me a lot of Thomas Kincade… very bright. I guess I always had a more dimmer, mysterious vision of Middle-Earth in my head… probably the sullen, dwarvish blood in my veins…

Although I really liked his Anduin the Great River (just enough color without tipping the scale, and really grand feel to it), and his Rivendell and Minas Tirith paintings (again, very nice landscapes)!

WOW Rich that is amazing! Some of his images really look like what I imagined too! Ted Nasmith is a classic of course, his landscpaes are just so realistic. Sometimes I wish that art like this were used more often on the actual cards - a little brighter, most cards (and sadly most locations) look way too dark for me.

Gizlivadi said:

the location art is amazing in the game, but i do agree - hopefully numenor should bring some nice bright locations. my favourite has always been the old ford in hfg, probably because of its nasmith like qualities

rich

Yeah, I agree. The art in HFG, HOEM, and CATC is so far my favourite, a huge improvement since the core set, in which many card illustrations looked more like a dark, blurry mess with a few lighter smudges here and there (in a somewhat excessive use of contrast and chiaroscuro, IMO), and it gets worse if you add the fact that for some reason the cards that arrive here in Chile have a somewhat darker print when you compare them to online images. Hopefully in the future we'll get more light-hearted (or just lighter) art, and it seems that it'll be that way with HON.

I hope they do as well, perhaps more Hobbitton or "good guy" locations.

I am leaning t'ward these four illustrations for my ideal playmats…

www.matthew-stewart.com/portfolio/single-gallery/16681590 (for my dwarf deck)

www.matthew-stewart.com/portfolio/single-gallery/14447873 (my nod to the hobbit)

www.matthew-stewart.com/portfolio/single-gallery/14447873 (in case my daughter ever wants to play)

angel.cs.msu.su/~salnikov/gilrond/Images/John_Howe/approaching_caradhras.jpg (amazing?)

www.matthew-stewart.com/portfolio/single-gallery/14447873 (prob the one we will all fight over)

What do you all think?!

Sadly, Brownmantle, three of your Matthew Stewart links led to the same image, it would be nice if you edited it so we could see the ones you were referring to. Now, on topic, that art is AMAZING! Wow, I mean, they could totally hire this guy, it would be awesome! I can totally see that Gandalf art used for an ally, or that Boromir art used for a quest card. Those are great, they give the classic traditional feeling but still in a modern kinda way. If they hired him for, MTG, they could also hire him for this game.

crap…sry about that. I Don't know how to get it to work. I love that Gandalf, though. And the Strider is pretty wicked as well.

this thread is great- keep up the images…we shuold have this as a 'link to great tolkien art' thread.

rich

This would be great art for a card sleeve: javascript:void(0);/*1353167851740*/

yeah that one would look great for hobbit themed sleeves

ive noticed the war in the north game has some great art work here

on a different but not completely unrelated note, if theres any uk people reading this thread, then check out The Works book store, they have John Howe s art book in for a couple of pounds….may pick one up sometime

rich

Here's one more that'd be great. It's the Witch King vs Eowyn. javascript:void(0);/*1353176470754*/

There was a great Art Order competition a while ago for Eowyn and the Nazgul art, but I couldn't find the page where all the art was collected…

I also wanted to make sure everyone had seen this even though it's art for the card game, because it's a nice big size and it's an amazing piece by Magali Villeneuve:

http://www.middleearth.com/images/backgrounds/me_7.jpg

Narsil0420 said:

Lovely. I want one. Where can I find more of these large print versions of the card art? I wanted to use them but couldn't find them.

Brownmantle said:

I think linking a painting of a bloodied Gimli with a comment about your future daughter is both fairly creepy AND awesome at the same time…. lol

Brownmantle said:

I assume this is the one you were referring to?: www.matthew-stewart.com/portfolio/single-gallery/7320417
Agreed, with the exception of puffy, white sleeves (seems a bit impractical in his "line of work")… it's how I've always imagined him skulking in the corner of the inn….

Not a LOTR painting, but I was struck by the simplicity of the painintg and what it portrayed: www.matthew-stewart.com/portfolio/single-gallery/11885332

And this may actually be my favorite: www.matthew-stewart.com/portfolio/single-gallery/5184682
Eowyn being one of my favorite characters (I believe I may have said that about every character in Middle Earth at least once on these boards somewhere… lol), I LOVE how defiant she looks. And the way the Witch King frames the outside of the painting and focuses the view inward on her is BRILLIANT! This is one I would definitely want… as a playmat, on my wall, as a screen saver, tattooed on my eyelids, as a bed spread… ok, a bed-spread might be taking it a bit far.

But seriously. Eyelids.

benhanses said:

Well, the one for my daughter was acutally supposed to be the one with the Witch-King and a certain fair maden who happens to make a nice…bed spread? (And the dwarf was creepy?) Kidding aside, I meant to link Boramire and the two Hobbits, Gandalf, Gimli, and the Bed Spread pic, as well as the one that worked by John Howe. I've since been forced to re-evaluate for Copywrite infringement as I don't think that INKED will make the playmats with unpurchased, copy-written art. So, I guess this thread has only proven how difficult it is to get ones hands on a decent LOTR playmat. Now that I know EXATLY what I want, when FFG does come out with a mat for the Tolkienesta's it will be anti-climatic (well, for me anyway). At least my online pals know about Matthew Stewart now…so thats something.