In addition to being a literary genius, Tolkien was an amateur artist and sketched as he visualized the world he was creating. Tolkien had a very different set of tools and process in terms of map creation than he would today even as a fantasy author. Computers were barely a science fiction dream. In 1937, cartographers were hunched over stereoplotters and maps were mass produced through lithographic printing and copper plates. Today, I spend 98% of my time on the computer, digitally drawing in Arc GIS, Adobe Illustrator, or adjusting shading in Adobe Photoshop. The cartographic process was quite different when Tolkien was building Middle-earth in the 1930s and ‘40s as compared to now. Hopefully adding new books soon! Ode to the Writer/Artist/Cartographer Nerd status: my current Tolkien collection. I know that statement is not without controversy. Tolkien’s attention to detail, the depths he went into to build his world, and yes, I love Tolkien’s maps. As a map maker, I endlessly appreciate J.R.R. I can’t say that my love for Lord of the Rings led me to be a cartographer, but I do vividly remember picking up The Hobbit as a middle schooler, bored and home sick with the flu, and spending a lot of time with the map illustration tucked into the first pages before I even joined Bilbo on his journey.
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