What has been happening in the world of Tolkien fandom

More award nominations have been announced for The Desolation of Smaug, fans have shown their love of Tolkien be creating epic works of art, and even a new edition of one of J.R.R. Tolkien's books has been scheduled for release later this year. Find out about all this and more beyond the break!

Jerry Vanderstelt's Comic Con project

You may have seen this fine art print in various stages of its creation if you attended the San Diego Comic Con or if you receive updates from Jerry Vanderstelt's Facebook page. Now it is completed! You can see the full-size image beyond the break, along with an art print of Dwalin, also done by Jerry Vanderstelt. 

Slowly yet surely the filming of the Hobbit movies comes to a close,

as one by one the actors say they farewells after a job well done. Now it is time for Martin Freeman to say goodbye to Bilbo. Peter Jackson recently posted this photo on his Facebook page, and noted that

"Tonight Martin Freeman finished his last shot as Bilbo Baggins. The end of an incredible two and a half years. I cannot imagine anyone else in this role – a character that Martin has nurtured and crafted with love and great skill.

We have said goodbye to our elves, humans, wizards and now the hobbit. We now enter our final 2 weeks of pick-ups, and it’s wall to wall dwarves. These pick-ups have been gruelling and intense, but I’m so happy with what we’ve been shooting. These next two movies are going to be pretty great!"

Luke Evans and Graham McTavish have also completed their roles as Bard the Bowman and Dwalin. 

Dwarves, wargs, and orcs - drawn in amazing detail

Nick Keller recently posted concept art he did for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. It is fantastic. No expense was spared in designing the costumes, makeup, scenes, and just about everything else that appeared in An Unexpected Journey. You can head over to his website to see the artwork, or simply proceed beyond the break. 

The Dwarves, the White Council, Wizards, Trolls, and more!

The other day I came across a slough of new videos on a Japanese website. They are the most interesting videos I have seen since the last official trailer, so be sure to watch at least a few of them. These videos contain exclusive behind-the-scenes info and interviews, so they are well worth the watch, even though they do have Japanese subtitles. 

Here are six new photos from The Hobbit via USA Today! They, need I say, are great, but the picture of Radagast is also rather humorous. 

Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman)

These pictures, as usual, are amazing, but I warn you, before you move on and click 'read more,' there may be some major spoilers, so proceed with caution. I will repeat the title again. There are many, many, many photos. Courtesy of The Hobbit App and TheOneRing.net.

Here is a picture of the first Hobbit Legos revealed at the San Diego Comic Con. This is a model of Bag End, home of Bilbo Baggins, and includes minifigures of Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Dwalin, Bombur, Bofur and Balin. As you can see, it contains exquisite detail, from the hair on the dwarves to the specially-made round door. It is not yet available for sale, and I expect that it will not be available until The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey comes out in DVD, but I might be wrong.