The work of J.R.R. Tolkien in the form of Byzantine icons thanks to artificial intelligence

@ElentirENG ES 10·24·2023 · 18:33 0

The works of the British writer J.R.R. Tolkien have inspired numerous works of art for decades, with the most varied styles.

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Personally I have always really liked the works of the British illustrator Alan Lee and by Canadian illustrator John Howe, and I was very happy when I found out that Peter Jackson signed them as his film version of "The Lord of the Rings". The works of these two illustrators, along with those of others such as the Canadian Ted Nasmith, were all a visual reference for many fans of Tolkien's work before Jackson's films.

Today, artificial intelligence (AI) allows us to generate illustrations more easily and in any style. Nothing is comparable to the gaze of an artist and many hours of work on one of his illustrations, but AI offers us some curious creations, such as the images published a few days ago by a young Greek Internet user, Stelios Karellas, in two threads in the Facebook group Cursed AI (here and here). In this case, these are characters and scenes from Tolkien's work in the form of Byzantine icons. You can see some examples below.

A depiction of the Battle of Dagorlad in the Second Age, in which the Last Alliance of elves and men, led by Kings Gil-Galad and Elendil, faced the armies of Sauron. The large black figure is Sauron, destroying his rivals thanks to the power of the One Ring.

Frodo and Gollum fighting inside the Orodruin, also known as Mount Doom. The hobbit wields his elven sword, Dart.

The Nazgûl in their form as black riders, beginning to cross the waters of the Bruinen River when they pursued Frodo and his companions. We see the hobbits, Aragorn and the elf Glorfindel on the other side of the river, before the rising waters carried away the black riders.

Aragorn and the king of the Nazgûl. The King of Gondor wields the sword Andúril, forged from the pieces of Narsil, the sword of Elendil.

The wizard Gandalf the Grey, in an image clearly inspired by the image of actor Ian McKellen, who played the role of Gandalf in the film trilogies of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" of Peter Jackson.

Dwarven blacksmiths in Khazad-Dûm, the underground kingdom later also known as Moria, beneath the Misty Mountains.

Frodo and One Ring in the Orodruin. The image does not correspond to any moment in the scene from "The Lord of the Rings." It appears that the Ring has been thrown into the fire, but in the image Frodo still has all of his fingers.

Aragorn in his meeting with the Dead of the Sanctum. The dúnedain shows them the sword Andúril that credits him as heir to the throne of Gondor.

The flaming, lidless eye of Sauron. Below him we see his fortress, Barad-dûr (the Dark Tower).

The Witch King of Angmar, lord of the Nazgûl. The image shows him on a monstrous-looking horse with black wings, as if he had wanted to mix his image as a black rider and at the same time his mount of the winged beasts.

Éowyn defeating the lord of the Nazgûl. The artificial intelligence does not seem to have grasped very well that Éowyn was a woman, since here she appears with a rather masculine face.

The death of Boromir in Parth Galen, pierced by the arrows of the uruk-hai sent by the wizard Saruman.

Gandald fighting the Balrog of Morgoth on the bridge of Khazad-Dûm.