Let’s meet Ralph Damiani, our Artist of the Month, whose amazing artwork is like a magic portal to Middle Earth. Ralph's creations bring Tolkien's world to life in ways that make you feel like you've stepped right into the land of Eriador or wandered the elven woods of Lorien.
Today, I'm excited to share a bit of Ralph's story and showcase some of the fantastic pieces that make our Middle Earth community shine. In this interview, He tells us a bit about his painting practice, his inspiration, and his favorite Middle Earth Characters. So let's dive in and get to know the artist behind these incredible illustrations!
Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Ralph: My name is Rafael and I am a Brazilian artist. I am a freelance illustrator and have been so for 26 years now. I have always wanted to be a Tolkien illustrator, but only now, after many detours, I can actually make a living painting Tolkien artwork. The road has been bumpy, but as it often happens, persistence is key.
Do you remember your first encounter with Middle Earth?
Ralph: Yes. It was a rainy afternoon of 1993 or 1994. It was during a school break and I remember reading a footnote promoting a new edition of The Lord of the Rings in a local geeky magazine. The premise sounded intriguing as I had heard it inspired Dungeons and Dragons, which I already was all too familiar with. My mother picked up a copy for me and I devoured all three books in the course of a few days. I just couldn't put them down.
How did you first get into creating Middle Earth-inspired art?
Ralph: Back in the day, before the internet, all we had to go by when it came to catch a glimpse of Middle-Earth was the art of the earlier Tolkien Illustrators. Alan Lee, John Howe, Ted Nasmith, the Hildebrandt brothers and their calendars. I made a trip to England in 97 and got excited over the many artbooks that were available. I brought back a few and for years they were my visual aids to Middle-Earth. When I started considering a career in art, that was the imagery that stuck with me (and many others, including Peter Jackson). I was also a huge fan of comics books, science-fiction, adored the Conan tales of Robert E. Howard and the iconic covers of Frank Frazetta - that is all to say fantasy art came naturally to me.
What aspects of Tolkien's works inspire your creations the most?
Ralph: Tolkien is timeless. You can always catch something new every time you read and the older you get, the more relevant it seems to become. I was a very depressed young man. I was immediately struck by how he believable Middle-Earth was. How he wrote the passing of time, of ages long gone, of high spirits, of hope and joy and lands far away that could have actually existed. It was quintessential escapism. Nowadays, as a middle-aged man, the themes of duty, of sacrifice and perseverance are more resounding to me. It is an endless creative well to draw from, an amazing body of work.
Can you describe your typical creative process from ideation to completion?
Ralph: There is the business aspect of it, and the personal one. As it often happens when you get into adult life, I find myself painting less for a hobby and more for a living. Which is both good and bad. Usually the client comes with the idea. Sometimes it is vague enough. Sometimes it is very specific. In both cases, I rarely do thumbnails nowadays. For more complex paintings, some back and forth with the client often happens, when ideas are more or less discussed over preliminary stages. Once I have a clear direction, I try to break my painting sessions in 3-4 hours sittings. Over the years it has been my mission to make my job more efficient. If I can't get something right in 1-2 sessions, I know I have done something wrong. Salvaging will just make it less worse. And yep, these still happen alarmingly often. You just have to let it go. I wish I could tell my younger self that.
Do you have any favorite tools, techniques, or materials you use in your creations?
Ralph: I haven't touched traditional art in a while. I was trained in drawing and painting but I never mastered them. I truly lacked the discipline to become a good draftsman in my youth. I still want to delve into oils in the future, which is the media I admire the most. I stick to digital art. I use Photoshop mostly and an old Cintiq. Occasionally I paint on the iPad (Procreate). I do try to keep up with technology. I have also studied 3d for a long time, so knowing my way around Blender, Zbrush, certainly helped my understanding of lighting. I also studied photography, graphics design and animation. As a freelance artist, you can't waste potential customers, so one good advice is to never stop learning new tools and techniques.
What is the most challenging piece you've created so far?
Ralph: It is called "Nessie". I was only 22. I took many hours to get right. I knew some 3d, I took a reference photo of a toy I had, and somehow managed to put it all together with a degree of competence that I shouldn't possibly have at the time. I am very self-conscious about my own work, but I still like that piece to this day (not so much the other stuff from that time, which is hopefully lost in a digital vault somewhere).
Are there any other artists or creators who inspire your work?
Ralph: Oh dear, countless, I guess. You just need to open the front page of Artstation at any given day. So many great artists out there. This remains a subject of frustration to many young artists (certainly was to this one). But with maturity you learn how to not compare yourself to others. Just do your best and perhaps, if you are willing, compare your work to your own from previous years. That might give you some spark of achievement. But inspiration comes from everywhere. Books, films, social interactions, depression, joy. An artist must be an antenna attached to a blank canvas. Otherwise you get tunnel vision and stagnation.
Any upcoming projects or collaborations related to Middle Earth?
Ralph: I have been doing collaborations with most of the large Tolkien themed Youtube channels out there. If you are a Tolkien fan on Youtube, great chance to catch one of my paintings there.
"It is okay to give up on art for a while. Art will come back to you if it is your thing, one way or another. Happened numerous times to me. Sometimes other things must happen before some things can happen. Don't panic."
Favorite character(s) from Tolkien's legendarium?
Ralph: Túrin Turambar.
Favorite Tolkien's book and movie adaptation?
Favorite book and adaptation would be Fellowship of the Ring, hands down. Not only it was my entryway into Tolkien, but the film version is the possibility the best adaptation of a book in film history, while the Two Towers and Return of the Ring have more noticeable flaws. And yes, I am quite aware that if PJ’s version is still a blockbuster by all definitions, but the Lord of the Rings was deemed unfilmable until then - and just by the epilogue alone you know it fell in the right hands.
If you could visit any location in Middle Earth, where would it be and why?
Ralph: In Middle-Earth, Rivendell. In all of Arda, Valinor.
If you were to belong to any race in Middle Earth, which one would it be and why?
Ralph: An elf, of course. They can be aloof, often introspective, somewhat cryptic, foolishly idealistic, I can relate to all that. And they come with great hair as a perk.
Would you be willing to take the ring to Mordor?
Ralph: Of course! It is the right thing to do.
