WETA Lord of the Rings concept art!
Western euro artists saw Easterlings as The Other: "tribal, savage, not us"
But Thai artist Sourisak Chanpaseuth designed them as LotR's "COOL NINJA SAMURAI!", as that's what Asians like him grew up loving. Got down sincere culture direction for Falconer & co.
Western euro artists saw Easterlings as The Other: "tribal, savage, not us"
But Thai artist Sourisak Chanpaseuth designed them as LotR's "COOL NINJA SAMURAI!", as that's what Asians like him grew up loving. Got down sincere culture direction for Falconer & co.
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I really like this one, the artist Ben Wootten says he looked at "a lot of oriental culture" books and noted how often turquoise is paired with a saffron kind of red... which is true I see new chic Chinese restaurants use that scheme.
Studied Noh in drama school too!
*his painting teacher taught him the chant
"Japanese temple and Frank Lloyd Wright. The idea of the building nestling among the trees, coexisting with nature"
FLW saw Japanese architecture as "organic", "nearer to earth... natural", compared to western.
https://franklloydwright.org/transcendental-spaces/
https://www.wrightsjapan1905.org/clapat_ndk_portfolio/kyoto/founders-hall-one/
Sauron's corsair fleet is 'amost' Arabic with Chinese junk sails like shark fins... (definitive Dark Elf/Eldar style!)
Elven swan ship of Grey Havens heading to Undying Lands, has Egyptian inspired high bow and stern, 'Middle Eastern feeling but not of this earth'
Jes Goodwin definitely studied those paintings for the big Dark Eldar 5e redesign.
You see similar designs with Warhammer Fantasy elves and 40k Battlefleet Gothic Eldar ships, plus junk sails it's the complete non-European sailing tradition aesthetic package.
-WETA Lord of the Rings lead artist Daniel Falconer
A century earlier, Lafcadio Hearn stated Japanese were what ancient Greeks were like.
...Eastern weapons contributed quite a lot- imagine the Samurai with a totally 19c Jugendstil culture."
-John Howe on why Lord of the Rings elf swords are curved
https://www.foxtail.nu/bjorn/a_lotrinter.htm
He brings up Hector Guimard, the famous architect of Paris metro, influenced by Japonisme movement: https://paricultures.com/japonisme-guimard-art-nouveau/
WETA Lord of the Rings Elves are "Not West=MYSTIC",
So silk clad curved decorated "Asian, not just Japanese" weapons, an early concept was wooden (like Heian samurai) armor. Wonder if Sourisak showed his peers a Thai daab (ดาบ)/Burmese dha long hilted sword...