Recently, iconic artist and illustrator Greg Hildebrandt was a featured guest on the Prancing Pony podcast. On this podcast dedicated to all things Tolkien, it seems only fitting that Hildebrandt discussed the 1970s Lord of the Rings calendars painted by himself and his brother, Tim.
Hildebrandt began his illustration career in 1959, before spending years working alongside his brother on thousands of illustrations for text books, children’s books, calendars, book covers, posters, comic books, advertisements and more. They gained international acclaim for their work on the original Star Wars movie posters, the 1970s Lord of the Rings calendars, original oil paintings for Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara, and their Magic: The Gathering and Harry Potter illustrations.
Hosted by Alan Sisto and Shawn E. Marchese, the Prancing Pony interview delves into how Hildebrandt helped a generation of readers visualize Middle-earth in the Ballantine Books J.R.R. Tolkien Calendars from 1976 to 1978, and continues to create fantasy and sci-fi art to this day. Hildebrandt also talked about his art and shared some incredible stories from his long and celebrated career, including the story behind the poster for Star Wars.
The full interview can be found at Prancing Pony Podcast and on YouTube.