John Howe Autograph session at the Weta Cave

John Howe is back in New Zealand, and is preparing to start seriously working on The Hobbit designs, notably on the dragon Smaug. He took time out to sign some books, or in my case, some maps.

Life long friends?

I met John briefly late last year when Weta staff had been denying that he was back in town. He walked past me minutes later, with Alan Lee, who was also not supposed to be back in the country yet. Apparently they were certainly not here to meet-and-greet Guillermo Del Toro, who was definitely not back in the country at the time either (impossibly, I met him later as well).

Alan Lee is rumoured to be having his own autograph session next month - expect another post then.

For those who don't know John Howe's name or Alan Lee's - they are the two main designers and artists who created the look and feel for Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings movies. Guillermo del Toro is the new director of the Hobbit movies coming soon.