8. He provided many of the illustrations for his books himself
An often overlooked part of Tolkien’s genius is his artistic ability. Perhaps because the writing is so good, surprisingly few people realize that Tolkien actually illustrated his books himself. No less an authority than Tolkien’s son and literary executor, Christopher, has said that the art his father produced is essential to understanding his written work. Tolkien’s art actually predates his writing, and he first began to paint images from Middle Earth during his days at Exeter College. He called these pictures of imaginary realms ‘ishnesses’, and never showed them to anyone beyond his close family and friends.
To back up Christopher’s claim about the links between Tolkien’s art and writing, the original manuscript of The Hobbit was fully illustrated. When it was accepted for publication, Tolkien successfully convinced his publisher to include his illustrations, and the first edition had no fewer than 12 pictures and maps. The Lord of the Rings was only not illustrated because Tolkien’s drawings would have been too expensive to publish. Nonetheless, his illustrations did appear on the dust jackets of the three volumes. Equally adept with both pencil and paintbrush, Tolkien was a far greater artist than he ever realized.