A Tolkien Bestiary

The illustrations and descriptions bring Tolkien’s world to life, but I wonder how the author chose which beings to highlight and how much was based on the texts versus imagination.

The visual interpretations made the creatures feel more real and vivid, but I'm curious if others felt the same impact or if it changed their understanding of the stories.

The detailed illustrations seem to shape our mental images—do they enhance the storytelling or potentially limit personal interpretations of these mythic beings?