# Story illustration provenance ## Set information - Story: **Sam and Frodo: The Road to Mount Doom** - Files: `journey-01.webp` through `journey-18.webp` - Created: 2026-08-30 - Creation tool: OpenAI built-in image generation in Codex - Creation method: text-to-image; no image inputs or visual reference files - Post-processing: original PNG outputs converted to WebP with FFmpeg (`libwebp`, quality 82, compression level 6) - Intended use: non-commercial Story Mode illustrations for the unofficial Middle-earth Atlas fan project The artwork uses original faces, costumes, environments, and compositions. The prompts explicitly excluded actor likenesses and reproduction of film designs. No official film stills or third-party artwork were supplied to the generator. Tolkien-related characters, places, and concepts remain the property of their respective rights holders. ## Shared visual direction Every scene used the following shared prompt: > Use case: illustration-story > Asset type: landscape Story Mode illustration for a parchment-themed interactive literary atlas > Style/medium: original painterly fantasy book illustration, oil-and-gouache realism on subtly textured paper, grounded natural anatomy, atmospheric depth, elegant late-19th-century travel-painting sensibility, not a film still. > Composition/framing: 16:10 landscape, cinematic but painterly environmental storytelling, no border. > Color palette: moss green, warm parchment, dark walnut, restrained ox-blood and antique gold, naturally shifting darker as the journey progresses. > Recurring character designs: Frodo is a small adult hobbit with dark brown curly hair, a thoughtful oval face, rust-brown waistcoat and moss-green cloak; Sam is stockier with sandy-brown curls, a warm round face, practical brown vest, olive cloak and travel pack. Both are barefoot with naturally hairy hobbit feet. Preserve these descriptions whenever they appear, with believable accumulating wear, grime, fatigue and damaged clothing later in the journey. > Constraints: original character designs; no resemblance to any known actors; no replication of film costumes, props, faces, creatures, architecture, or compositions; no text, captions, logos, signature, watermark, or modern objects. `journey-01.webp` used an expanded form of the same visual direction that also defined Pippin and the Shire landscape. The remaining scene-specific prompt additions are recorded below. ## Per-file prompt register ### `journey-01.webp` — The First Steps East > Three small adult hobbit travelers take their first steps east through rolling green hill country at early evening, leaving their distant home behind on a narrow country lane. Pastoral hills, hedgerows, a winding dirt lane, far-off round-doored hillside homes, and early autumn. Pippin is younger-looking with chestnut curls and a charcoal-green cloak. Warm fading sunlight with lengthening shadows; hopeful but faintly unsettled. ### `journey-02.webp` — Riders Beneath the Trees > On a moonlit woodland road, Frodo, Sam and Pippin hide low beneath exposed tree roots while a single ominous black-cloaked rider pauses above them, searching. Keep the rider's face entirely hidden and its horse naturalistic. Pale starlight beyond the dark trees hints at wandering Elves without showing a crowd. Cold blue moonlight, deep forest shadow, and a distant silver warmth; intimate dread balanced by wonder. ### `journey-03.webp` — Beyond Buckland > Four adult hobbits struggle through an ancient sentient forest of twisted roots and dense moss while an original, broad-smiling woodland wanderer arrives to help them near a huge willow. The wanderer wears a weathered blue coat and yellow boots, interpreted as rustic folklore rather than a film character. Mysterious green gloom opens into warm, eccentric safety. ### `journey-04.webp` — From the Barrow to Bree > Inside a warm timber-and-stone roadside inn at Bree, four travel-worn hobbits sit around a small table while meeting an original weathered northern ranger. The tall ranger has dark rough hair, a travel-stained brown cloak, a guarded face, and no resemblance to any actor. Other inn patrons remain soft background shapes. Firelight and candlelight; wary conversation, refuge mixed with suspicion. ### `journey-05.webp` — A Knife on Weathertop > On the ruined crown of Weathertop at moonrise, four hobbits huddle near a low fire as five distant black-robed wraiths advance through wind and mist. A weathered ranger turns to defend them while Frodo recoils from the foremost wraith's pale blade. Broken ancient stones, torn clouds, severe moonlight, ember-red fire, supernatural cold and gathering terror; no gore. ### `journey-06.webp` — The Ford and the Choice > A wounded Frodo rides an elegant white horse through the rushing Ford of Bruinen while dark mounted pursuers descend toward the water behind him. Across the river, autumn trees and luminous valley architecture suggest the safety of Rivendell without copying any film design. Low wide view across foaming water; storm-gray pursuit breaking toward golden refuge and relief. ### `journey-07.webp` — Winter Under the Mountains > The nine members of an original fantasy fellowship labor through a blizzard on a high mountain pass. Frodo and Sam struggle in deep snow among two other hobbits; nearby are a gray-robed elder guide, a weathered ranger, a compact bearded dwarf, a fair-haired woodland archer, and a broad-shouldered warrior. Make every costume and face original. Iron-gray winter; physical hardship and companionship under pressure. ### `journey-08.webp` — Through the Black Pit > In an immense underground hall, an elderly gray-robed wizard stands alone on a narrow stone bridge facing a towering shadow-and-flame creature, while eight companions flee toward a distant archway. The creature should feel ancient and elemental, not reproduce a film design. A black chasm, colossal ruined pillars, sparks and smoke; sacrifice, awe and grief. ### `journey-09.webp` — The Golden Wood and the Great River > Three slender gray boats carry an original nine-member fellowship down a broad river away from a luminous golden forest. Frodo and Sam share the nearest boat, seen from behind and in three-quarter profile; high banks and distant stone guardians foreshadow the hard choice ahead. Early morning mist, autumn-gold trees fading behind; elegiac gold and faded blue. ### `journey-10.webp` — The Choice at Amon Hen > Frodo pushes a small gray boat away from a wooded riverbank as Sam wades desperately into the water after him, reaching toward the boat. Frodo turns back in alarm and compassion. The far shore rises into the broken gray hills of the eastern Emyn Muil. Late afternoon, cool river light, urgent loyalty and a decisive farewell. ### `journey-11.webp` — A Guide in the Emyn Muil > In a harsh rocky gully of the Emyn Muil at night, Frodo and Sam watch a captured, gaunt, ancient river-hobbit creature crouched beneath a loop of elven rope. Give the creature an original design: wiry, pale, weathered, large reflective eyes but no resemblance to a film character. Thin moonlight, slate rock and cold wind; suspicion, pity and uneasy dependence. ### `journey-12.webp` — The Marshes and the Black Gate > Frodo, Sam and their gaunt guide stand at the edge of the Dead Marshes, tiny against drowned pools and distant black fortifications of the Morannon. Pale corpse-lights hover over dark water without showing graphic bodies; the guide points toward a hidden southern road. Sickly marsh light, charcoal sky, desolation and the realization that the obvious road is impossible. ### `journey-13.webp` — The Window on the West > In a concealed cavern behind a silver waterfall, Frodo and Sam speak with an original Gondorian ranger captain. The captain is dark-haired, calm, plainly dressed in weathered green and brown, with several rangers in the background; no film likenesses or replicated armor. Cool reflected water light with warm lamplight; judgment giving way to mercy. ### `journey-14.webp` — The Road to Minas Morgul > Frodo, Sam and their guide climb a steep winding stair high above the Morgul Vale while a vast spectral army streams from a pale, corrupted city below. A crowned black rider leads the host in the distance; keep all architecture and armor original. The Dawnless Day, bruise-purple cloud, corpse-pale city glow; tiny figures resisting overwhelming power. ### `journey-15.webp` — Shelob's Lair > In a lightless mountain tunnel, Sam stands protectively over fallen Frodo and confronts a gigantic ancient spider. Sam holds a small elven blade and a brilliant crystal phial whose white light pushes back webs and darkness. Design the spider and gear originally, with no film resemblance. Violent contrast between pure white light and black tunnel; courage born from terror; no gore. ### `journey-16.webp` — The Tower of Cirith Ungol > In a ruined upper chamber of a black stone tower, Sam kneels beside a newly awakened, exhausted Frodo. Their reunion is quiet and human amid discarded enemy gear and a dim doorway; Sam offers back a small chain bearing the unseen burden, without making the ring itself a glowing focal point. Narrow dawn-gray light and a small warm lamp; tenderness, relief and renewed resolve. ### `journey-17.webp` — Across the Land of Shadow > On the ash-covered slopes before Mount Doom, Sam carries the utterly exhausted Frodo on his back. Both hobbits are emaciated, filthy and dressed in torn enemy cloaks over remnants of their original clothing. The volcanic mountain dominates the horizon while distant armies move away beneath smoke. Ember-red haze, charcoal ash, almost unbearable exhaustion with one remaining thread of hope. ### `journey-18.webp` — The Fire and the End > Inside the vast Chambers of Fire, Frodo and Sam witness a gaunt ancient creature clutching a small golden ring as it loses footing at the edge of a fiery chasm. Frodo's hand is injured but keep it non-graphic; the ring and fire cast the decisive light. Wide final tableau, figures small against the volcanic fissure and collapsing cavern. Molten gold, ox-blood red and black stone; catastrophe, pity and unexpected deliverance. ## Corrections and revisions ### 2026-08-30 — Tom Bombadil correction for scene 3 The first version of `journey-03.webp` included the intended woodland wanderer, but did not make several of Tom Bombadil's defining physical and costume features sufficiently clear. The image was edited with the OpenAI built-in image-generation tool, using the previous WebP as the edit target. Only the fifth figure was requested to change. The approved PNG output was converted back to WebP using the same FFmpeg settings recorded above and replaced the earlier project file. #### Final edit prompt for `journey-03.webp` > Use case: precise-object-edit > Asset type: landscape Story Mode illustration for a parchment-themed literary atlas > Input images: Image 1 is the edit target. > Primary request: Replace only the fifth figure—the smiling figure standing on the far right beneath the willow—with a more faithful, immediately recognizable Tom Bombadil. Keep him in the same location with the same warm, open-armed welcoming gesture toward the four hobbits. > Tom Bombadil's proportions: roughly four feet tall, wide-set and sturdy; clearly taller and heavier than a Hobbit, but distinctly too short to be a full-grown Man. Do not make him human-sized. > Face and hair: an older, wrinkled, vividly ruddy face as red as a ripe apple; bright, sharp blue eyes; brown-skinned hands; and a long, full, bristling brown beard. His expression remains merry, eccentric, and welcoming. > Clothing: a bright blue jacket, a clearly visible green girdle or belt, weathered leather breeches, unmistakably bright yellow boots, and a tall battered hat decorated with one long feather. > Style/medium: preserve the original painterly oil-and-gouache fantasy-book illustration, natural anatomy, mossy textures, and atmospheric late-19th-century travel-painting sensibility. > Constraints: change only Tom Bombadil; preserve all four hobbits exactly in count, identity, pose, scale, clothing, and location; preserve the ancient willow, forest, roots, ground, framing, lighting, palette, brushwork, and 16:10 composition as closely as possible; keep exactly five figures; make every listed Bombadil feature clearly visible; no text, logo, signature, or watermark. > Avoid: no full-grown human proportions; no missing hat, feather, beard, green girdle, or yellow boots; no resemblance to any film actor or film-specific character design; no extra characters or creatures. ### 2026-08-30 — Gollum corrections for scenes 12 and 14 The first versions of `journey-12.webp` and `journey-14.webp` interpreted the gaunt guide as a full-sized cloaked man. Both images were edited with the OpenAI built-in image-generation tool, using the previous WebP as the edit target. Only the incorrect third figure was requested to change. The approved PNG outputs were converted back to WebP using the same FFmpeg settings recorded above and replaced the earlier project files. #### Final edit prompt for `journey-12.webp` > Use case: precise-object-edit > Asset type: landscape Story Mode illustration for a parchment-themed literary atlas > Input images: Image 1 is the edit target. > Primary request: Replace only the tall, adult human figure on the far left who is pointing across the marsh with Gollum. > Gollum design: a small, emaciated, ancient hobbit-like creature, noticeably shorter and slighter than Frodo and Sam; pale mottled gray skin; sparse stringy dark hair; large watchful eyes; long thin arms and fingers; hunched crouching posture; bare feet; only a ragged loincloth. He should occupy the same general left-side narrative role and point toward the distant Black Gate, but he must not appear human-sized, cloaked, bearded, muscular, or heroic. > Style/medium: preserve the original painterly oil-and-gouache fantasy-book illustration, atmospheric late-19th-century travel-painting sensibility. > Constraints: change only the incorrect third figure; keep Frodo and Sam unchanged in identity, pose, clothing, scale, and location; preserve the marsh, ghostly lights, distant mountains and fortress, sky, framing, lighting, palette, texture, and 16:10 composition exactly as closely as possible; keep exactly three foreground characters; no text, logo, signature, or watermark. > Avoid: no resemblance to any film actor or film-specific Gollum design; no extra characters or creatures. #### Final edit prompt for `journey-14.webp` > Use case: precise-object-edit > Asset type: landscape Story Mode illustration for a parchment-themed literary atlas > Input images: Image 1 is the edit target. > Primary request: Replace only the tall, bearded adult human standing behind Frodo and Sam on the rocky stair with Gollum. > Gollum design: a small, emaciated, ancient hobbit-like creature, noticeably shorter and slighter than both hobbits; pale mottled gray skin; sparse stringy dark hair; large watchful eyes; long thin arms and fingers; hunched low crouching posture on the steps; bare feet; only a ragged loincloth. He is furtively guiding the two hobbits along the secret stair. He must not carry a staff and must not appear human-sized, cloaked, bearded, muscular, or heroic. > Style/medium: preserve the original painterly oil-and-gouache fantasy-book illustration, atmospheric late-19th-century travel-painting sensibility. > Constraints: change only the incorrect third figure; keep Frodo and Sam unchanged in identity, pose, clothing, scale, and location; preserve the rocky stair, cliffs, distant city and army, mounted dark rider, storm sky, framing, lighting, palette, texture, and 16:10 composition exactly as closely as possible; keep exactly three foreground characters; no text, logo, signature, or watermark. > Avoid: no resemblance to any film actor or film-specific Gollum design; no extra characters or creatures.