The best Harry Potter Art on the Web (fanart)

Have you seen the last Harry Potter movie? Did it make you feel as if the world was about to end? Well don't despair too much - apart from the new site Pottermore that will appear in your browser soon, there is a lot of fan fiction and fan art available on the web.

While I'm not a huge fan of fan fiction as I find it difficult to find authors who can emulate J K Rowling's writing style I have found some amazing Harry Potter fan art in my quest to keep Harry Potter alive just one more year.

This art is inspiring and amazing; it really captures the essence of the Harry Potter world and the characters - please take time to visit the artists webpages as they deserve the accolades for the Harry Potter fanart they've created.

This article showcases some of the best Harry Potter art that I have found on the web; I also share my own opinions and thoughts on some of the main Harry Potter characters.

The artist below have given me permission to use their work in my article:

Laura Freeman is 30 years old and has been drawing her whole life; she spent her childhood either drawing or climbing trees. Born and raised in western Washington State, USA, she moved to California in 2006 and currently works on a goat dairy and as a massage therapist. She tries to draw whenever she can.

Like many she started reading Harry Potter (in 2000) to find out what the fuss was; she fell in love with the cover art, the characters and the world and began to use this as inspiration for her art – she now has over 300 Harry Potter fan arts – and they are among the most amazing you'll find on the web!

Liz F. Caballero (Eithne) is a Spanish illustrator who had won several comic and illustration contests before entering Murcia's Art School, where she graduated as a bachelor of Illustration and Design. Interested in book illustration, fantasy, animation and videogame design, she is currently studying Archaeology at the university and working on her first children's novel, in collaboration with her sister.

Keith James is an aspiring illustrator who attended The Columbus College of Art and Design and graduated with a BFA majoring in Illustration. He has a love for superhero comic books, children’s books, science fiction / fantasy, animation, and the theatrical arts. He has been involved with art as long as he can remember and knew he'd be working in it since kindergarten and while he's not yet a professional, he is working on it!

GlockGirl has the ability to create some of the most amazing sketches and really capture the characters as described in the books.

JamusDu is an artist that I found on Deviantart. The artwork I showcase shows JamusDu's ability to define the character with perhaps the 'look' the character gives us - very interesting artwork.

Professor Lupin is one of my favorite characters from Harry Potter. Lupin is the most gentle man in the world until he transforms into a werewolf; despite the use of potions he often cannot control the change and becomes very dangerous,

Harry Potter and Lupin have a very close relationship similar to a mentoring relationship; at times they seem closer than Harry and Sirius Black are. Sadly Lupin lives his life running from prejudice and cannot find happiness - that is until he meets Nymphadora Tonks.

Lupin reminds me of a special uncle or friend of the family; he's a man you know will be there when you need him, but fades into the background elegantly when not needed. Lupin is often forgotten but is still an important part of Harry's life.

At first glance Hagrid seems like a bungling oaf, but he has a heart the size of an elephant and is very protective of our intrepid trio Harry Ron and Hermione. The dynamic between the four of them is amazing and you get the feeling that this is a life long friendship and that Hagrid will always look out for Harry, Hermione and Ron (as well as their families).

Hagrid is one of the most courageous, honorable and devout characters in the Harry Potter series - he also has a soft spot the size of Gibralta and often tries to take care of stray animals, including a dragon and a three headed dog! He provides some comic relief in the books but mostly reinforces the importance of family.

I love the way that Hagrid's emotions are always visible on his sleeve - he simply cannot hide his joy or fear and it is very endearing.

Neville is close to being my favorite character in the Harry Potter series. He starts off as perhaps the weakest wizaard in the school and seems to be the butt of everyone's jokes. With pure bad luck and perhaps a little lack of skill everything seems to go wrong for him.

However as we move through the series a new Neville emerges - he's an extremely courageous individual, has a keen insight into right and wrong and has talents that set him aside from others. We see his character grow up over time and become a great hero - out of all the characters in the books he's the one that we see develop the most and truly become a great man.

I think I like him so much as he basically shows that with hard work you can and will achieve your dreams!

THe Weasley Brothers are as diverse a bunch as you could find.

Percy - Percy is very pedantic; he is trying to build a career and feels his family is pulling him down.

Bill & Charlie - barely in the books, this successful older brothers are the pride of the family; a treasure hunter of the top order.

Fred and George- twin brothers who are the main comedic relief in the books; they are always in trouble, don't care about school but you know they are going to succeed at whatever they end up doing.

Ron - arguably the best character in the Harry Potter series; he's not as talented as Hermione or Harry, provides comic relief and often is confused. However he is the best friend a man could have and is the one person you'd want backing you up - he has more courage than most and is a devote friend to Harry and Hermione.

Go back to school and you'll find there was one person that you simply hated from the moment you met them. For Harry this person is Malfoy; Malfoy is Harry's nemesis in Hogwarts and is always trying to thwart Harry whether it is in school or on the Quiddich field. While Voldermort is the ultimate enemy, Malfoy is the one person in Hogwarts that Harry loves to beat at all things.

Malfoy is a character you love to hate, but as the series goes on and a more vulnerable Malfoy appears you begin to pity him rather than hate him - you can see this happening to Harry as we move towards book 7.

Malfoy is more of a lost soul rather than a truly evil person and even Dumbledore realizes this and with the help of Snape ensures that Malfoy doesn't go too far down the path of evil.

As an aside, Tom Felton's performance in The Half Blood Prince ranks up there as among the best performances in the whole movie series - I see a great acting career ahead for Tom Felton (as well as many other of the actors in the Harry Potter movies.)

Dumbledore is by far the most complex character in the Harry Potter series. Always strong and all knowing, he seems unbeatable and immensely wise. But behind this facade is a troubled and sad man whose mistakes throughout his life have led to devastation both for him and at times for Harry.

All through it though you know he is on Harry's side and its the burgeoning love for Harry that often means that Dumbledore is over-protective of Harry. Throughout it all you know that Dumbledore would lay down his life to ensure Harry wins - somehow Dumbledore has a grasp for complexity that allows him to plan well beyond the norm and understand how different and often subtle futures will end up.

He is a true master not only as a wizard but as a caring and humble human being who knows how much power can and does corrupt - his past has certainly taught him that no one should be allowed to have ultimate power.

At first glance Professor Quirrell is a nervous bumbling man whose afraid of his own shadow. Quirrell does nothing to get noted and seemingly is being bullied by Snape in The Sorcerer's Stone.

However, beneath the surface of Quirrell lies a very dark and sinister man, one who is not as feeble as he lets on, and while he is under duress, there's no doubt that he wouldn't stop at anything to get what he wants - he's the sort of man that cowardly hides behind larger bullies and reaps the benefit.

Out of all the characters in the Harry Potter series, he is perhaps one of those that makes my blood boil the most - his subterfuge and lies lead Harry into some very dangerous situations.

Love him or hate him, Professor is one of the best characters in the Harry Potter series. His hatred for Harry is tempered by Dumbledore's trust and at times you can see him barely holding in his anger as he has to 'deal' with Harry.

The hard veneer that shrouds Snape is not as thick as you think; inside is a man full of emotion and love, a man torn by his desires and tortured by his past. His hatred for James Potter and love for Lilly Potter burn deep inside him, making him into the complex being we see in the books.

For me, Snape became one of my favorite characters.

While the ending of the books will not be a surprise to many readers, J K Rowling did an exceptional job of trying to hide the truth about him and making the reader decide if Snape was truly good or evil.

Firstly I should note that I have a cat names Mr. Norris, such is the influence of the books on my household. Filch and Mrs. Norris are perhaps the most hard done by duo in the books. While there's no doubt that Filch has a wicked streak in him, his primary concern is the upkeep of Hogwarts Castle, and his frustration at not being fully in control is obvious.

Strangely, the bond between master and cat is one of the more amazing within the book, and you can see that the only thing that Filch cares about is his cat - this underlines the man's loneliness.

**Spoiler alert**

Let's be honest, who shed a tear when Dobby was killed in The Deathly Hallows - I know I did. Dobby, despite being an annoying little tike, became one of the best loved and adorable characters in the books.

It was amazing to see him grow from the down-trodden Dobby who loved to bash his head in punishment, to the free house-elf who was honorable, courageous and above all and true and real friend to Harry Potter.

Out of all the characters that died in Harry Potter, Dobby was certainly the one I shed most tears for. He just grew on you as the books went by - his misguided attempts to save Harry and his loyalty set him aside from the majority of characters and somehow he became more real than some of the humans!

Tom Riddle or Lord Voldermort is one of the better villains I've seen or read about in recent years. With a very detailed history of his life, his upbringing, his losses and his successes it's very easy to build a complete picture of the evil man.

What comes through strongly is that he doesn't understand that what he does is evil and simply thinks it's acceptable to gain power by any means. His desire to kill Harry almost becomes an obsession and ultimately is his down-fall - had I been the bad guy, I simply would have ignored Harry and gained full power before tackling him - but then, the books would have been very boring had I been Voldermort! Luckily for you, J K Rowling had different thoughts on the matter and we ended up with a brilliant series of Good v Evil books!

I was very surprised when J K Rowling added a new character in the form of Luna Lovegood. However she somehow grows on you and while you find yourself groaning a lot while she's around, by the end of the series you wonder how right she may have been about a lot of the 'nonsense' she spouted.

As I began to get to know here I realized that she was really an important element for the books - she was almost like Harry's conscience but also she provided a different angle for Harry and while her influence may not have been as great as Ron or Hermione, it was still there although it was very subtle. She became an endearing character like Dobby and Neville and was one of the better developed characters in the books.

What amazed me most about the Harry Potter books was J K Rowling's ability to meld real places with imaginary places seamlessly. Whether you found yourself in London looking for Diagon Alley, or oustide the grounds of Hogwarts dodging the wild limbs of the Whomping Willow you somehow felt connected to the world in a very real way.

Rowling had a brilliant way of vividly describing the world of Harry Potter, and as I watched the movies they became even more real for me. Diagon Alley was perfect, but my favorite place that Rowling described was The Burrow which seemed the ideal place for the Weasley's to live.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading my article and allowing me to indulge myself one more time in the wonderful world of Harry Potter. I've thoroughly enjoyed the books and movies and expressing my opinions and my joy about them; while you may not agree with a lot of what I say on here, you must admit that the art work is very impressive - I wish I had that much talent. So as you wind your way through the streets of Diagon Alley, remember that Hogwarts Castle is always open in my heart.