Product Description
Advertising poster art began during the late 1800s when artists such as Jules Chéret and Marcello Dudovich emerged onto the scene, combining popular graphic design, and the dominant styles of the day.The profession of graphic designer has continued to evolve to this day, and includes artists such as Roberto Sambonet, Bruno Munari, Max Huber, and Andy Warhol.Filled with vibrant advertisements and clear, full-color photographs, Advertising & Art shows how the boundaries between fine art and advertising have disappeared. This is a true gem for every collector, art dealer, student, and professional alike interested in advertising and design. ... Read more

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Illustrated with over 375 stills and drawings, including the complete screenplay, the only book on the making of the spectacular X-Men 2 and the X-Men film franchise. Exclusive to this hardcover collector's edition is the complete 80-page screenplay, a 16-page section of special effects art from the first X-Men movie, and an 8-page double gatefold of Nightcrawler poster art.

Outcasts from society, the X-Men are genetic mutants, born with superhuman powers, who harness their special abilities for the greater good. But the human race they fight to protect rejects and fears—even hates—them.

Initially realized in the Marvel Comic Book adventures, the first X-Men major feature film was released by Fox in 2000, directed by Bryan Singer, who had previously directed Apt Pupil and The Usual Suspects. Its stunning success—theatrically grossing nearly $300 million worldwide, and becoming a video and DVD phenomenon—signaled the current wave of comics to film adaptations and guaranteed the sequel, which reunites the principal cast members and the original's key creative team, including director Bryan Singer, cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, and production designer Guy Dyas.

The new X2 will feature several surprises, including favorite mutant characters from the vast X-Men comics universe, who are new to the film franchise. 375 color illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Needs just a little more depth
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2H8SYGHIHE4LJ This book is somewhere between "art of" and "making of".

The book starts off looking back at the success of the first X-men movie, and the new challenges and changes to the production. Included is also a very brief story on how Bryan Singer got started in filming, from his schooling days. This book is slightly lacking in depth because all these interesting information are limited to the first few pages.

There are lots of movie stills, storyboards and concept art. Captions are included and there are quotes from the actors who play the individual X-men. The captions tell the obvious and would do better to explain the concept behind the designs as well. Character designs for the X-men comes with a few concept sketches and movie stills. Also included are designs for the X-Mansion and Plastic prison, X-Jet and Stryker's base. The storyboards are on scenes for Nightcrawler's opening sequence, Magneto's escape and X-jet attack.

The book has great page design with the pictures. The author could really use more art to replace the movie stills, but it's really minor as the stills look pretty good. But isn't this suppose to be an art book?

Overall, it's still a very entertaining book to read for fans of the movie.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

This book is awesome
If you are looking for concept art, production stills and behind the scenes photography, this is the book.

The book goes in chronological order, for the most part, and shows the concept drawings and paintings, the storyboard sketches (and text), and places them next to finished photography of the sets and characters, which gives you a great idea of how the concepts are turned into reality.

It takes you into character development for all of the major characters, with concept art to final film stills. The characters covered are: Nightcrawler (with a great full page poster of "the amazing nightcrawler"), Charles Xavier, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Rogue, Storm, Pyro, Magneto, Mystique, Mutant 143, and Lady Deathstrike. Most characters have only 2 pages each, but Nightcrawler, Mystique, Wolverine, Mutant 143, and Lady Deathstrike have multiple pages which show sketches and final photography.

The locations/sets covered in the book are: the White House, X-Mansion, Cerebro, Plastic Prison, X-Jet, Alkali Lake, and Stryker's Base.

This book is 100% filled with great content: drawings, photos, and storyboards, along with a section on the special effects. I wish it were twice as big, but everything in the book is awesome.

NICELY PUT TOGETHER!
THE BOOK DESIGN AND CLASSY JACKET ALONE ARE WORTH THE MONEY. LOVED THE MOVIE. THE ONLY PROBLEM THAT I HAVE IS THAT THEY DON'T PUT ENOUGH COHERENT STORYBOARDS INTO THE CONTENT. ALSO, THE NIGHTCRAWLER'S MOCK-UP CIRCUS POSTER DON'T REALLY GIVE ANY ADDITIONAL VALUE OVER THE BOOK'S GENERAL CONTENT.

The Ar ofX2: X-Men United
My first impression was WOW! This book captures the essence of the movie. It's great to see the story boards it just makes you remember every scene of this excellent movie. It's obvious all the crew involved in X2 cared a lot about details and art and this book crowns it. The addition of the movie script is great, i think we fans love to read the original script to see what scenes didnt make it to the final and wonder what they looked like (if they add them in the DVD it would be fantastic). The quality of this book is absolutely great. Beautiful pictures in every page you turn. A must to every X2 fan.

X-cellent collector's edition!!!
Being new to the world of the X-men, this book has everything to offer for the die hard fan.The Beautiful black hardcover (not to mention its wonderful slipcover with the entire cast on front) is amazing!The book is filled with illistrations, costume drawings, stroyboards, idea drawings of the proposed danger room, characther bios, and the best part...the complete movie script of X2!Well worth buying. I would suggest any fan to buy to add to his/her collection. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

pop art postcard book
This is a great collection of postcards with each dipicting a copy of a piece of artwork from famous artists. ... Read more

Product Description
Audience behavior began to shift dramatically in the mid 1990s. Since then, people have become more spontaneous in purchasing tickets and increasingly prefer selecting specific programs to attend rather than buying a subscription series. Arts attenders also expect more responsive customer service than ever before. Because of these and other factors, many audience development strategies that sustained nonprofit arts organizations in the past are no longer dependable and performing arts marketers face many new challenges in their efforts to build and retain their audiences. Arts organizations must learn how to be relevant to the changing lifestyles, needs, interests, and preferences of their current and potential audiences.

Arts Marketing Insights offers managers, board members, professors, and students of arts management the ideas and information they need to market effectively and efficiently to customers today and into the future. In this book, Joanne Scheff Bernstein helps readers to understand performing arts audiences, conduct research, and provide excellent customer service. She demonstrates that arts organizations can benefit by expanding the meaning of "valuable customer" to include single-ticket buyers. She offers guidance on long-range marketing planning and helps readers understand how to leverage the Internet and e-mail as powerful marketing channels. Bernstein presents vivid case studies and examples that illustrate her strategic principles in action from organizations large and small in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and other countries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Arts Marketing
As a teacher of Arts Marketing , I found this book to be invaluable. Definitely the best text in this area I have come across. The author clearly has in depth experience of the arts and the book is well laid out and easy to read. The case studies in the text of various arts organisations really help to explain aspects of Arts marketing. A great read!

Great cases, fantastic resource
A truly great resource for arts professionals at all points in their careers. Bernstein uses engaging stories to bring to life principles of marketing. Her experience is evident.

Unparalleled analysis of Arts Marketing.A must read!
This book was recommended to me by a colleague.In my profession I work closely with staff at many performing arts organizations who really could benefit from reading this book.The author does not simply pontificate, she provides a really fresh look at the challenges and opportunities for increasing audience size, connecting with patrons, improving financial health, website best practices, marketing campaigns, the list goes on and on.Best of all, Ms. Bernstein backs up her findings and recommendations with research and case studies - introducing the reader to methodology that is sure to win over any board of directors skeptical of change.I give this book 5 stars! ... Read more

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This fall, Academy Award -winning and groundbreaking director Robert Zemeckis offers a vision of the ancient epic poem "Beowulf" that has never been seen before. Actors Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, John Malkevich, and Robin Wright Penn bring to life this macabre dark ages tale. Fans of the intense, action-packed film will relish this extraordinary hardcover packed with lavish concept art from production designer Doug Chiang's revered studio (responsible for the design of Robota, Star Wars, Episode I, and War of the Worlds). Quotes from the production designers, artists, actors, and filmmakers complete this stunning homage to the genesis and visual execution of a unique motion picture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Lots of Concept Art
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3L0Q9WF35WFFI There's a lot to read in this book. The movie script was written by Neil Gaiman. I didn't realize that until I read the foreword. The 160-page book was hard covered and came with a dust jacket.

Captions accompanied the paintings and concept art in the book, explaining the process of design and rational for creation. No storyboards were found in the book. The pages were devoted mainly to matte paintings for conceptualizing movie scenes.

This movie was completely made in 3D using motion caption techniques, similar to those used in Polar Express. The 3D models renders shown were few and far in between. The technology behind was only mentioned in passing.

Character design drawings were there, but somehow I felt that they were not enough. Angelina Jolie only had 4 rendered stills in this book, and all were head profiles. No near nude 3D model were seen anywhere.

This book is mainly for Beowulf fans and concept artists.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

Designing the Vikings of Denmark in detail
This fine book takes you into the core of designing the Movie Beowulf.While the movie is only a medium level entertainment, this book is surprisingly better than the movie in showing the details of design, from Beowulf himself to the dragon he faces at the end of the movie.You will see the different designs of helmets, swords, sets and landscapes as well as concept art.It is an excellent find.

Great Artwork
I am a lover of concept art and this book really inspired me to keep up with my own artwork, with every page the work just got better and better. The wide format of the book allowed for a much better view of the wide screen production stills. Its a great buy, in my opinion.

Beautiful but expensive
I found the Beowulf movie to be fun but disappointing, primarily because I felt like the deviations from the original story violated the spirit of what Beowulf represents.I've always been a big fan of not only Beowulf but all of the great European sagas.Even though I had serious reservations about the movie's plot, the imagery of the world they were trying to create was much more in line with the visions I have playing before my eyes when I read the sagas.I bought the DVD of the movie and in some of the special features they showed concept art that I thought was really incredible, so I decided to take a chance on this book.I was not disappointed.

The quality is top-notch, both the manufacturing and the art within.I loved reading about their design process and watching the world unfold, in fact it made me feel much better about the movie when I understood what they were shooting for (although my complaints about the plot still stand).The art itself is what really shines here, once I read the words I was done with them, but the art continues to inspire me every time I see it.I've been through the book many times and I've never gotten bored, and it's made a great coffee-table book for guests who are all impressed as well.

The main drawback is the price.The retail price is $40, which is far more than I would pay for a book of this kind.I've seen it on sale for a few different prices here on Amazon, and I was lucky enough to get an excellent deal when I bought it.If you like fantasy art and the old sagas, wait for a price you can handle and I think you'll be pleased.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hall of Mirrors
'Art and Film Since 1945: Hall of Mirrors' accompanied a major exhibition presented by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 1996 - in the Centenary of Cinema. This large scale exhibition charted the variousaspects the dynamic relationship between film and modern art as it hasdeveloped over the last 50 years, and was an exploration the incredibleimpact that cinema has had on out visual at large, across the world andhalf the century. The exhibition drew on the immense expertise of KerryBrougher, who curated the show and partly authored this catalogue. Thecatalogue is opened by Brougher's broad survey of the history of film andart, divided roughly into three moments (which was also the organisingstructure behind the exhibition) and goes on to explore other perspectivesin illuminating essays by Russell Ferguson, Bruce Jenkins, Kate Linker etal. The volume is completed by a chronology of events and a comprehensivebibliography, which provides a useful tool for anyone interested in afurther exploration of the field.Over all the catalogue is fascinatingand inspiring reading for anyone with a passion for film and/or art.Especially to anyone who was fortunate enough to experience the exhibitionthe book is an absolute must. The publication must also be recommended forits fantastic illustrations, which adequately convey the spirit of theexhibition, even to art lovers and cinephiles who missed the show. The bookis very pleasurable viewing as well as reading, and one finds oneselfreturning to it over and over again.

In the same vein I would like torecommend to other exhibition catalogues, which also offer valuable sourcematerial on the interdisciplinary relationship between film and art:

*'Notorious', MOMA, Oxford 1999, catalogue by Brougher and MichaelTarantino.

* 'Spellbound', Hayward Gallery 1996, catalogue by IanChristie and Philip Dodd. ... Read more

Product Description
From the early 1960s through the early 70s, Pop Art swept the industrialized world. Iconoclastic, rebellious, and immediately popular, the new movement found its roots in an unprecedentedly prosperous consumer society. Encouraged by galleries and publishers who catered to a new collectors' market, many Pop artists were drawn to the creation of editions on paper and in multiples. 60 vibrant examples by such American icons as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, and by such European artists as Richard Hamilton, Niki de Saint Phalle, Gerhard Richter, Eduardo Paolozzi, and Sigmar Polke, are organized according to the themes of mass media consumer culture, politics, erotica and more. All of the works included herein are from The Prints and Illustrated Books Collection at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, an exceptionally rich repository of such work.

Artsist Include:Oyvind Fahlstrom, Richard Hamilton, David Hockney, Robert Indiana, Alain Jacquet, Jasper Johns, Allan Jones, Gerald Laing, Roy Lichtenstein, Eduardo Paolozzi, Peter Phillips, Sigmar Polke, Mel Ramos, Bernard Rancillac, Robert Rauschenberg amongst many others.

Essay by Wendy Weitman. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Pop Prints
This cataloge of the recent exhibition "Pop Impressions Europe/USA" at the Museum of Modern Art in NY, added immensely to to my understanding of the pop art movement.it makes it evident that pop wasa global movement and not solely American.Also, the organization of thebook is themeatic, with such catagories as "Mass Media" and"Erotica" helping to clarify the feeling of the time period. "Pop Impressions" is also lavishly illustrated with colorreproductions (almost one on every page), a necessity with this artmovement. ... Read more

Product Description
Packed with breathtaking visuals created by a team of world-class artists, The Art of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith charts the visual genesis of this epic saga’s climactic finale. For years, George Lucas’s handpicked group has created characters, costumes, droids, starships, planetary vistas, digi-matte paintings, and sculptures–every type of visual imaginable.

This extraordinary volume unveils never-before-seen images–thus taking readers on a fascinating journey from the first concepts to the final movie. While marveling at hundreds of brilliant pieces of art, readers will experience

• Darth Vader–a look at the sinister chamber where he is created
• stunning conceptual visions for the climactic lightsaber duel between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi
• the evolution of General Grievous–the new face of evil– from initial sketches to ILM animation art
• fantastic full-color renderings of costumes, weapons, landscapes, and spacecraft
• intriguing insights from exclusive interviews with the artists, whose groundbreaking work helped bring Lucas’s ideas to life

New to this edition–the one and only Revenge of the Sith screenplay, revealing every beat of the action.

For Star Wars fans everywhere, this treasure trove of images from the final, fateful Star Wars movie will provide a visual feast that promises hours of endless excitement. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

The Force Is Strong In This Book
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R30JL7A59FWFBR Putting this book down is difficult after you flip through a few pages. There are hundreds of pieces of conceptual art and beautiful paintings. It is apparent right from the start that George Lucas only hire the best artists for his movie.

The art genre is science fiction. You'll see a lot of concept art on cityscape, robots, planets, costumes, creatures, architecture, props and characters relating to the Star Wars movie. This book is all about art, you won't see any movie stills.

There are two versions of the book. The one with the movie script has 272 pages. The one I'm holding has only 224 pages.

Design concepts are explained for the characters and set. There's not much text but enough. The level of detail, effort and creativity displayed by the artists is simply marveling. This genre is really a playground for artists to explore with their imagination.

For Star Wars fans, there's no reason not to get this book. For artbook lovers, especially those who like sci-fi, this book should be on your shopping list also.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

nice
lots of digital paintings, but not as much conceptual designs as on the prequels. kinda dissapoints me in that case, also most of them are way smaller then in the preqs. oherwiseamazing

Concept art at it's best
Science fiction movies are one of largest proving grounds for concept artists. And to take the best of both fields we have Star Wars pitted with industry's top artists creating an end episode for one of the greatest (if not the greatest) SF sagas of all times.
Fans of SW series will surely enjoy yet another dive into this amazing world, while concept artists and souls alike will marvel the skills and tricks of highly gifted painters and designers.
Written almost as a diary, this book gives in-depth look into the creation of Episode 3 spanning over 2 years of conceptualization, design and production.
Reads easily, delivers great visuals and informative insights. Also features final Ep.3 script, which i found a bit out of place for it serves a little interest to read the movie that is so much more fun to watch. But certain passes of script were still grabbing, all in all making this book a complete and whole, ideal for those into drawing cool space ships and alien creatures!

Good one!!
If you are a product designer or a starwar fan who wonders about the production of the amazing creatures, characters and vehicles, this is the one for you!

Good art, publication desing suffers.
This book is a worthy completion of the three-volume concept art series. The only gripe I have is the sudden change of publication design - a change for the worse from the first two volumes, because the captions in this book are set in a ghastly unreadable typeface, randomly mixed from capital and small letters. The content is still good, and annotations are (fortunately) readable; but whoever came up with this caption style ought to be punished. ... Read more

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Product Description
"Art cinema" has for over fifty years defined how audiences and critics imagine film outside Hollywood, but surprisingly little scholarly attention has been paid to the concept since the 1970s. And yet in the last thirty years art cinema has flourished worldwide. The emergence of East Asian and Latin American new waves, the reinvigoration of European film, the success of Iranian directors, and the rise of the film festival have transformed the landscape of world cinema. This book brings into focus art cinema's core internationalism, demonstrating its centrality to understanding film as a global phenomenon.

The book reassesses the field of art cinema in light of recent scholarship on world film cultures. In addition to analysis of key regions and films, the essays cover topics including theories of the film image; industrial, aesthetic, and political histories; and art film's intersections with debates on genre, sexuality, new media forms, and postcolonial cultures. Global Art Cinema brings together a diverse group of scholars in a timely conversation that reaffirms the category of art cinema as relevant, provocative, and, in fact, fundamental to contemporary film studies. ... Read more

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The anticipation is ratcheting up for one of this summer's biggest action-adventure events, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and Dark Horse is taking you behind the scenes! As we delved into the original box-office hit, this 200-page tome likewise presents the most extensive look into the film's evolution, from early concept art and diary sketches, to photos of the final props, sets, and filming. A unique look at filmmaking and the art of graphic novels. Del Toro and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola once again bring their world-renowned talents to bear on a brand-new chapter in Hellboy's history - a visual feast only they could produce. Get your sneak peek well before the celluloid hits the screen! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Hellboy 2
This is a great book about the making of the movie "Hellboy 2" that one will enjoy reading over and over again.

Nice movie compendium!
Well...I'm spanish , so my english is rather poor ... sorry for that.
The book is one of the best "Art movie books" I have , and I have a relative big collection.
The sketches are very good , and you'll find a huge amount of them , there are many photos too , excerpts of the storyboard...
One of the things I found more interesting is the scans of Guillermo del Toro's sketchbook...these are beautiful pieces of his journal with very well done drawings .Guillermo is a good drawer too!
I recomend this book to all Hellboy fans.

A good hell boy 2 movie complement
It is a good book filled with character design and concepts about the movie, the graphics are great, but.... i didn't liked that the book were filled with the script, i mean, OK, it is about the movie but i was expecting to have descriptions and more graphics about the inspirations, characters and designs.... not to read the movie in the book.It could have been a great book if it were designed as the "the art of kung fu panda".

Troll Markets
If I needed any further evidence that Guillermo Del Toro is the ideal man to venture back into Middle-Earth, this would be it.

"The Art of Hellboy II" takes the most visually stunning fantasy movie in years, and turns it inside out for scrutiny. It's crammed with countless images, models, photos and sketches for the dozens of weird, bizarre creatures in Del Toro's steampunky fairy world, as well as the full-length shooting script. For anyone who enjoyed the movie, this is bliss.

First of all -- despite the "Art" title -- there's Del Toro's introduction, in which he explores the origins of the second Hellboy movie (and his original concept, which had nothing to do with fairies). Not only does he cite Lord Dunsany as a shaping influence, but he describes how they struggled to get a studio to accept such an unconventional fantasy movie.Then the script. It's a pretty detailed script with plenty of details and witty lines ("One day mankind will realize its mistake. Eight track was the way to go!").

And accompanying the script is art. Lots of art, following the storyline so that people reading it can see what appears on the screen -- for example, the scene where Hellboy get literally blown out of his room is accompanied by a storyboard of Manning and Abe watching the steel door fly toward them. There's a lot of storyboards, actually -- and some of them are wonderfully detailed, such as the scene where Johann temporarily revives a fairy.

But there are also plenty of other kinds of concept drawings, sometimes for things that only appear for a few seconds. It soon becomes obvious that Del Toro not only has his own style -- in this movie, sort of a mixture of ancient Celtic, Neil Gaimanesque dark fantasy, and steampunk -- but a great eye for detail. He works out elaborate masks, a fey alphabet, all the little switches and nozzles on Johann's suit, and countless other such things.

Among the gems here -- layout of the BPRD, the vast ruined city, the NYC street where the plant elemental appears, and several of the Troll Market. There are even even puppets for the whole "bedtime story scene" and maquettes (such as the legless goblin).

There are also lot sketches for supporting characters' appearances and clothing. We get metal masks, robes, "princessy" gowns for Nuala, Balor's big steampunk throne, the Butcher Guards' masks and leather butcher aprons, and so on. Even Johann Krauss's helmet and the Angel of Death's gameboard went through several evolutions. Virtually every one is accompanied with a quotation about how they envisioned/created this or that -- for example, Wink was named after Selma Blair's dog.

Some of these resemble the final product, sometimes not -- we get to see several different versions of Wink the Ogre, the Angel of Death (including a many-jawed hollow-eyed skull) and the plant elemental (which looks downright cute in some shots). Just so readers don't get confused about what is eventually used, they're usually accompanied with movie photos to show what was in the actual film.

But the crowning gems of this book are undoubtedly the glimpses into the Troll Market -- this was probably the most alluring and otherworldly scene in the movie, and it's given even greater significance when you see the elaborate sketches of its architecture. Not to mention the inhabitants -- Cathedral-Head, the masked nuns, the mushroom man, the mummy vendor, and the Sacred Fluid Dispenser. Since I love the way that sounds, I'll say it again -- Sacred Fluid Dispenser.

And the last page of the script is quite intriguing, since it leads in to a possible third movie (you know, when Del Toro actually has some free time). And Del Toro's diary entries -- still in untranslated Spanish with lots of coloured sketches -- are a nice finishing touch.

The wealth of concept art and background information in "Hellboy II: The Art of the Movie" are stunning in their complexity -- and anyone who appreciated Del Toro's artistry in the movie should take a peek at this.

AS GOOD AS THE FIRST HELLBOY ART BOOK
Having purchased the first Art of Hellboy, I can say that this book is similarly put together like the first one by Dark Horse and the filmmakers, notably Guillermo Del Toro and Mike Mignola. Which means it's great. You can see the details of the rough concepts from Guillermo himself, who's always generous enough to spill the beans on what went on in his creative mind during the preconception period of the movie up until the realization.

Lots of sketches and excerpts from Del Toro's diary that resembles ancient hyeroglyphic carvings. Basically, both Hellboy moviemaking art books are scriptbooks that are spiced up with conceptual designs, rough sketches, stills, and journal excerpts. To complement, I'm looking forward to more creature designs from this movie in the upcoming book The Monsters of Hellboy II.

If you're a monster fanatic, this book isa must for you. ... Read more

Product Description

Before you can film a fantasy movie, you must create an authentic world. What kind of weather is found within, what would the buildings be made of, what creatures populate its land, and what is the history behind its people? For every stunning frame of film, there have been countless hours of work to create such majesty. And what a task to bring to the screen one of the world's most beloved children's series, C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia.

Customer Reviews (6)

Weta workshopn have some of the best artist for concept
The crafting of the two films of Narnia is all here. We have traditional concepts, digital concpets, sculpture, and some photography compositions for background scenery.
All the drawings are very worked, and there are some drawings of the weapons, that they have care a lot. The presentation is great and the book have so many pages.
Recommended.

For Those Of Us...
I know it is probably not very economically smart of me right now (it's not a stereotype about college students being poor, trust me), but I am big on collecting "making of" and "art of" books, mostly for Disney movies.This was no exception.When I saw it was on sale, I had to get it.There are many beautiful photographs and some very interesting concept art.A must-have for the collector of books about the making of various Disney movies.

Lots of concept art and in depth commentary
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2A0FB3MOO4FF The full title of the book is "The Crafting of Narnia: The Art, Creatures, and Weapons From Weta Workshop".

Weta Workshop is the Academy-Award winning special effects house that has also created the world for Lord of the Rings and King Kong. That's Middle-Earth and Skull Island. I've a book review on the World of Kong on my blog also. That book is very good.

Many books have been released in companion to the Narnia movies. If you're looking for the art book, this is the one.

This book contains the concept art done in preparation for the two movies, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

There are detailed photography, never before seen drawings, sculptures, props, minatures and paintings. All these are created for the characters, weapons, armour and the set. Movie stills are few.

Particularly interesting are the character designs because they show the evolution. Several designs are shown for each character, including sculptures. Weapons and armour designs are also heavily featured. The designs are intricate and many high resolution photos are provided of the actual weapons used on set -- the swords, shields, axes and the like. There are few drawings for the landscapes.

The commentary that follows along explains the ideas and background story relating back to the book. It works essentially like a tour guide explaining to the tourist in a new place.

Fantasy concept artists should like this book, and also fans of Narnia. It's an enjoyable read.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

Art from Narnia: Prince Caspian
I loved this movie even better than the first.This book showcases some amazing artwork and CGI images that shows how the various creatures and landscapes were created.A beautiful book with tons of pictures and art.

Narnia, Weta Workshop
Great reference/inspiration for artists, some beautiful designs and color compositions. Well worth it if you are working in this genre and need some visual inspiration with a classy feel. Most are the artwork is brilliant. ... Read more

Product Description
The ART OF STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI is a lavish, full-color volume that commemorates the creative genius and technical wizardry behind RETURN OF THE JEDI, the dazzling space epic. Illustrating the original screenplay are hundreds of sketches, storyboards, matte paintings, blueprints, production paintings, and costume designs -- the work of the conceptual artists and designers whose skill and imagination gave rise to the wonders seen on the screen by the whole world.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Good Artwork, But Lacks Descriptions and Organization
I really give this book 3 and a half stars only for the artwork.

Primarily, this book is rather disappointing. The pictures, and artwork are great, and I must say it is quite amazing to see the matte paintings that were used in the film. The book contains numerous paintings, sketches, and pictures, but they are very poorly organized. I often found that if I saw a picture I liked and wanted to look at it again, I would have to literally flip through almost every page to find it again. The pictures aren't organized into "sections" as were the ones in THE ART OF THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. But that is because the script for the movie is included in this book.

The script takes up a lot of space, but is often spaced apart by maybe 2-3 pages of artwork. So for example, once you're done reading the portion of script on page 9, you'd have to skip up to page 12 to continue reading it. It ruins the continuity of the script, but that is not that much of a deal. The script is nice to have, but then again, why would you really want the script? And besides that, why would you find a script in an art book to begin with?

Returning to the pictures, the main disappointment is the lack of descriptions for the artwork. They have little sentences like: ABOVE RIGHT, painting done by Ralph McQuarrie, and so on, but I had expected more descriptions, and rightfully so because this is an art book...isn't it?

If you are interested in the art AND the script, then you should get it. But keep in mind that there aren't many descriptions for the pictures. In my opinion, this book is a clash of script and fabulous art, and the script doesn't allow for the splendour of the artwork to come out in its full "capacity". But I don't regret getting this book simply because of the artwork, and really, this is the only book out there that has THE ART OF RETURN OF THE JEDI.

Good, but lack of descriptions disappointing
This is a great book, but it doesn't have the descriptions for the artwork that the Episode 1 edition had. Putting the script in no doubt took up the space required to have the descriptions in. Still, the art is amazing and Iam overwhelmed every time I look at one of these books. If you are adie-hard Star Wars fan, or are even curious about these movies, the"Art of.." series is great and a must-have.

WOW
This was an awesome book if you have any arguments shove it up your @$

not nearly as good as the Empire "Art of"
In brief, this is NOT an "Art of" book. It's a script with a lot of pretty pictures. I can buy the script in several other differentformats, but this is the only chance for me to find anything out about theartwork, and this book simply does not do it. Lucasfilm seems to alternatebetween so-called "Art of" books with the script shoved in (NewHope, Jedi), and actual, quality ART books (Phantom Menace, Empire) thatrecognize that the script can be found elsewhere. Hopefully the remainingbooks in the series will leave the script OUT.

A must for fans of the original triolgy
If you enjoy seeing how the classic stories developed, this is definately going to be a book you wont regret getting, and is a MUST for your collection, allong with the other two art books. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

I miss Far Far Away
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R398S6E5NGW2ME If you've the first art book Shrek: The Art Of the Quest to compare, this one's just slightly smaller and 6 pages thinner. Despite the smaller size, it still packs lots of great art. There are beautiful digital paintings, concept art for new characters, storyboards and sketches.

The art is noticeably much darker, dominated by gold, greens and greys -- inspired by the contract Shrek signs with Rumpel. That applies more to the background paintings. While they are cool, I really miss the lush vibrant colours of Far Far Away and the evergreen forests.

The designs on the props are great and they are everywhere, from the Candy Apple store sign, toys for Shrek's kids, carriage designs for the witches and other devices. The character designs are nice but rather limited to Shrek, Fiona and Rumple. Other characters get less pages although there are quite a few pages on ogres besides Shrek. I kind of wished they used the discarded concepts for Warrior Princess Fiona because they are more sexy.

I think it's a pretty good deal for an art book at this price (I bought mine under US$17) although I like the first art book more.

(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An outstanding collection of pop-up games and art history.
Paintings and sculptures by over 40 artists are presented in a fine blend of a 32-page booklet and a stunning pop-up art presentation which isrecommended for kids ages 8 and older. An outstanding collection of pop-upgames and art history. ... Read more

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Surf's Up , the latest CG-animated feature film from Sony Pictures Animation, is based on the "true story" of up-and-coming surfer Cody Maverick.  The film follows Cody as he enters his first professional surf competition.  Inspired by the legendary wave rider Big Z, Cody leaves his family and hometown of Shiverpool, Antarctica to travel to Pen Gu Island for the Big Z Memorial Surf Contest.  Cody believes that fame and fortune will bring him the admiration and respect he craves, but when he meets a washed-up old surfer named Geek, Cody begins to understand that the greatest champion isn't always the one who comes in first.

Get an inside look at the making of this incredible film in Surf's Up: The Art and Making of a True Story, which is packed with a wealth of extras, including a DVD that details the digital image-making process, a teaser movie poster, a booklet on "Building a Digital Wave," vintage surfer postcards, a surfbook bookmark, and a commemorative Pen Gu Times newspaper.
Starring Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, James Woods, Mario Cantone, Deidrich Bader, Jane Krakowski, and Mindy Sterling, Surf's Up is directed by Ash Brannon ( Toy Story 2 ) and Chris Buck ( Tarzan ).

Sony Pictures Consumer Products and Insight Editions have partnered to create two incredible previous books, The Art of Open Season andThe Art & Making of Monster House . Animation Magazine's rave review observed that Insight Editions and Sony "have raised the bar for movie tie-ins!" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

An absolutely gorgeous book
This is a spectacular book and one that other authors and publishers of 'art of' books ought to take a close look at.The artwork included is in a variety of formats from basic sketches to full digital renderings and includes a number or extras such as a DVD and poster that really make this book something extra special.All of the characters and even backgrounds are well featured.The book itself even comes in a plastic slipcase that compliments the design asthetic of the interior pages.Just like the film, one can tell that a lot of effort and love for the story and characters went into the creation of the book.

the best art book for a movie i've ever found
i would say, above and beyond, this has to be one of the most stylistic and visually thought-out artbooks i have ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on.To this day, i have not found one for any other movie that was in so many ways rewarding.From conceptual drawings to added removable material, paintings and sketches, this book leaves you without much more to want.I am a huge fan of the movie, and appreciated all the detail work that went into every facet of the film, and most of these are laid out in the book!- more than just character designs, pages on the surfboard designs, logos, "old" photos of surfers and younger geek, all topped off with a beautiful hardbound cover (with plastic, image-overlaying slipcover to protect the book) for a very reasonable price.
if you are obsessed with the movie, there is no choice- get it.

Another great book
Following on from the previous Open Season art of, Surfs Up is another great look at the development years. The environment drawings and paintings are wonderful to look at and the characters a fun to look at. Again the book delivers some extra inserts throughout the book like stickers and such...but i feel this didnt have as much put into it as Open Season. Still it is a great book to have on the shelf for inspiration.

Great development book
I collect and study a lot of "art of" books. This is one of the best I've ever seen, much better than the Disney "art of" books. It gives you a great breadth of development: color, sketches, layout, backstory, etc.

The sketches are amazing, and the renderings and color treatments are beautiful, lush, and eye candy. I read this book before seeing the movie and it was wonderful to see how everything came together in the film. If you like "art of" books - this one should be in your library.

Just plane fun
originally i really didn't have any intentions of seeing "surf's up" in theaters, i was just going to wait it out and rent it. then i stumbled upon the making of art book and changed my mind. what i really love about the book is the playful attitude it takes to the whole "art of/ making of" genre. it goes beyond showing you concept sketches and the likes and shows how they constructed scenes, gives extra little insights on character's personalities, and through in some behind the scenes jokes that didn't make it into the movie. all in all just a really enjoyable read. ... Read more

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