The book will begin with a brief historical timeline and overview
of creatures in the movies. From the ice-monsters and Lunar sprites
of George Méliès' earliest fantasies to the mind-blowing CG
creations of the 21st century, this section will provide a concise
historical summary of the creatures, the films, the creative
talents, and the techniques.
The main focus of the book will be in-depth profiles highlighting
the work of some of the most important contemporary artists and
companies. Using first-hand interviews with many of the greatest
names in special effects, Designing Movie Creatures and Characters
will reveal what has inspired these artists, how their creations
can be brought to life and, just as importantly, how they can be
made to give great performances.
These chapters will look at conceptual design, how the techniques
used to create a character are decided, the manufacturing process,
and finally the performance.
All aspects of creature creation will be covered, from stop-motion
and CGI animation, to puppets, performers in suits, and full-scale
animatronic beasts.
Chapters/sections:
Monster History
A look at the role of creatures in a century of cinema, dating from
the earliest cinema experiment of Melies all the way through to
today's CGI, motion capture, and animatronics. Includes stills,
concept art, and on-set imagery in the context of a cinema and
technology timeline.
Ray Harryhausen
The 'grandfather' of movie monsters has inspired generations of
designers and special effects experts. He reveals the secrets of
designing and building convincing characters and why he believes
his 'old-fashioned' techniques produced the most magical results.
Includes drawings, stills, photos of his original models, and an
explanation of stop-motion techniques (which have also been used as
recently as Star Wars, Robocop, and Terminator).
HR Giger
An interview with visionary concept artist HR Giger, designer of
the original Alien. What creative processes led to the final design
of one of cinema's most feared predators? Includes concept art,
production stills, costumes, and model-shop images showing the
creature being built.
Patrick Tatopoulos
The inspiration behind the character design of Godzilla,
Independence Day and I Robot talks about character design from
concept to finished on-screen creation, together with the
technologies and the step by step processes. Includes concept art,
production processes, wireframes, renders, and stills.
Douglas Chiang
Imagining a galaxy far, far away. How George Lucas's screenplays
were interpreted to produce character concepts for Star Wars
Episodes I-III. Including the complete concept and design process
for key characters such as Jar Jar Binks and General Grievous, with
step by step illustrations.
Amalgamated Dynamics
A look behind the scenes at ADI, the creature makers for Alien Vs
Predator. How art department designs are translated into physical
puppets and costumes, with images covering each stage of thwe
process.
Stan Winston
The master of animatronics talks about Jurassic Park, Terminator
and Artificial Intelligence, among others, and explains how
animatronics work, and how the puppets are designed, built, and
operated.
Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Three decades of pioneering character performance technology from
hand-puppets to digitally driven performance systems, together with
illustrations, scematics, on-set production shots, etc.
Walt Conti
Designing animatronic characters that perform under water for Free
Willy, The Perfecrt Storm and Deep Blue Sea. How the most sublime
of nature's creatures are recreated in silicone and foam rubber,
with step-by-step processes, illustrations, workshop images, and
stills.
Rick Baker
A conversation with the designer of apes for Gorillas in the Mist,
Mighty Joe Young and Planet of the Apes, together with the 1976
remake of King Kong-Baker also explains what he thinks about CGI
apes and creatures in the current generation of films. Concept
sketches show how the features of well-known performers were
blended with those of ape species for Planet of the Apes. Includes
other production images and stills.
Peter Elliot
Master ape inpersonator for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan and
Planet of the Apes on thinking and acting like an ape.
Andy Serkis
The provider of motion-captured performances for the characters
Gollum and King Kong discusses how he thinks his way into a
performance and what he can bring to a digitally created character.
Includes onset images and an exploration of motion-capture
techniques.
Joe Letteri
Visual effects supervisor for The Lord of the Rings on bringing JRR
Tolkein's fantasies to life, from the octopus-like Watcher to
elephantine Mumakil and the trilogy's signature achievement;
Gollum. How the characters were designed and how the methods used
to create them were chosen. Includes an interview with head of Weta
workshop, Richard Taylor, production images, concept art, stills,
etc.
Weta Digital
The New Zealand visual effects facility shows how it created the
latest incarnation of King Kong, how their dinosaurs have advanced
since Jurassic Park and the complex techniques needed to produce
computer-generated fur. With concept art, production images, and
stills.
Phil Tippett
The master animator talks about the transition from stop motion to
CGI, and explains the cultural, technological, and artistic
challenges. With sketches, stills, and concept art.
Rob Coleman
ILM director of animation discusses the digital inhabitants of the
Star Wars universe. Features concept art and sketches, plus stills
from the recent trilogy.
Nick Dudman
From House-elfs to Womping Willows, British makeup maestro Nick
Dudman on populating the worlds of Harry Potter. Includes concept
art, sketches, and process illustrations.
Nick Parks
Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Parks on Aardman's 'low fi'
plasticine approach in a big-budget, Hollywood world for the
feature film Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were Rabbit.
Includes on-set images and models.
Ask a Question About this Product More... |