The Art of How to Train Your Dragon
Tracy Miller-Zarneke
Newmarket Press
Nonfiction, Art/Media Reference
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: One of the standout animated movies of 2010, Dreamworks' spellbinding tale of the misfit Viking boy Hiccup and the dragon Toothless, based on the children's book by Cressida Cowell, captured the imaginations of dracophiles young and old. It displayed a marvelous mixture of realistic lighting and textures combined with surreally exaggerated designs, wrapped around a deftly-crafted story that ultimately broke free of the book that inspired it. This collection looks behind the scenes, revealing conceptual art and the artistic evolution of the award-nominated blockbuster.
Includes a preface by author Cressida Cowell and a foreword by Craig Ferguson, who voiced Gobber the blacksmith.
REVIEW: First off, if this movie fails to win an award, it's evidence of exceptionally poor taste and judgment... moreso than even I expect out of the industry.
That said...
As one might surmise, I loved the movie; it easily ranks in the top 5 animated films I've ever seen... and the top 5 films I've seen, period. This book made an excellent companion, revealing the story's long and sometimes awkward path from sketch to screen. Some of the text got a little thick with industry terms, but otherwise I highly enjoyed it. Anyone who loved the movie should get this book, to see how it all came together.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Encyclopedia of Mysterious Places (Robert Ingpen and Philip Wilkinson)
Encyclopedia of Mysterious Places
Robert Ingpen and Philip Wilkinson
Barnes & Noble Books
Nonfiction, History
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: From all corners of the globe and across a wide swath of history and prehistory, a number of archaological wonders and puzzles - from legendary cities to confounding relics of lost cultures - are discussed and illustrated here.
REVIEW: Another bargain-shelf gamble, I bought it hoping for inspiration. Unfortunately, this is a case of the subject matter being far more interesting than the presentation. The articles are sketchy at best and classroom-textbook boring at worst, and the illustrations are sometimes maddeningly obscure, choosing to depict a random artifact rather than a coherent map of the structure and failing to highlight what the text claimed were the chief curiosities about several structures. Many of the cities and structures mentioned I hadn't heard of, except perhaps vaguely. Instead of walking away knowing more about them, mostly I walked away wishing I'd bought a better book. If nothing else, though, it succeeds in reminding readers that there is far more we've forgotten about our own history than we like to admit.
Robert Ingpen and Philip Wilkinson
Barnes & Noble Books
Nonfiction, History
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: From all corners of the globe and across a wide swath of history and prehistory, a number of archaological wonders and puzzles - from legendary cities to confounding relics of lost cultures - are discussed and illustrated here.
REVIEW: Another bargain-shelf gamble, I bought it hoping for inspiration. Unfortunately, this is a case of the subject matter being far more interesting than the presentation. The articles are sketchy at best and classroom-textbook boring at worst, and the illustrations are sometimes maddeningly obscure, choosing to depict a random artifact rather than a coherent map of the structure and failing to highlight what the text claimed were the chief curiosities about several structures. Many of the cities and structures mentioned I hadn't heard of, except perhaps vaguely. Instead of walking away knowing more about them, mostly I walked away wishing I'd bought a better book. If nothing else, though, it succeeds in reminding readers that there is far more we've forgotten about our own history than we like to admit.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
How to Paint and Draw Animals (David Astin)
How to Paint and Draw Animals
David Astin
Intercontinental Book Productions
Nonfiction, Art
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: The artist describes the basics of drawing such animals as dogs, cats, horses, and birds. Also included are demonstration drawings of several subjects in different media, as well as notes on colors, composition, and the value of sketching from life.
REVIEW: On the surface, this makes a decent primer for animal drawing. Astin's methods of breaking down the structures of various subjects almost go too primitive, to the point of being unhelpful. I also wasn't sure about the demonstration projects. But he has some decent stuff here, presented in a relatively unintimidating format. Astin also touches (briefly) on birds, which several animal drawing books I own ignore completely. If you wanted to start drawing animals realistically, you could do worse than to start here, but I think other artists have covered the same material in other works, with more interesting results.
David Astin
Intercontinental Book Productions
Nonfiction, Art
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: The artist describes the basics of drawing such animals as dogs, cats, horses, and birds. Also included are demonstration drawings of several subjects in different media, as well as notes on colors, composition, and the value of sketching from life.
REVIEW: On the surface, this makes a decent primer for animal drawing. Astin's methods of breaking down the structures of various subjects almost go too primitive, to the point of being unhelpful. I also wasn't sure about the demonstration projects. But he has some decent stuff here, presented in a relatively unintimidating format. Astin also touches (briefly) on birds, which several animal drawing books I own ignore completely. If you wanted to start drawing animals realistically, you could do worse than to start here, but I think other artists have covered the same material in other works, with more interesting results.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Behemoth (Scott Westerfield)
Behemoth
(The Leviathan trilogy, Book 2)
Scott Westerfield
SimonPulse
Fiction, YA Fantasy
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: The living airship Leviathan, carrying a top secret cargo under the care of Dr. Barlowe, has finally arrived in Istanbul... but not before running afoul of two German warships stranded in the Mediterranean by the onset of war. In theory, the Ottoman Empire is still neutral; though it has strong Clanker tendencies, its machines tend to resemble animals and myths more than the utilitarian German contraptions, making them more amenable to Darwinist sympathies. But the sultan, already gravely insulted when Britain's Lord Churchill confiscated a bought-and-paid-for Darwinist ship for the war effort, may not be open to Britain's diplomatic overtures, and the Leviathan crew finds more than a few German fingers resting on the Turkish shoulders.
Midshipman Deryn and Prince Alek have come to be friends despite their different stations and upbringings. For Deryn, she fears it's more than friendship; her deception as "Mr. Dylan Sharp" requires her to hide her gender, though more and more she finds it difficult to hold back, even as Alek confides in her. For Alek, their friendship is equally confounding; though he was raised to think of Darwinists and their fabricated animals as an affront to divine will, he has found a peace among the beasties of the Leviathan that he has never known before, and the rough-mannered commoner "Dylan" has proven himself a true and loyal friend. Strained by their opposing loyalties, Deryn and Alek must nevertheless stand together as they face traitors, revolutionaries, intrigue, and secrets that could change the course of the entire war.
REVIEW: The jump in the rating from the previous installment (Leviathan, reviewed previously) has two reasons. First off, Westerfield's steampunk alternate-history world has been decently established, so more time went into developing characters and their relationships here. Secondly, the previous two books I read nearly had me tearing my hair out wanting to smack the characters across the face and/or jab them with cattle prods to make the plot move along; after that tedium, Westerfield's more straightforward adventure tale went down very nicely. The action continues at roughly the same pace as in the first book. Westerfield continues to weave real-world details into his alternate World War 1 version of events. Like the first book, this one features black and white illustrations by Keith Thompson, which lend a wonderful old-school feel to the story (even if Alek still looks a bit too feminine in some images.) I found myself staying up late just to finish this book, and already looking forward to the third and final volume... whenever it comes out.
(The Leviathan trilogy, Book 2)
Scott Westerfield
SimonPulse
Fiction, YA Fantasy
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: The living airship Leviathan, carrying a top secret cargo under the care of Dr. Barlowe, has finally arrived in Istanbul... but not before running afoul of two German warships stranded in the Mediterranean by the onset of war. In theory, the Ottoman Empire is still neutral; though it has strong Clanker tendencies, its machines tend to resemble animals and myths more than the utilitarian German contraptions, making them more amenable to Darwinist sympathies. But the sultan, already gravely insulted when Britain's Lord Churchill confiscated a bought-and-paid-for Darwinist ship for the war effort, may not be open to Britain's diplomatic overtures, and the Leviathan crew finds more than a few German fingers resting on the Turkish shoulders.
Midshipman Deryn and Prince Alek have come to be friends despite their different stations and upbringings. For Deryn, she fears it's more than friendship; her deception as "Mr. Dylan Sharp" requires her to hide her gender, though more and more she finds it difficult to hold back, even as Alek confides in her. For Alek, their friendship is equally confounding; though he was raised to think of Darwinists and their fabricated animals as an affront to divine will, he has found a peace among the beasties of the Leviathan that he has never known before, and the rough-mannered commoner "Dylan" has proven himself a true and loyal friend. Strained by their opposing loyalties, Deryn and Alek must nevertheless stand together as they face traitors, revolutionaries, intrigue, and secrets that could change the course of the entire war.
REVIEW: The jump in the rating from the previous installment (Leviathan, reviewed previously) has two reasons. First off, Westerfield's steampunk alternate-history world has been decently established, so more time went into developing characters and their relationships here. Secondly, the previous two books I read nearly had me tearing my hair out wanting to smack the characters across the face and/or jab them with cattle prods to make the plot move along; after that tedium, Westerfield's more straightforward adventure tale went down very nicely. The action continues at roughly the same pace as in the first book. Westerfield continues to weave real-world details into his alternate World War 1 version of events. Like the first book, this one features black and white illustrations by Keith Thompson, which lend a wonderful old-school feel to the story (even if Alek still looks a bit too feminine in some images.) I found myself staying up late just to finish this book, and already looking forward to the third and final volume... whenever it comes out.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Site Updated, Reviews Archived
The previous eight reviews have been archived on the website.
For the curious, I have finally passed 700 reviews! (J. "NeonDragon" Peffer's DragonArt Evolution pushed it over the top.) Well, it was a personal milestone, if nothing else...
Enjoy!
For the curious, I have finally passed 700 reviews! (J. "NeonDragon" Peffer's DragonArt Evolution pushed it over the top.) Well, it was a personal milestone, if nothing else...
Enjoy!
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