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Book Description:
Star Wars owes a lot to its
details. George Lucas made his world so believable and
compelling by getting all the little things right,
whether it was a chip in Vader's helmet or the sand on a
Stormtrooper's boots. Of course, this feat was no
accident--extensive conceptual planning and design went
into all the Star Wars movies, perhaps most so for Episode
I: The Phantom Menace. This excellent "insider
story" art book by Phantom Menace researcher
Jonathan Bresman pulls together a wealth of these
preliminary paintings, sketches, and computer animatics.
Starting in early 1995, the Episode I art team sweated
out nearly four years in a renovated attic at Skywalker
Ranch, and Bresman's book gives an eye-popping account
of their efforts, a sweeping survey of the movie's
"evolutionary record," what Bresman calls
"the unseen art that serves as the foundation for
the film."
Divided into sections covering each of the movie's major
locales (e.g., Theed, Coruscant, Otoh Gunga), The Art
of The Phantom Menace gives detailed illustrations
of many of the creatures, structures, and vessels that
made the final cut to film. But even more interesting
are those that never left the sketchbook or hard
drive--what fan wouldn't want to see a bulky, bipedal
droideka or Padmé's horned, reptilian "swamp
horse"? Call-outs alongside the art reveal the
untold story behind many characters, like how Jedi
Council member Yaddle really did begin as a sketch of a
young Yoda, and how Jar Jar at one point had a wacky
"dog" sidekick named Blarf. (Lucas and crew
thankfully dodged that bullet.)
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