Book Review: The Art of DreamWorks Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken

Wildly imaginative

It's always great to see a 3D animated film and companion artbook that shows off a visual style that's very different from other films. It is difficult for me to describe the art direction for this film expect to say that it's wildly imaginative, and the feeling I get is one of looking at undiscovered deep sea creatures. The artists probably had lots of fun coming up with all these designs and ideas.

This 176-page large format hardcover is published by Cameron + Company, an imprint of ABRAMS.

When I saw the book's introduction which is a few pages long talking about the production process, I knew instantly this is a going to be a wonderful book. Books that include long writeup on how movies are made are usually good, and in this book there's plenty of commentary from the artists and designers that worked on the film. There's plenty to read about the characters, set and stories.

The concept art featured is a collection of sketches, coloured illustrations, and 3D renders and stills from the film. The character designs are definitely quirky, but they are all full of life and just fun to look at. There are also artworks for sets, interiors, exteriors, background and props. There is a lot of thought that goes towards world building.

This is a fantastic companion artbook for the film. It's great for fans and those who love art.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.com.au | Amazon.co.jp

This book was borrowed from Basheer Graphic Books for review purposes. You can order the book from them. Check with Basheer on Facebook.