The Art of Brave: Book Review

I received The Art of Brave as a birthday gift last month and though I don’t usually take the time to sit down and read the art of books (normally I just flip through them and look at the pictures every once in a while for a little hit of inspiration when I need one), I thought I’d actually take some time and read through this one especially since it was written by Jenny Lerew of The Blackwing Diaries, a blog I’ve followed since college.

The book starts off with some of the very first sketches of Merida and some travel photos from a group of artists and directors that went to Scotland to do visual research for the setting of the film. The photos from Scotland are a nice addition because the reader is able to see what the artists were focusing on in their research, it’s something that we don’t usually get to see in the art of Pixar books.
What became immediately apparent to me as I read through the book was the incredible artistry of Steve Pilcher. The lion share of the drawings in the book are by Pilcher (including the front and back cover art) as well as some of the more breathtaking photos of Scotland, but what is really impressive in my opinion is the myriad styles he employs to render his drawings. Some are exacting pencil sketches with lots of tonal cross-hatching, some are very textural digital paintings, some are clean digital scenes with flat colors, and they all look like they are done by totally different, masterful artists. Not many artists can do this.

The book also includes pages upon pages of storyboards that unfortunately are difficult to see because they are printed so small and a little hard to follow because there is no accompanying text to go along with them. Still, it’s nice to spend some time with the storyboards, looking from one frame to the next and remembering the scene from the movie.

In the book, Lerew mentions that there was originally a lot of planning for the film to take place in a snowy climate, an idea that was eventually scrapped in favor of the lush green environment seen in the finished film. There was never an explanation stated as to why that decision was made, though I think it was the right one. I would have liked to hear more about things like that, early plans and ideas that were cut out or reshaped, I would have liked to read more about the winding road to getting to the finished story. But I guess that’s why it’s called The Art of Brave and not The Making of Brave.

On the whole, it’s a great art of book and I’m looking forward to pulling it off the shelf from time to time for the occasional jolt of inspiration.

Little Books

I’ve been reading a few little books this past week. I love these bite-size reads that I can finish in less than an hour, they helped me break up the 1000+ page three volume paperback edition of 1Q84 that I’m right in the middle of (I’m really into it, but jesus it’s a long book).

F in Exams is a funny little book I picked up on a whim at Target. I thought it was really funny for a while, but this book is much better in small doses. It’s more fun to pick it up and flip to a random page (like I did at Target) than it is so sit and read it from cover to cover (like I did when I got home). There are also some pretty hilarious real world examples of bad test answers available for free online so I kinda feel like this book wasn’t worth the impulse buy.

Everyday Matters by Danny Gregory is a really inspiring little memoir/sketchbook journal. It talks about using the activity of drawing not just for an end product, but as a way of seeing the beauty in everyday objects. For Gregory, the time spent leisurely observing every curve and subtlety of an individual object is more important than the drawing that is created from it. As someone who is always stressed about my drawings, I think this is a really neat way to think about it.

I found Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon to be totally inspiring also. I really liked how he kind of lifted the veil surrounding creative types and showed that even the best, most talented people don’t just pull great ideas out of thin air, there is a source for everything. His tone is consistently encouraging too, which is very motivating.

Kate Beaton is a Genius

I wasn’t familiar with Kate Beaton’s work until recently when I started noticing her book Hark! A Vagrant popping up on various blogs that I follow. On a whim I purchased it from Amazon without actually reading any of her comics beforehand or knowing what to expect. Here’s my review:

This is seriously the funniest book I’ve read in a long, looong time. I read it in one sitting and laughed out loud almost the entire time. Ms. Beaton’s comedic timing is spot on and her drawings, though simple, are incredibly expressive.

Using historical and literary figures as her main characters, she dreams up hilarious scenarios using short comics strips. Some of the historical references can be a bit obscure (especially the ones about Canadian history) but she acknowledges this at the beginning of the book and hopes that the interested reader will take some time and google it if they so choose. Her comics cast a fresh and hilarious light on historical figures who we rarely think about today and the comedy ranges anywhere from witty and thought-provoking to utterly absurd silliness.

In the interest of full disclosure, many of her comics printed in the book can be viewed for free on her website, but I much prefer to have a copy for myself that I can flip through and enjoy (also the book only costs $11 on Amazon right now).

For more Kate Beaton, check out her website and her tumblr.

The Animator’s Bookshelf

This book was on a suggested reading list in college, so I did not bother with reading it at the time. How I wish I had! Reading it now, I think it really should be required reading not just for animation students, but also for animation professionals and kids who are interested in becoming animators but haven’t started college yet. In fact, animation schools should have a class based around this book in order to create realistic expectations and prepare students for life after college.

Your Career in Animation is divided into chapters covering things like networking, finding your first real job, how to keep in touch with contacts, how to deal with annoying co-workers, how to pitch a television show, and other important on the job tips that most people take years to figure out on their own.

The single most important lesson I took from this book is that the animation business really is about who you know, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s important to create and maintain friendly relationships not just for the sake of your career, but it’s also a major part of just being happy in life. This is not to downplay the importance of talent, it simply raises the importance of networking up to the same level as the importance of a kick-ass reel.

It is a really important book for those in the animation and film industry and those who are thinking about joining those industries. I highly recommend it.