In his highly anticipated return to feature filmmaking, Academy Award–winning writer/director James Cameron—the maker of Titanic and the creator of Terminator—takes us on a journey Peter Jackson describes as “a great leap forward.” Technically revolutionary, this long-awaited film debuts with the most immersive, engaging, and visually innovative universe the world of cinema has ever seen — acknowledged recently by the Academy of Motion Pictures with Oscar wins for Art Direction, Cinematography and Visual Effects. The Art of AVATAR, the official companion artbook to this epic action adventure, explores the developmental and conceptual art—including over two dozen original sketches by Cameron and paintings by Robert Stromberg—used by the creative team to bring this otherworldly environment to life.

From script to sketch, 2D paintings and real world 3D models and sculpts this unique collection presents the chief creative imagery which guided the film production’s efforts. With over 200 full-color images included, this compilation contains many detailed compositions — sketched, painted, colored and penned by some of the more renowned illustrators working in the film industry today, including Rob Stromberg (Pirates, Memoirs of a Geisha, Pan’s Labyrinth, Golden Compass, Master and Commander; Star Trek), Ryan Church (Star Trek, Lord of the Rings) and Wayne Barlowe (Hell Boy, Harry Potter). From scenes to characters and creatures, The Art of Avatar showcases the “best of” signature images, hand chosen from a library of thousands depicting the incredibly imaginative and rich world of Pandora.

Filled with artist’s commentary on their first-hand experiences collaborating with the writer/director as well as numerous word-for-word excerpts from Cameron’s script which informed the illustrator’s efforts. This publication is a brief glimpse into the first phase of a multi-year filmmaking enterprise which employed the hearts and minds of a team of creative talent never before gathered for a singular Hollywood production.

Includes:
–Original essays penned by Peter Jackson, James Cameron & Jon Landau
–Over a dozen unique, never-before-published sketches by James Cameron
–200 illustrations from a host of award-winning artists, including Robert Stromberg, Wayne Barlowe, Neville Page, Jordu Schell, Dylan Cole, Steve Messing, Ben Procter and many others.