Chronicles: Creatures & Characters (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) Hardcover – 4 April 2013

As someone who is absolutely obsessed with anything to do with Middle Earth this art book (and the rest in the series) are like a gift from Heaven! The paper is high quality and glossy and all of the images are crystal clear HD. The book is well written and is divided into sections on how each creature was designed and provides lots of behind the scenes details. I find myself coming back to this book time and again and always finding something new.I cannot reccomebd this enough to both fans of the films and the books!

I love all things Tolkien. I first read the Hobbit in the late 60's during my Army days whist on active service. It used to help me wind down from the long hours on duty.Since then I have read most of his wonderful books. And some I have read several times and still keep coming back for more.This Book is a large volume and is beautifully constructed. It is one of a series of books dealing with different aspects of the film.This volume deals with the Creatures and Characters you will meet in the film.Each Creature or Character is described in detail with lots of wonderful photographs showing how they came to be brought to life.This is a Must Have book for both Book and Film fans alike.

I have only recently become a fan of Peter Jackson's LOTR movies and tried to purchase all the movie books that covered the making of these magnificient films. I have now a collection of all the Movie Guides and Visual Companions (more than 20 books), but these Hobbit CHRONICLES are far-far better than any of the other previously published books in design, content, and artistic value! They are amazingly well illustrated with original pieces of art, and hundreds of illustrations telling us the story how characters were designed. It's amazing, how much effort was put into these books. It's not just some cutscenes from the films, but rather tons of original concept art which shows the development of the creatures in much more depth than the twin book, "The Hobbit - An unexpected Journey - Art&Design". I have also bought the other 2 Hobbit Chronicle books which are equally amazing, and they do not repeat, but rather complement oneanother. This one has a comparative scale chart as an extra with it. They all far exceeded my expectations in content and beauty. It's an absolute MUST for any fan of Peter Jackson's Hobbit. Published by the WETA Workshop, it's absolutely outstanding, like everything they did related to these films. Well worth the investment!

The amount of work that has gone into designing these books is remarkable. The characters from the films are actually expanded upon and given real characters. The love and attention the actors put into their roles in highlighted in the excerpts from their interviews.The character designs are the best parts. I love seeing the strangest ideas to what we had in the end.

If you loved the Unexpected Journey with all its various characters and if ať thesame time you craved to get to know them even letter, this is simple a must for you.With excellent illustrations (both photos, sketches and computer models) and a health of "inside information" this book will tell you all you wanted to know about the Hobbit, but were afraid to ask.

I'm a graphic designer so I really love these kinds of book's. There very detailed and the images are gorgeous. The book takes you thru the design process for all the creatures and charters and it's lovely to see the annotations that have been added from he design and production staff.As a big fan of the book and the film franchise this was a lovely addiction to my collection.

Excellent book, the information and pictures on the creatures and characters draws you in to believing that they and Middle - earth really exit.The comments from those involved in the trilogy was good to hear. Format and content are great the look and layout as been well thought out. I can't remember anything as enjoyable to look at and read. All I can say is Thank You to all those who where involved in the film and putting these books together, nothing to dislike .

It is a brilliant book, looks and feels well made and a worthy companion on the shelf for the first book.However, I was quite disappointed there were no pencil drawings and designs that populated the first book. This one is illustrated with screenshots from the movie and photographs with an exception of drawn images in the last unfolding page.It arrived in couple of days on super saver delivery, well packed and in perfect condition.5 stars for the packaging, seller and value.

It's a very beautiful book. I thought they would talk only about the caracters and creatures but theres whole page about how they did the makeup, prostectics, CGI and motion capture. There's also lots of pictures I never seen before and quotes from the actors here and there. Only issue is the packaging, the book was free in the box and the few air bags weren't enough to protect it. There's a few bruises on the hard cover but nothing bad enough to lose a star.

After reading the first Weta Workshop book on THAUJ, "Chronicles Art & Design" I was eagerly awaiting the second volume, which focuses on "Characters and Creatures."I was not disappointed. I received the book yesterday and immediately began reading. First of all, it looks great, handsomely bound with an embossed cover and gilt lettering, the four key characters--Thorin, Gandalf, Bilbo and Gollum--each claiming their respective corners of the cover.Within those covers are many beautiful color photos as well as artists' renderings, and the reader is taken behind the scenes to see, for example, how dwarf prosthetics and wigs are made, the evolution of creatures such as the trolls and the Goblin King, and how the actors protraying elves and dwarves learn how to move and how to find the right accent for their character. There are many quotes from Weta Workshop members and the film crew along with the actors.I feel as if I know the actors better for having read this book along with getting a good glimpse into the formation of each of their characters. What a camaraderie they developed along the way! And I am impressed mightily by the painstaking attention to detail and craftsmanship exhibited by the makeup and prosthetic artists (who SHOULD have won an Oscar . . .)If you are a fan of The Hobbit film and love beautiful "coffee table" books that are jam-packed with behind-the-scenes knowledge, you will want to add this to your library. It would make a great gift for a Tolkien fan, too. Definitely five stars!

Petit commentaire rapide pour ce livre aux images magnifiques sur papier de qualité. Version anglaise par choix, un pur bonheur pour qui aime ce monde particulier et est curieux d'en savoir plus sur les personnages du film. A garder précieusement ! :)

... konzentriert auf die diversen Völker und Kreaturen, die da so in "An Unexpected Journey" über die Leinwand wuseln und wie auch der erste Teil der Serie (Art & Design) ausgezeichnet gemacht. Der (Hardcover-, und daher nicht ganz billige) Band enthält in erster Linie Kommentare und Erklärungen der involvierten Personen, sowohl von Designern und Crew als auch von den Darstellern; vor allem die Kommentare von letzeren sind teilweise, wie oft in solchen Fällen, natürlich superenthusiastisch bis nichtssagend, teilweise aber auch durchaus interessant und lesenswert. Außerdem ist er gespickt mit Hochglanzfotos aus dem Film und von "hinter der Bühne", wobei besonders letztere Bilddokumentation Laune macht, sich den Film gleich nochmal zu Gemüte zu führen, um zu sehen ob man all die Details auch wirklich findet. Die Fotoserien von der Entwicklung des "Zwergendesigns" und den ersten Tests mit den Handmasken aus Latex etc. sind ganz besonders fein, weil sie wirklich einen Einblick in die unglaubliche (Design-)Arbeit geben, die in diesen Filmen steckt. Witzige Details sind die Kapiteleinteilung, ganz im Tolkien'schen Stil (Of Hobbits, Of Elves, etc.), und der Größenvergleich der verschiedenen Charaktere am Ende des Buches. Zur deutschen Übersetzung, so es eine gibt, kann ich nichts sagen, das englische Original hier ist auf jeden Fall empfehlenswert für alle, die sich für Filmtricks und "Wie haben die das gemacht?" begeistern können. Dass der Band natürlich auch eine große und ausführliche Werbebroschüre für den Film ist, sollte jedem klar sein, stört mich persönlich aber gar nicht.

Ottimo qualità.Contenuti interesanti seppur solo in lingua ingleseun gioello da collezionareSuggerisco l'acquisto per chi ama lo Hobbit