The art of Avatar

Richly illustrated, this book makes it possible to immerse yourself in the universe created by James Cameron for his latest blockbuster, Avatar. The sketches and the final computer generated renderings of spacecraft used by humans (the double page with the spaceship in orbit is superb) shows just how much the director, visibly inspired by his 3 years on NASA’s Advisory Council in addition to his own personal experience, wanted a technically plausible environment (read this Enjoy Space article). The producer, Jon Landau, even makes a direct allusion to the American Space Agency by confiding in his foreword that when James Cameron explained his film project to him, he understood “just how NASA’s engineers felt, that day in 1961 when the White House fixed the Moon as their objective”! Pandora, far-off world and moon of a planet situated in orbit around a sun other than ours, is obviously the star of this book which will delight Avatar’s fans and those who would like to know more about the creative process of the film.

The art of Avatar by Liza Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Abrams
105 pages - $29.95 (retail price)

Published on 11 February 2010