When a movie is great, one of the first things that I want to do is pick up a behind-the-scenes book or watch the special features on the Blu-ray or DVD set. I want to immerse myself in the world of the film and learn, first-hand from the filmmakers, what it took to bring this great piece of art to the big screen. Speaking of art, looking at beautiful pieces of concept art is perhaps my favorite way to dive into the minds of the creatives who brought the film to life.
“The Art of Toy Story 4” Front Cover – Art by John Lee
I never tire of looking at concept art. I own a great deal of art books. At one time, I had many of them on my coffee table – that was before I had too many and it started to make the area look cluttered. Still, I was drawn to those art books and would find myself simply flipping them open and seeing what page I would land on. Pixar art books, published by Chronicle Books, are some of the best in the industry. The “Art of Toy Story 3” is one my all-time favorites, as I find that it is the perfect mix of stunning artwork and incredible details about the film’s production process. “The Art of Toy Story 4” has a lot to live up to.
The cover for the new book features a beautiful piece shining a light on Woody and Bo Peep’s relationship. Given how the two characters will be instrumental to the fourth film’s story, it seems like this is the perfect piece of artwork to take the cover page. There are several other pieces of concept art from the book that Amazon has shared:
Art by John Lee
Art by John Lee
Art by Josh Cooley
That is only a tiny taste of what is to come from the new book. If anything, it makes the wait to get my hands on the book much, much harder. One thing to keep in mind, though – there will definitely be major spoilers for the film’ story in the book, so tread carefully. Also, these art books have the tendency to go out of stock, especially after a film hits theaters and excited viewers snap up the books in droves. My advice? Buy a copy now and hide it until you’ve seen the film. You’ll just have to turn your self-control dial way up until the film comes out in June.
“The Art of Toy Story 4” is available for purchase now on Amazon. Whether you think the film turns out to be incredible or simply okay, the artwork featured inside the book is guaranteed to blow your mind.
