The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Design Hardcover – December 14, 2012

The media could not be loaded. This is a wonderful companion art book for the movie. In some ways, I like it better than the ones from LOTR.The cover is beautifully embossed with texture and shine. It's 208-pages and big. Behind the cover is Thorin's Map that you can tear out from the perforated edges, and at the back is a long gatefold of Bilbo's Burglar contract should you want to read the fine prints to see what Bilbo has gotten himself into.There's a generous amount of concept art included that feature the characters, props and environment. Yes, it's all fantasy art, and they are all very beautiful and detailed. There are art from Alan Lee, John Howe, Dan Hennah (production designer), Richard Taylor and many others from Weta Workshop. The book is all art and there aren't a lot of photos, so you won't find behind the scenes shots and there are only small thumbnails of the actors in makeup.The majority are mostly character designs and the related, such as costumes, weapons and other props. There are Bilbo and his entourage of dwarves, trolls, goblins, and creatures. Each character has many designs variations shown, but mostly from the hair and facial hair -- probably more hairstyles that you can find in a hair saloon brochure.The environment art are mainly of close ups of locations and interiors. There are a few of those wide shots as well but could have been printed bigger. Many of the nice textured pencil drawings are from John Howe and Alan Lee.Those who like production design will enjoy the insightful commentary. There's lots to read and often, there will be a few designers talking about just one character, about the design, clothing and their weapons. The extra information gives more depth to the characters.The back cover mention something about this book being the first in a series of hardcover books. So unless they are referring to the other film companions, it means there would be art books for the next two films as well.It's a fantastic artbook. Highly recommended to fans of the film and fantasy art.(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

Another fantastic book of designs, drawings and photos of the work Weta did for The Hobbit movies. This is the first book in a series put together by head designer David Falconer of Weta.If you are a fan of the movies like me and love to read and see photos, drawings and concepts on how a movie was envisioned and put together by prop makers, costumers and the director, these books are right up your alley. This one has so many drawings and shows different conceptions of each of the dwarves, costumes and fighting equipment. The first 90 plus pages are all about the dwarves. The subsequent pages show details in the design of costumes and armory from Bilbo Baggins, the elves, the Goblin King and the trolls.The front of the book has a fold out of Thorin’s map, and a fold out of Biblo’s contact in the back as added bonuses.I love the addition of the notes of the designers on how and why different design were chosen. It’s nice to see inside the heads of all of these talented people.The only thing I do miss from this book are the thoughts and input from the actors about the process, what they thought about what was finally chosen and if they had any say so in their characters. This was included in the final book about the last movie and I greatly enjoyed reading about their thoughts and input. Still this is a fantastic book and if you love to look at designs and how costumers and prop designers work this book is for you.

I have several art books from movies I've enjoyed because they always give such a great behind the scenes look at a movie, from concept to final product. The Hobbit Art and Design book has really stood out as a fantastic source of extra information about the movie as well as the amazing design that went into making all of the characters, backdrops, and props. As I was reading it, I kept coming across more and more interesting information and little hidden gems I never would have noticed in the movie. It's incredible to see how much went into the making of each character and how their final designs came to life. The art is fantastic, the wealth of extra information (such as a deleted scene that apparantly revolved around a very young Bilbo meeting Gandalf when he was a child) is truly interesting, and the insights onto the sets and props used just make the movie experience all the richer. Somehow knowing that each dwarf is carrying specially created sewing kits which we may never even see just helps to make the characters more deeply believable. If you want to know more about the making of The Hobbit, love the art of the movie, or know someone who is a Tolkien fan, I highly recommend this book.

Can’t find this new, so decided to give used a try-this book is in perfect shape!!! Nothing at all used about it. Extremely happy with this purchase!

I bought this book as a Christmas gift for my brother, who has been a Lord of the Rings fan since the books were first published. I didn't get a chance to read all of the book - didn't want it to look used when he got it! But, at the same time, I wanted to see what it was like. It is beautifully illustrated,and the book itself is very high quality. the covers are think and textured, and it is a nice size. I read the introduction, and some of the text. I want to buy the book for myself eventually. This is a book describing, with words and illustrations, the many details that went into the making of the movie "The Hobit:An Unexpected Journey". It is fascinating to learn to what extreme lengths Peter Jackson and his crew went to make the ultimate film resemble his vision. Anyone interested in the making of a film of this scope and precision would be bound to love this volume.