Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Layout & Background Hardcover – 24 Nov. 2011

One of my favorite books in my book shelf! Beautiful and inspiring collection of background artwork from Disney films with big images. Must for Disney fans, recommended for illustrators and animation artists!

Full of gorgeous disney backgrounds in different art styles with good quality paper, an overall good purchase for disney fans and graphic artists.

A great resource for anyone interested in studying the art and process of animation layout.

Again a present for our grandson who is an Animator and was a book requested by him and well received.

Excellent set of 4 Walt Disney Animation books, great graphics & well organised.

Absolutely stunning! beautiful book and very helpful

Finally we arrive at one of the most scrutinising aspects of animation, and that is of course achieving the background artwork and layout drawings. As a brief recap, the two components help different areas of the studio; background paintings are the environments to which 'cels' are placed under, whilst layout drawings provide animators a guide to how their characters should move around a particular scene. The two work hand-in-hand, so combining them in one book was a good move.Just like previous editions of The Archive Series, we have the same high quality heavy weight pages. The detail present on this paper is extraordinary for printed media, and is really the only way to appreciate the subject without resorting to a HD TV! This probably taps in to why the series of books have so far cost considerably more than other books, because the presentation is absolutely spot on. The same high quality front and back cover is also here and does a good job protecting the product, although still adds to the weight, and is prone to marks. I'm very surprised Disney don't protect these books with a cellophane wrapping, as these will surely make presents for some people.Again, like the previous books, we have a collection of 'Silly Symphonies' cartoons and full length feature films for which artwork can be taken from the Walt Disney archives. Unlike the other members of The Archive Series however, I feel that 'Layout & Background' fails to live up its potential on several occasions, for many of the film scenes which the artwork has been taken from have, largely, already been covered in the previous books. It was my belief that each time a book was released, Disney would use the opportunity to explore different areas of each film/cartoon from the chronology, but this isn't always the case. I use 'Fantasia' (1940) as my primary example - a film with some of the most intriguing and clever artwork for any Disney film, and yet despite its 2-hour runtime, 'Layout & Background' yet again covers a couple of pages from the Night on Bald Mountain segment. What about the beautiful paintings from The Sorcerers Apprentice, or for one of only few Disney films to cover so, the abstract artwork that was produced for the Toccata and Fugue segment?'Fantasia' is of course only one example, and it may be apparent that subjectivity is a part of choice too, but Disney should have really capitalised on some of their most popular and important films.In addition, I would also question the choice of films towards the end of book. Although layouts and backgrounds play a vital role in many forms of animation, the inclusion of some films that use predominantly CGI for environments (and dynamic ones - not just 'flat' images) suggested me wasted space since the art form and execution is completely different to the traditional techniques used previously. Some may see this as a harsh comment, but it has nothing to do with the quality of the films themselves - simply their relevance here.Conversely we do have some variation and advantages from this book - 'Sleeping Beauty' (1959) being a primary example, because we can now explore how many of the dynamic tracking shots were created, and how the super wide aspect ratio of 2:55.1 was utilised. The result is a collection of stunning artwork that gives a great sense of how the artist's mind thinks beyond simply colour and form, and into territories beyond art as we know it. 'Sleeping Beauty' is such a fine example because the quality of the print within this book really highlights the ridiculous amount of detail present. It pains me to think how much time must have been spent painting such pieces of work when they were only gifted seconds or minutes on the screen.For those wanting to achieve a greater idea how a layout and backgrounds role within animation, then this book really does allow the images to speak a thousand words, which is of course the beauty - no text or captions are required. How does it hold up against the previous editions? I personally believe 'Animation' still connects on a much greater level with the audience for the importance of techniques such as posing and defining personality, whereas 'Layout & Background' is for a more technical flavour of appreciation. Because of this, I would suggest that the reader either investigates other products from 'The Archive Series' first, as layouts and backgrounds are somewhat less exciting in the books 'entirety', since the styles of artwork changed so much.In short however, this is another strong addition that lives up to the same high standards as its predecessors.

Great book to add to the collection

Ya había hojeado previamente este libro en una librería en México y el precio era muy elevado, lo busque en amazon y me esperé a pedirlo por este medio.Excelente precio por un libro de tanta calidad, tanto si eres fan de estas películas, o alguien que disfruta del arte, este libro es precioso por donde lo veas. El libro es de un tamaño considerable y la mayoría de las impresiones cubren gran parte de cada página así que puedes ver con todo detalle las hermosas piezas que se han elaborado a lo largo de la historia de la empresa y el nivel de compromiso para elaborar escenarios que no solo son muy bellos, aportan a la historia y a su estilo y se vuelven un nuevo personaje en cada filme.Tal vez mi unico problema es que las piezas no vienen acompañadas de fecha técnica, pues muchas de las piezas fueron pintadas a mano y me causa curiosidad quien fue el autor y en que técnica se elaboró, fuera de esto, el libro es excelente.

Todo cuidado al detalle, una edición de calidad y un contenido extraordinario.

Etant possesseur du volume design de la même série, je dois avouer que le volume layout and background le surpasse en tous points, chaque image est une pure oeuvre d'art que l'on peut contempler des heures durant. Petit bémol concernant la livraison : attention à prendre soins des livres que vous expediez, le mien est arrivé avec un coin abîmé. Je passe l'éponge pour cette fois mais sachez qu'au prix de ces livres le cliebt est en droit d'obtenir un produit impeccable. Merci pour les futurs envois.

Ultimo di quattro artbook tematici, prodotti dalla Disney Edition tra il 2008 e il 2011 (Story, Animation, Design e Layout & Background, in ordine di uscita), questo libro concentra l'attenzione sulle location realizzate per i film d'animazione e i vari cortometraggi disneyani dal periodo del muto in B/N ad oggi. Direttamente dagli archivi Disney una meravigliosa e imperdibile carrellata di studi a matita, layout e dipinti che ripercorrono un secolo di storia del cinema d'animazione. Un libro straordinario che consiglio non solo agli amanti della casa di Topolino ma a qualsiasi appassionato dell'arte dei disegni animati.

Primeiro, fiquei realmente surpresa por minha encomenda, que estava prevista chegar na terça-feira, tenha chegado hoje sábado! Fiquei muito feliz!A compra pelo site da Amazon foi rápida e prática, gosto muito do sistema que utilizam.Sobre o livroEstado da capa: Há uma pequena avariação na capa, porém nada que comprometa a beleza do livro. Levemente sujo na lombada em tecido.Interior do livro: Uma página veio com uma pequena avariação , como se uma lâmina tivesse passado entre a espessura da folha e ela tivesse se aberto ao meio. Fiquei um pouco triste com isso, mas não danificou a impressão.Geral: O livro é realmente pesado, não estava esperando por isso! A impressão é ótima, em alguma imagens conseguimos notar até a textura das folhas em que os desenhos foram feitos!É de um conteúdo muito rico para quem gosta de cenários, paisagens, tanto para animadores quanto para artistas de quaisquer outras áreas.Nota-se a variedade de técnicas usadas pelos artistas da Disney para fazerem diversos backgrounds: aquarela, tinta à óleo, grafite...Este livro me ajudará muito em relação à combinação de cores e como simplificar formas. Recomendo para todos os artistas que buscam se aprimorar e agregar conhecimento e à todos os admiradores e fãs da Disney.Dica: Treine muito bem sua percepção e observem, namorem, cada pedacinho dessas páginas! Você não vai se decepcionar! <3