The Art Of Aardman

See the iconic, energetic art of Aardman Animations like never before! The Art of Aardman takes readers on an unforgettable, behind-the-scenes journey through the studio's archives. This collection features original character sketches and never-before-seen concept art, offering a unique look inside the studio that created Chicken Run, Morph, and, of course, Wallace & Gromit. Kicking things off with forewords from founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton, this celebration of all-things Aardman is a must-have for all animation fans.

The Aardman Studio in Bristol is one of the biggest successes in the new wave of British animation. This book sets Aardman's achievements and the history of the studio within the context of the tradition of 3-D animation. The studio's initial success with Morph was followed with an Oscar for Creature Comforts and nominations for Adam and A Grand Day Out. Nick Park at Aardman has received two Oscars for his Wallace and Gromit stories, The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave.

The creators of Chicken Run and the Wallace & Gromit series share the inside story of their Oscar award-winning animation company. Aardman Animations was founded in 1972 by Peter Lord and David Sproxton. Joined by animator Nick Park in 1985, Aardman pioneered a quirky, lovable style of stop-motion animation and brought to life a string of unforgettable movies and television shows, including the highest-grossing stop-animated film of all time, Chicken Run. With A Grand Success!, Lord, Sproxton, and Park tell the 45-year history of Aardman. From their first short films, made on a lark on their kitchen table, to advertisements and music videos, A Grand Success! recounts the adventures and challenges of developing their own unique style, growing their business, working with famous actors, and conquering Hollywood, all while animating at 24 painstaking moves per second.

With concept art, character models, set designs, stills, plus interviews with all the leading talent and an introduction by Nick Park, this is an illustrated guide to the movie "Curse of the Were-rabbit," produced by Multi-Oscar winning Aardman Animation. This book discovers the film's behind-the-scenes secrets.

The Bristol-based animation company Aardman is best known for its most famous creations Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. But despite the quintessentially British aesthetic and tone of its movies, this very British studio continues to enjoy international box office success with movies such as Shaun the Sheep Movie, Flushed Away and Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Aardman has always been closely linked with one of its key animators, Nick Park, and its stop motion, Plasticine-modelled family films, but it has more recently begun to experiment with modern digital filmmaking effects that either emulate 'Claymation' methods or form a hybrid animation style. This unique volume brings together leading film and animation scholars with children's media/animation professionals to explore the production practices behind Aardman's creativity, its history from its early shorts to contemporary hits, how its films fit within traditions of British animation, social realism and fantasy cinema, the key personalities who have formed its ethos, its representations of 'British-ness' on screen and the implications of traditional animation methods in a digital era.

For over 40 years, Aardman has entertained and charmed the world, creating memorable stories and timeless animated characters that have gone on to become household names – including Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Morph. But how did two teenagers experimenting with animation on an old kitchen table go on to create a world-class studio that conquered Hollywood? This is an intimate, revealing and funny behind-the-scenes story of Aardman, told in their own words by co-founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton and featuring Nick Park. The colourful account follows Peter and David’s extraordinary journey from their humble beginnings as penniless students, teaching themselves the craft of animation, and recounts the key moments that defined their careers and shaped Aardman into the British success story it is today. THIS STORY INCLUDES: KEY MOMENTS THAT SHAPED AARDMAN – their first professional commissions, developing iconic TV commercials, creating the most-played music video of all time and delivering a pitch to Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg. HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR – What’s it like to work with big stars like Mel Gibson, Hugh Grant and Eddie Redmayne, and what goes on behind the scenes at the Oscars®? HIGHS AND LOWS – Winning awards and recognition worldwide for their work, and dealing with the heartbreak of shutting down a production. INSIGHTS into how two men who freely admit they are not at all business-minded managed to build a multi-million pound business. CONTRIBUTIONS from Eddie Redmayne, Timothy Spall, Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Grant. Foreword by Matt Groening.

This instructional book is written in a simple and accessible style for experienced animators and novices alike. Its wonderful illustrations give a clear and inspiring view of the techniques of puppet animation.

Finally, the answer to the incredible question asked by every child: "So how does Santa deliver billions of presents to every corner of the planet in just one night?" According to Arthur Christmas, it takes millions of elves, an ultra-high-tech Mission Control, the S-1, a huge, mile-wide, state-of-the-art sleighship, three generations of working Santas, a family in a state of comic dysfunction, and Arthur, an unlikely hero on an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning dawns. The voice cast includes James McAvoy as Arthur, Hugh Laurie as Steve, Bill Nighy as Grandsanta, Jim Broadbent as Santa, Imelda Staunton as Mrs. Santa, and Ashley Jensen as Bryony. This lavishly illustrated moviebook, The Art & Making of Arthur Christmas, offers more than 300 pieces of fantastic art culled from the archives of Aardman and Sony Pictures Animation, featuring drawings, paintings, concept art, background art, color keys, animation wire frames, and storyboards. The reader will enjoy fascinating insights from director/writer Sarah Smith, co-writer Pete Baynham, Sony Pictures Digital Productions President Bob Osher, Co-Founder of Aardman and Producer Peter Lord, as well as from the producers, animators, artists, designers, Visual F/X and CG supervisors, and other talented filmmakers who brought this hilarious movie vividly to life. This official tie-in to Arthur Christmas, the first film collaboration between the wildly successful Sony Pictures Animation (The Smurfs, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) and Britain's deliciously wacky Aardman Animations (Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run), celebrates everything we love about the holiday season and is perfect for anyone interested in movies, animation, or the simple joy of Christmas.