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The Art of Up
This beautifully illustrated volume showcaeses the wide-ranging concept art that inspired the filmmakers, including character designs, storyboards, and full-color pastels, and tells the story of their own adventures in discovering the world of Up. The filmmakers share everything from the challenges of animating Carl's boxy physique to the inspirations they found during their expedition to the overworldly tepuis of Venezuela. Written by veteran animation writer Tim Hauser, The Art of Up includes interviews with the director, artists, and designers, who discuss the challenges and rewards of producing a 3D film that breaks the mold of classic animation to tell the story of a most unlikely hero.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published May 27, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
September 22, 2024
Una de las mejores y más maduras películas de Pixar; fue maravilloso leer sobre su arte.
December 6, 2012
(More pictures at parkablogs.com)
If you're still wondering about the real story of Pixar's Up, this book provides very good clues (or spoilers). I'll just say it's about Carl, the old man, going on a journey in search for meaning to his life. The directive from the top was to make Up "the studio's most emotive film to date".
Tim Hauser has provided a good writeup into design style and production process of the movie. There's talk on the story arc, themes, the characters and a bit on the artistic side of production, like visiting a jungle for the research. The Pixar story team provided lots of quotes giving great insight into the story process. On the technical side to animating, nothing much is mentioned.
The challenge for this movie is aimed at simplicity. The character designs are based on simple shapes like squares (Carl), ovals (Russell, balloons), bullets (dogs), etc. I've the impression there are less sets and characters compared to other Pixar movies. There seem to be only the city, the sky (flying objects) and the jungle (big). You can see the focus is going to be on the characters.
The art included are character designs, storyboards, color scripts and few environmental paintings. Descriptions for the illustrations come in the form of quotes. There are lots of character sketches for the main characters, Carl, Russell and the house. Readers looking for the plot will find that in Lou Romano's colour scripts. It seems that there's a new (to me) character designer, Daniel López Muñoz, doing plenty of character sketches.
What you're not going to see are film stills, background paintings and pastels. No idea why but the number of background paintings always pales in comparison to non-Pixar art books. And there's only one pastel painting from Dominque Louis. I miss the pastel paintings included in earlier movie art books.
This book is really more for Pixar fans.
PS.
"Hey this doesn't look like one of Pixar's better art book is it?", a colleague remarks to me. Another goes "Not the kind of style I like". Well, I guess it's not for everyone but here are the pictures you can see for yourself. =)
October 12, 2020
Un libro perfecto para entender el proceso de hacer una película de animación. Me interesó especialmente el concepto de "guión de color" y conocer cómo decidieron que cambiaran las formas de los decorados a lo largo de la película.
January 9, 2017
The Art of Up is the best film art book I’ve ever read. Too often, these books show a finished work without showing a process. I understand the reason for this, but I’m interested in the process. I want to see the rejected ideas and rough sketches that become the story. Pixar’s team puts all that out in the open with this book.
Not only are there early sketches and process of characters like Carl, Ellie, and Russell, but there are beautiful pastel color roughs that were clearly highly influential on the finished product. Pete Docter (the director of Up) and others at Pixar also talk candidly about production complications when it came time to turn the drawings into 3D models. For example, in a typical 3D set, you can cheat a little and have a bookshelf be a flat texture instead of individualized books; not so in Up. The house flies and crashes in the air, so the books have to fall off shelves — so they have to be actual book models. The pictures on the wall have to actually have an image behind them because they swing, but more than that they have to have a DIFFERENT texture — the faded look of wallpaper that’s lived forty years behind a picture frame.
Beyond these fascinating details and the beautiful art, the care and the ethos of Pixar shines through. Take these two quotes from Pete Docter: “For me, it was a lot easier to draw someone than talk with them.”; “But if we have friends, a family, that’s what life is all about. A sense of appreciation.”
Other quotes I liked:
- “Fantasy, if it’s really convincing, can’t become dated for the simple reason that it represents a flight into a dimension that lies beyond the reach of time.” - Walt Disney
- Sadly, though, our dreams have a way of eluding our grasp, as adulthood, marriage, work, and the other realities of life intervene.
Not only are there early sketches and process of characters like Carl, Ellie, and Russell, but there are beautiful pastel color roughs that were clearly highly influential on the finished product. Pete Docter (the director of Up) and others at Pixar also talk candidly about production complications when it came time to turn the drawings into 3D models. For example, in a typical 3D set, you can cheat a little and have a bookshelf be a flat texture instead of individualized books; not so in Up. The house flies and crashes in the air, so the books have to fall off shelves — so they have to be actual book models. The pictures on the wall have to actually have an image behind them because they swing, but more than that they have to have a DIFFERENT texture — the faded look of wallpaper that’s lived forty years behind a picture frame.
Beyond these fascinating details and the beautiful art, the care and the ethos of Pixar shines through. Take these two quotes from Pete Docter: “For me, it was a lot easier to draw someone than talk with them.”; “But if we have friends, a family, that’s what life is all about. A sense of appreciation.”
Other quotes I liked:
- “Fantasy, if it’s really convincing, can’t become dated for the simple reason that it represents a flight into a dimension that lies beyond the reach of time.” - Walt Disney
- Sadly, though, our dreams have a way of eluding our grasp, as adulthood, marriage, work, and the other realities of life intervene.
September 8, 2016
3.5 stars.
Less beautiful art pieces to look at than I'd like, and most of what was there was digital*, but all the text was interesting to read.
I loved the bit about Elie Docter; that was really neat and a cool bit of trivia.
*Which is fine, a lot of the Tangled art was digital, except that the Tangled art was bloody gorgeous. This particular brand of digital art was ever so slightly lacking.
Less beautiful art pieces to look at than I'd like, and most of what was there was digital*, but all the text was interesting to read.
I loved the bit about Elie Docter; that was really neat and a cool bit of trivia.
*Which is fine, a lot of the Tangled art was digital, except that the Tangled art was bloody gorgeous. This particular brand of digital art was ever so slightly lacking.
November 21, 2021
Terminado ya hace unos días...
Se nota que este libro fue lanzado hace ya unos años porque al igual que "El arte de Tiana y el Sapo" contiene páginas con mucho texto y transmitiendo la idea de producción y creación para pasar posteriormente a mostras muchas imágenes y bocetos de todo el proceso.
Es por ello que quizás se ha llevado una estrella de menos. Por lo demás, es interesantísimo y súper recomendable: desde la ambientación a la realización de todos y cada uno de los personajes, así como el imaginario de todo ello.
Se nota que este libro fue lanzado hace ya unos años porque al igual que "El arte de Tiana y el Sapo" contiene páginas con mucho texto y transmitiendo la idea de producción y creación para pasar posteriormente a mostras muchas imágenes y bocetos de todo el proceso.
Es por ello que quizás se ha llevado una estrella de menos. Por lo demás, es interesantísimo y súper recomendable: desde la ambientación a la realización de todos y cada uno de los personajes, así como el imaginario de todo ello.
March 26, 2020
Un libro maravilloso con bocetos, historias, origen e ideas de la creación de la película Up.
Estoy enamorada de esta colección de libros porque adoro el arte y aquí nos enseñan varias fases de las ideas originales y cómo evolucionan hasta llegar a formar la película que conocemos.
Estoy enamorada de esta colección de libros porque adoro el arte y aquí nos enseñan varias fases de las ideas originales y cómo evolucionan hasta llegar a formar la película que conocemos.
January 2, 2025
can you guys believe i’ve only seen up one time? this is making me wanna watch it for a second time lol
September 12, 2020
580 - 2020
March 14, 2017
Released in May 2009, Up was the first animated 3D film to open the Cannes Film Festival.
Filled with beautifully vibrant colours and sweet, emotional melodies, the film won the award for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score at the 82nd Academy awards in 2010 and was a financial success.
Up follows senior citizen Carl Fredricksen as he pursues his dream of living atop a cliff overlooking Paradise Falls, accompanied by young wilderness explorer Russell.
Its matching art book includes a foreword by Director Pete Docter, who speaks of his childhood and motivations for becoming an animator. Many of his early sketches and character designs for the film are scattered throughout The Art of Up, alongside a look into his trip to the Guyana highlands.
Tim Hauser’s book details the team of artists’ time in South America and of how they used cameras, paints and pens to record the nature of the land. Photographs from the trip tell their story; their exploration of mountains and planes that were completely alien to them.
The Art of Up gives an insight into the difficulties in making the CGI landscape believable and the experiments in capturing the textures of the Venezuelan plants and rocks. It demonstrates colour and lighting studies the artists conducted alongside concept sketches, storyboards and digital and traditional paintings.
The book is overflowing with incredibly beautiful and well thought out works of art from the earliest to the latest stages of making Up. Page after page is covered in vibrant reds, purples and greens. The immense amount of work that went into the film is obvious from this edition of the Art of series and it is only fitting that such a stunning and memorable film should be paired with an equally delightful book.
Filled with beautifully vibrant colours and sweet, emotional melodies, the film won the award for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score at the 82nd Academy awards in 2010 and was a financial success.
Up follows senior citizen Carl Fredricksen as he pursues his dream of living atop a cliff overlooking Paradise Falls, accompanied by young wilderness explorer Russell.
Its matching art book includes a foreword by Director Pete Docter, who speaks of his childhood and motivations for becoming an animator. Many of his early sketches and character designs for the film are scattered throughout The Art of Up, alongside a look into his trip to the Guyana highlands.
Tim Hauser’s book details the team of artists’ time in South America and of how they used cameras, paints and pens to record the nature of the land. Photographs from the trip tell their story; their exploration of mountains and planes that were completely alien to them.
The Art of Up gives an insight into the difficulties in making the CGI landscape believable and the experiments in capturing the textures of the Venezuelan plants and rocks. It demonstrates colour and lighting studies the artists conducted alongside concept sketches, storyboards and digital and traditional paintings.
The book is overflowing with incredibly beautiful and well thought out works of art from the earliest to the latest stages of making Up. Page after page is covered in vibrant reds, purples and greens. The immense amount of work that went into the film is obvious from this edition of the Art of series and it is only fitting that such a stunning and memorable film should be paired with an equally delightful book.
March 14, 2012
I love pixar art books. The way that they tell the story of how their story/film was made is wonderful. But I think the Art of Up may be the best one i've read yet. There was the right balance of information about the creation of the story, from the research to the people involved, and art work. There was no lack of art work, there aren't many screen shots, it's mainly character/concept design. But the art work that has been selected to go into the book is BEAUTIFUL and really conveys the style that the film was done in. I just LOVED it. I have really enjoyed reading about the experience these artist's had while making this film. You forget the kind of effort needed in the details to make it seamless. Just lovely really.
June 12, 2018
I love the movie Up and I like this book.
It had a lot of gems in the writing. However, I wanted more. It had a lot of good things from it but the gems were a bit of one line punch. I also felt this way about the information. However, my expectations were probably not in line with what is expected of an Art of book. I was looking for how to information and perhaps Art of books aren't meant to be that.
My rating is just my rating and has a lot to do with what I wanted from the book rather than taking the book as is. I just admired the art of Up so much that I wanted really grounded how tos. I would find a line or information but as soon as I want an elaboration, I find that that was all it was. There was one line about how black and white was used for impending doom scenes and colour gets introduced more in Ellie and Russell scenes. I wanted more but that was all that was. The more I wanted was information on colour but I recognize this isn't a how to book. It would be brilliant though to have a how to information book grounded on a beloved film.
The book was much more about revealing the little things you may not have known. It has a lot of anecdotes about the production side such as their trips and how the plants are fantastical and things like there being no shorthand in the environment because they had to be animated, such as the bookshelves and rugs.
The book has information on what informed the story and the approach they took to translate their ideas in visual form. The big thing about the book is the simple shapes and how their form is informed by the personalities. Carl is square and the exuberant characters are more circular or how Muntz is an exclamation point.
There are a lot of tidbits about producing the movie. In addition to what I've already mentioned above, they also have information on such things as the length of Carl's arms and the problems of a proportioned hand not being able to reach his head. Carl is three heads high.
There are a lot of pictures. There are concept artworks. Patrick McDonnell's illustration are great.
I think the information on story also had a big chunk of the book. The creators wanted an emotionally charged story. Basically, the movie had a lot of heart poured into it because of personal experiences. One of the line stuck out to me, which was the artists were getting older and naturally, they would make things that they had personal experience in.
I also have the Art of Brave but I don't think I'll be reading that knowing that Art of books aren't really what I thought they are. As gorgeous as Brave looked, I don't think its depth, storywise, even came close to Up's story.
It had a lot of gems in the writing. However, I wanted more. It had a lot of good things from it but the gems were a bit of one line punch. I also felt this way about the information. However, my expectations were probably not in line with what is expected of an Art of book. I was looking for how to information and perhaps Art of books aren't meant to be that.
My rating is just my rating and has a lot to do with what I wanted from the book rather than taking the book as is. I just admired the art of Up so much that I wanted really grounded how tos. I would find a line or information but as soon as I want an elaboration, I find that that was all it was. There was one line about how black and white was used for impending doom scenes and colour gets introduced more in Ellie and Russell scenes. I wanted more but that was all that was. The more I wanted was information on colour but I recognize this isn't a how to book. It would be brilliant though to have a how to information book grounded on a beloved film.
The book was much more about revealing the little things you may not have known. It has a lot of anecdotes about the production side such as their trips and how the plants are fantastical and things like there being no shorthand in the environment because they had to be animated, such as the bookshelves and rugs.
The book has information on what informed the story and the approach they took to translate their ideas in visual form. The big thing about the book is the simple shapes and how their form is informed by the personalities. Carl is square and the exuberant characters are more circular or how Muntz is an exclamation point.
There are a lot of tidbits about producing the movie. In addition to what I've already mentioned above, they also have information on such things as the length of Carl's arms and the problems of a proportioned hand not being able to reach his head. Carl is three heads high.
There are a lot of pictures. There are concept artworks. Patrick McDonnell's illustration are great.
I think the information on story also had a big chunk of the book. The creators wanted an emotionally charged story. Basically, the movie had a lot of heart poured into it because of personal experiences. One of the line stuck out to me, which was the artists were getting older and naturally, they would make things that they had personal experience in.
I also have the Art of Brave but I don't think I'll be reading that knowing that Art of books aren't really what I thought they are. As gorgeous as Brave looked, I don't think its depth, storywise, even came close to Up's story.
March 2, 2019
Up lukeutuu parhaisiin koskaan tehtyihin animaatioelokuviin. Harva elokuva pystyy käsittelemään niin realistisesti ja koskettavasti tunteita.
Elokuvan taidekirja syventyy luovaan prosessiin, joka synnytti tämän nerokkaan elokuvan. Mukana on kaunista taidetta ja mielenkiintoisia ajatuksia. Hahmot esimerkiksi perustuivat yksinkertaisiin perusmuotoihin ja sitä kautta viestivät jo hahmon luonteesta. Päähahmo on esimerkiksi "neliö", joka on perusmuodoista vakain ja vähiten liikkeessä. Myös ympäristöjen tutkimiseen elokuvantekijät ovat käyttäneet huolella aikaa. Prosessiin ovat kuuluneet esimerkiksi reissut vanhojen ihmisten koteihin ja matka Etelä-Amerikkaan. Tutkimustyö näkyy elokuvan ilmeessä. Paikat ovat uskottavia, olematta kuitenkaan liian realistisia.
Kirja kertoi myös lyhyesti, millaisia teemoja elokuvassa haluttiin käsitellä. Näihin lukeutuvat rakkaus, menneisyyden painotaakka, kuolema, unelmat ja eteenpäin kulkeminen. Olisin halunnut lukea tästä puolesta enemmän, siksi vain kolme tähteä. Suosittelen tästä huolimatta kirjaa elokuvan faneille. Kyllä tämä kirja tarjoaa enemmän tietoa kuin blu-ray-levyn extrat.
Elokuvan taidekirja syventyy luovaan prosessiin, joka synnytti tämän nerokkaan elokuvan. Mukana on kaunista taidetta ja mielenkiintoisia ajatuksia. Hahmot esimerkiksi perustuivat yksinkertaisiin perusmuotoihin ja sitä kautta viestivät jo hahmon luonteesta. Päähahmo on esimerkiksi "neliö", joka on perusmuodoista vakain ja vähiten liikkeessä. Myös ympäristöjen tutkimiseen elokuvantekijät ovat käyttäneet huolella aikaa. Prosessiin ovat kuuluneet esimerkiksi reissut vanhojen ihmisten koteihin ja matka Etelä-Amerikkaan. Tutkimustyö näkyy elokuvan ilmeessä. Paikat ovat uskottavia, olematta kuitenkaan liian realistisia.
Kirja kertoi myös lyhyesti, millaisia teemoja elokuvassa haluttiin käsitellä. Näihin lukeutuvat rakkaus, menneisyyden painotaakka, kuolema, unelmat ja eteenpäin kulkeminen. Olisin halunnut lukea tästä puolesta enemmän, siksi vain kolme tähteä. Suosittelen tästä huolimatta kirjaa elokuvan faneille. Kyllä tämä kirja tarjoaa enemmän tietoa kuin blu-ray-levyn extrat.
June 20, 2018
Another excellent addition to the Disney/Pixar Art of collection. This volume goes in depth a bit more on the production of the movie which is always welcome but it never gets too heady or technical so it keeps these books interesting for younger readers.
May 31, 2020
The book is very interesting but I wish it would talk more about the process of the animation, not so focused on the process of simplfying things. The whole art of Up is lovely and the concept art is so nice and diferent from the movies. I liked it.
June 9, 2020
Me encanta. Es el decimo que tengo de la colección y como todos me ha parecido precioso y fascinante. Los dibujos, lo que explican de las peliculas. Un libro que a cualquier amante de Disney le gustará tener
July 28, 2022
Up is my favourite Pixar movie so I feel like a monster for not loving this artbook, but I expected more beautiful art than I got. Quite a lot of the concept art was rough, which is perhaps useful to artists, but it wasn't what I was looking for.
November 10, 2025
"An animated family film may seem an odd vehicle for allegories of death, acceptance, and healing. But storytellers have always used fantasy archetypes - witches, dragons, and talking beasts - to symbolize the challenges of life that we must overcome at any age."
June 28, 2021
Quick read. I really liked the astounding story line.
January 17, 2020
This film is one of my absolute favorites and this book was no let down either. Not only was it coupled with the amazing art in all its stages that created the animated picture, it also had such detailed stories and commentary that gave life to the behind the scenes process.
A few gems:
Ellie’s adventure book was created in real life by one of the artist’s daughters (also named Elie!) and they just rendered it for the film with minor alterations. They kept original art work and even her handwriting to really give it a childlike feel!
A team of artists went to the real life Angel Falls that inspired much of the films setting to collect samples and take photos of the real life topography for use in the studio! They also studied flightless birds extensively when creating a Kevin and even had two ostriches live on studio grounds for a short time while they were trying to capture their mannerisms.
Overall just such a cool read and well worth the time. Brb going to watch the movie now.
A few gems:
Ellie’s adventure book was created in real life by one of the artist’s daughters (also named Elie!) and they just rendered it for the film with minor alterations. They kept original art work and even her handwriting to really give it a childlike feel!
A team of artists went to the real life Angel Falls that inspired much of the films setting to collect samples and take photos of the real life topography for use in the studio! They also studied flightless birds extensively when creating a Kevin and even had two ostriches live on studio grounds for a short time while they were trying to capture their mannerisms.
Overall just such a cool read and well worth the time. Brb going to watch the movie now.
May 6, 2013
Review Taken From The Pewter Wolf
The Art of Up is exactly what it says on the cover. With a foreword from the director, Pete Docter, the author does short write-ups per the few chapters that this book have. Which means most of this book is art and design of the movie and, after reading The Art of Finding Nemo, it was very interesting to read the difference of how these movies were created (although I know most people won't buy both books and will only buy or read one of them). And yes, I drooled over the art and the sketches that started and known what it was turned into. And I understood why the characters were drawn the shapes they were...!
I loved it. I did enjoy reading this and it made me want to watch the film again (this was the same after I read Finding Nemo and I do have plans to watch them soon...)
So, if you are a Pixar fan or a fan of the movie, then you might want to give this a look...
The Art of Up is exactly what it says on the cover. With a foreword from the director, Pete Docter, the author does short write-ups per the few chapters that this book have. Which means most of this book is art and design of the movie and, after reading The Art of Finding Nemo, it was very interesting to read the difference of how these movies were created (although I know most people won't buy both books and will only buy or read one of them). And yes, I drooled over the art and the sketches that started and known what it was turned into. And I understood why the characters were drawn the shapes they were...!
I loved it. I did enjoy reading this and it made me want to watch the film again (this was the same after I read Finding Nemo and I do have plans to watch them soon...)
So, if you are a Pixar fan or a fan of the movie, then you might want to give this a look...
September 18, 2019
This coffee table book is primarily an art book, containing lots of developmental artwork for the film, like story board drawings, character design sketches, and mood pieces. From these pictures it becomes clear that artists Daniel López Muñoz and Lou Romano had a particularly large influence on the look and feel of the film, but I love Patrick McDonnell's cute little sketches the most.
The scarce text is insightful: it reveals the influences of Hayao Miyazaki, cartoon modern and stop-motion films on the film's design, and describes the real landscapes of the rather alien-looking South American Tepui region, which formed the inspiration for the setting of Carl's adventures. The book ends with the death of Joe Ranft in 2005 and how this affected the film makers.
The scarce text is insightful: it reveals the influences of Hayao Miyazaki, cartoon modern and stop-motion films on the film's design, and describes the real landscapes of the rather alien-looking South American Tepui region, which formed the inspiration for the setting of Carl's adventures. The book ends with the death of Joe Ranft in 2005 and how this affected the film makers.
March 20, 2024
Penso che Up sia uno dei migliori film della Pixar, anche se ammetto che, salvo qualche eccezione, è sempre difficile scegliere.
Questo libro racconta il retroscena del film, spiegando come sono nate la forma e la personalità dei personaggi e di alcuni elementi principali, come la casa di Carl, o il dirigibile di Muntz.
Quando lo finisci, ne vorresti di più.
Questo libro racconta il retroscena del film, spiegando come sono nate la forma e la personalità dei personaggi e di alcuni elementi principali, come la casa di Carl, o il dirigibile di Muntz.
Quando lo finisci, ne vorresti di più.
August 28, 2010
A lot of great concept artwork, some storyboards, and color schemes. There are some interesting short pieces on how they developed the ideas and visual identity. Many of the artworks are by Daniel Lopez Munoz, so much so it's almost his book. I would have liked at least some computer generated artwork seeing that this is a book for the movie. There are close to no in-movie artwork or movie stills, yet there are a few computer models such as the house.
August 16, 2015
I love these "art of" books so much, theyre my pride and they have a special place on my bookshelf. Its so inspirational to look at the art and read how the movie came to be, would definitely recommend buying this if you're a fan of the movie or animation in general <3
January 30, 2017
What a neat artbook!
I wish I'd purchased the physical copy. I was happy to learn the stories behind bits of a film that I love so much. I could hear the soundtrack in my head the whole time. Buy it! Now!
I wish I'd purchased the physical copy. I was happy to learn the stories behind bits of a film that I love so much. I could hear the soundtrack in my head the whole time. Buy it! Now!
June 23, 2018
This is easily up there (no pun intended) with the Art of Rise of the Guardians in terms of the amount of time, effort, and attention to detail the film was given throughout the process. It's a great book that showcases how much love was put into the film.
February 2, 2021
The movie itself is powerfully odd and heartfelt, but the art book goes super deep and personal with how Pixar conceptualized and created it. A very inspiring read with loads of colorful art to observe.
June 5, 2009
So far, the best of the "making of" books. Not in a small part to the work of Daniel Lopez Munoz. There's a wonderful look back at Joe Ranft at the end of the book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews