Behind the Scenes: Book of Life Concept Art and Visual Development

Behind the Scenes: Book of Life Concept Art and Visual Development

Alright, so you wanna know about this “book of life concept art” thing, huh? I’ll tell ya what I know, even though I ain’t no fancy art expert or nothin’. It’s just pictures, ya know? Pictures they made before they made the real movie.

What is this “Concept Art” Anyways?

Well, from what I gather, this “concept art” is like, the drawings they do first. Like, before they start makin’ the movie, they gotta figure out how things gonna look. The people, the places, all that stuff. So, these artists, they draw it all out. Lots and lots of drawin’s. Some are pretty, some are just scribbles, I bet. But it helps the movie people see what they gonna make, ya see?

Behind the Scenes: Book of Life Concept Art and Visual Development

The Book of Life Movie – A Real Pretty Picture Show

Now, this “Book of Life” movie, it’s one of them computer-made picture shows. All colorful and lively. They got this fella, Jorge somethin’-or-other, he directed it. And that Guillermo Del Toro guy, he helped make it too. That Del Toro, he makes some strange stuff, but this “Book of Life” one, it’s real nice to look at. It’s all about that Day of the Dead thing, where they remember the folks who ain’t with us no more.

Jordan Lamarre-Wan – A Picture Makin’ Fella

There’s this fella, Jordan Lamarre-Wan, seems like he did a whole bunch of the picture makin’ for the movie. He’s a “visual development and concept artist” they call him, sounds fancy, huh? He drew all sorts of stuff – the people, the towns, everything. You can find his pictures online, if you know where to look. I ain’t good with that computer stuff, but my grandkids, they can find anything on there.

  • He drew the characters, so they knew what the little people in the movie would look like.
  • He drew the environments, that’s the places, you know, the towns and the magic lands and all.
  • He even drew the props, that’s like the little things they hold, like swords or flowers or whatever.

Why is Concept Art Important?

Well, I reckon it’s important ’cause it helps everyone agree on what the movie gonna look like. Imagine if one fella thought the town should be all bright and sunny, and another fella thought it should be dark and spooky. They’d be arguin’ all day! But with these pictures, everyone can see the same thing. It’s like showin’ everyone the same recipe before you start bakin’ a cake, ya know? Gotta make sure everyone’s on the same page.

Where Can You See This Art?

Like I said, the internet, that’s where the young folks find everything. They say there’s a website for the movie, and you can see some of the pictures there. And that Jordan fella, he put some of his pictures online too. Just gotta search for it, I guess. Ask your grandkids, they’ll know.

Behind the Scenes: Book of Life Concept Art and Visual Development

Movies These Days, All Fancy and Computerized

It ain’t like the old days, ya know? Back then, they just had regular paintin’s and drawin’s. Now they got all this computer stuff. This “Book of Life,” it’s all made with computers. But even with computers, they still gotta start with the pictures. Someone gotta draw it first, so the computer knows what to do.

Reel FX and 20th Century Fox – The Picture Show Makers

These are the companies that made the movie. Reel FX, they do lots of these computer-made picture shows. And 20th Century Fox, well, they been makin’ movies forever, it seems. They gotta hire all sorts of people, ya know? Artists, storytellers, computer whizzes. Making a movie, it’s a lot of work.

Celebrating the Day of the Dead

This movie, it’s all about that Day of the Dead thing. It’s a day to remember the folks who passed on. It ain’t a sad day, not really. It’s more like a celebration. They have parades and music and all sorts of colorful stuff. And this movie, it shows all that real pretty. Makes you think about your own folks who ain’t around no more.

So, that’s about all I know about this “book of life concept art”. It’s just pictures they make before they make the movie. Pretty pictures, though. And it helps them tell a good story. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go make some supper.

Tags: [Book of Life, concept art, Jordan Lamarre-Wan, Reel FX, 20th Century Fox, animation, Day of the Dead, visual development, characters, environments, props, Jorge R. Gutierrez, Guillermo Del Toro, animated film]

Behind the Scenes: Book of Life Concept Art and Visual Development