The Art of Avatar

As we count down the days until we can visit Pandora, I thought I would go ahead and start the buying recommendations for those last minute Christmas shoppers.

A thing I always loved was those Art of books for films, which started with The Art of Star Wars. So it's no surprise that one of the first things in the Avatar marketing blitz I would get would be this book which shows the various artwork done for the film to help James Cameron shape his vision.

Like most of these books you won't find out much about the film's plot, but it does show some interesting details and influences from previous military hardware to futuristic ideas. There is some interesting early sketches by Cameron himself, full blown and quite beautiful drawings of Pandora and its inhabitants and the creatures-the Banshee looks cool. (Also of interest is the fact that two of the artists Cameron hired-Wayne Barlowe and Ryan Church-are also working on John Carter of Mars.)

Let's just hope the final film matches the imagery shown here. For those interested-http://www.amazon.com/Art-Avatar-James-Camerons-Adventure/dp/0810982862