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The Art of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the
Clones
by Mark Cotta Vaz
(DelRey/Ballantine, 224 pages, $19.95, paperback; November 2002.)
"It's John Harris!" I said to myself, as I quickly  flipped
through the pages upon receiving this book for review. "This is going
to be an eye-popping visual feast and a pleasure to review."
Despite my first impressions, the art presented in this book was created
not in fact by John Harris but by a passel of extremely talented young
men and women -- plus George Lucas, who, whatever his talents, doesn't
qualify for the "young" part any more. Thanks to the art and liberal
comments of Ryan Church, Erik Tiemens, Doug Chiang, Dermot Power, Iain
McCraig and a host of others, the reader is taken through all the processes--concept,
layout, design, modelling--that went into producing the movie Star
Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
As a collector of science fiction and fantasy artwork, I was sad to
read in Vaz's text that most of the shot designs were digitally produced.
Yes, I do understand the need for using digital techniques, but the
collector in me yearns for the tangible picture executed in paint on
canvas using brush strokes from the artist's soul.
Technically, the design of the book has small problems. It is very
often hard to relate the pictures to the captions. The layout is a little
frantic in places -- although I can willingly forgive this, imagining
the amount of art that had to be sifted through before the final selections
could be made. And, for a majority of the art that appears, you're not
told the technical details: media and size.
The book also contains the movie's script, by George Lucas and Jonathan
Hales. While fans may enjoy this section, I would have preferred it
be totally eliminated and so that the space could be devoted to what
the title indicates--art.
All in all, go buy the book, put on a bib and enjoy the artistry of
Mr. Lucas's team. Indeed, the book is so lovely that it made me want
to see the movie, and so I did ... which raised a further question:
how come visuals so vibrant and exciting as these result, on screen,
in something that's in general, well, a bit drab and uninspiring? I
guess that's something only George Lucas can answer.
Review by Pamela D Scoville.
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