The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

If I could give this book 6 stars out of 5 I would - I can't quite tell you what a relief it is to finally receive an 'Art of...' book that actually contains the type of pre-production artwork we used to be privy to in the 'Art of...' books of the 90s and 00s.Let me start by saying that not only is the artwork used on the dust-jacket lovely, but the artwork it protects that's printed on the hardcover itself is perhaps one of the most beautiful of any official Star Wars film art book. I won't spoil the surprise of what it actually is, and let you discover it for yourself as I did.The commentary featured in the book is as always, concise and insightful, and the book's contents are arranged into Planetary chapters, which is already a vast improvement on the narrative chapters of the Force Awakens, which resulted in repetition and a constant flipping back and forth to re-find complementary characters and environs.The book is packed(!) with artwork, from concept drawings done with pens and markers that we used to see in the Original and Prequel trilogy "Art of..." books, which showcase the variations and development of main and background characters - from costume, to hairstyles and in one case, even exploring whether or not a character would be human (indicated by the inclusion of the actor's face in the concept, which maybe an indication of a shift in approach due to casting). The joy as a reader/fan of being included in these kinds of pre-production decisions is seeing them play out on the big screen - as I re-called rejected concept designs for some of the main characters were still used for background characters that show up memorably in the film.It's also such a relief to see more precisely rendered digital artwork - as oppose to the loose-brush storyboard-like splash pages of recent years - which includes and is not limited to the architecture, spaceships and the terrain of planets. These are the kind of details we wish we could have freeze-framed while watching the movie, to just sit and stare in awe for a few minutes at the logic and beauty the many artists instilled into these imagined worlds we then believe in. They're scaled into grids in the book, which again is a welcome change to the full-bleed Vaseline-smeared digital sequentials that used to take up in some cases, 10 pages at a time of an 'Art of...' book.There are even maquettes - which is shocking to me in the most positive and childish excitement kind of way - as these are things I've written about desperately missing in reviews for previous Star Wars and Marvel 'Art of...' film books - and all of a sudden every medium and style I've missed has been featured in the best possible way here in the 'Art of Rogue One'.I cannot recommend this book highly enough - it's everything an artist, designer or film fan could want in a book about a film / franchise they love or at the very least, like.I only hope this is the beginning of a shift in the type of content included in the 'Art of...' Star Wars and Marvel film books published in future. If so, they'll be getting a lot more money from me and I'll happily house them, pride of place, next to their exemplary forebears in my library.*Salutes publishing team*

One for the coffee table collection of any Star Wars or Sci-Fi fan, The Art of Rogue One beautifully depicts the artistic talents of many different artists led from the front by Star Wars art legend himself Doug Chiang. Much like last years The Art of The Force Awakens this Rogue One book also provides a stunning insight into the design variations of everything you see and don't see in the final film from Star Destroyer docking stations to Shoretrooper armour, characters and creatures, weapons and vehicle design. Heavy on art content this is a beautiful book that pushes the visual first, great page layouts, good accompanying dialogue and the size of the book is perfect enough that you'll lose yourself in the pages for hours on end.

This book is perfect for art fans of the franchise. Pictures are given space to breathe across the pages and are maximised across spreads and this continues throughout. The book is non-stop and there are so many beautiful pieces, there is plenty to look at and like the old Magic Eye books you have to look closely at the images to see so much detail. Whilst I did not like the film this book gives me a better insight of what they were trying to achieve and the progression to how they got there. This is a must buy for Star Wars fans and art fans.

Following the same format as The Art Of The Force Awakens, this takes the story of Rogue One from the initial concept right up to the start of shooting, featuring commentary from Doug Chiang and Peter Lamont (co-production designers), Matt Allsop (lead concept artist), Gareth Edwards (director) and more. From the original John Knoll pitch (which the film appears to follow in general terms, rather than specific details), the book charts the development of characters, aliens and landscapes, whilst making it clear that everyone worked hard to stay within the Star Wars set universe but to do things themselves at the same time. Ralph McQuarrie, once again, casts a long shadow and it was his initial designs (which was exactly the thought I had when I saw the film) that inspired Vader’s castle on Mustafar and his design prowess can be seen in the films weaponry too. I did like the quote that the whole production embraced, from Edwards, where in terms of design and look the team approached ‘A New Hope’ “how you remember it, not how it was” and that’s clear to see from the imagery. This is a cracking book (I fell in love with it from about page 5 and didn’t want it to end) and it’s has several benefits over the similar Art Of TFA I read this time last year - for a start, Kushins is a better writer than Phil Szostak and doesn’t gush over everyone involved. In the same vein, Doug Chiang and Peter Lamont are much more down-to-earth (none of the pretentious ‘reaching out’ of Rick Carter to annoy me with this one) and their approach to the material is intriguing and exciting. An excellent companion to an excellent film, I would highly recommend this.

Itsa great book from a decent film. Decent pictures and artwork.

A terrific guide in the same format as the 'Force Awakens' art book with good insights into the production and creative processes from those involved. It makes an interesting contrast to last year's book in that Rogue One had much less creative space to manoeuvre than Force Awakens but still managed to create many new and familiar-looking designs. There are a few key elements & scenes missing which makes one wonder about what was included in the re-shoots but nonetheless this is well worth buying if you enjoyed the film or just enjoy seeing the artwork of some of best artists working in this field.

Excelente libro, muchas imágenes (más del 90% son fotos). Se pueden ver las versiones que hubieron del equipo, e incluso los personajes que descartaron. Muy buen libro. 100% recomendado.

i love the rogue one movie. all of the art is detailled and print on a hight quality paper. i recommand the book for every star wars fan!

Maravilloso este libro del arte de Rogue One. Contiene gran cantidad de bocetos y diseños y pruebas de color de personajes, escenarios y máquinas de la película. Si te gustan los libros de arte sin duda no puedes dejar de tener este título.Llegó antes de lo esperado y en perfectas condiciones.

Vorab möchte ich erwähnen, dass der Film Rogue One großartig ist. Nachdem Episode 7 bereits das alte Star Wars Flair aufblitzen ließ, hat sich Rogue One für mich wie Episode 5 – Das Imperium schlägt zurück angefühlt – Grandioses Storytelling, großartige Charaktere und perfekte Star Wars Stimmung!All das steckt auch in diesem Buch zur visuellen Entstehungsgeschichte von Rogue One. Das Buch ist wirklich super. Es zeigt den kreativen Prozess und visuelle Bandbreite die in diesen Film eingeflossen ist. Wer die Star Wars Filme liebt, wird mit diesem Buch viel Freude haben.

Para que gosta de cinema e de arte este livro é muito bom, bem editado, com muitas ilustrações e comentários de produção do filme informativos e curiosos. Para os fans um prato cheio, para designers e desenhistas uma boa fonte de conhecimento e técnica. Recomendo.