When I was a kid one of my favorite movies was the Star Wars Prequel Film The Phantom Menace. I haven't seen any of the other films besides the original trilogy. What blew me away was the concept design for the film. Another thing what drew me into this world was at the time the protagonist Anakin was a fellow small 8 year old in a complicated adult world. Little do people know the man behind the brilliant character design work is the artist named Iain McCaig.
McCaig is a very lively vivacious guy. I have watched a presentation from my school and he's a imaginative dynamic energetic guy. Quite a friendly personality. These traits do speak ostentatiously in his artwork. At times I can tell he uses himself as a model for the characters he draws with the expressive mannerisms and facial expressions. One does not just draw dynamic believable facial expressions from imagination.Back on point Iain McCaig artbook is vastly different from a traditional artist's artbook. Shadowline is the place Iain calls his imagination and the world of inhabitants in it. The unique point is that most artbooks the text is rigid and just tells about the production of the set project. What McCaig set out to do is there is a fictional story within the pages. He himself is in the book and a fictional character named Byron the interviewer go on this wild crazy adventure.
One thing working artists dread are Deadlines. These come up as literal monsters that attack the friends. They are hilarious and daunting. It is good to know other artists understand the distain and struggles of necessary deadlines.
The price of the book may set back many, but fortunately I was able to get it for a bargain. Impulse buy! No other book has little mini manual pop ups that have informative art instruction. Reading and experiencing the tale of ShadowLine and seeing Iain McCaig's imaginative master artistry is priceless. It was difficult to narrow down what to showcase samples of this 240 page wonderfully printed book.
Enjoy!
-K
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A couple of Padme Amidala's regal royal outfits were based off of Mongolian royal attire. Other attire was also based off of Eastern and Western cultures.
