Customer Reviews

The Art of Terminator Salvation

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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Length:: 0:26 Mins

The star of the movie is John Connor. The star of this art book is the Terminators. This 240-page hardcover volume features hundreds of color illustrations, storyboards, and intricately designed production art. Much of the concept paintings are done by production designer Martin Laing. There's also Jason Sweers, Victor Martinez, David Lowery who worked on the Terminator designs and storyboards. Unfortunately, a lot of credits don't come with names so we'll not know the exact artist.

This book has a ton of designs for the Terminators. We're talking about T-1, T-600, Aerostats, Hunter-Killers, Hydrobots, Transports, Harvesters, Moto-Terminators and even the T-70 which is only seen in the video game. There's several rejected iterations of the designs up to the final model used in the movie. These are in the form of 3D modeling, a few paintings and sketches. Included in a smaller amount are the set and location designs like the hideout, Skynet's factory, etc.

Overall, there's not much text except for the captions. Captions when provided nicely explains the thought process that goes behind the designs, like facing the challenge of differentiating these Terminators from Michael Bay's Transformers.

Strangely not included are the weapons used by the resistance fighters. I really want to know what kind of guns can be used to blow up endoskeletons. There's also not much character designs other John Connor in his few different costumes. Some of the production photos used are also a bit low in resolution but there are only a few production photos. If you want to see more production photos, you should grab Terminator Salvation: The Movie Companion.

This book is recommended for concept artists and fans of Terminator.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

I love fantasy movies. Like a lot of people, I'd like to work in films and create amazing images like the ones in the Terminator films. But how do you go about it?
This book is especially useful as it shows not just the final designs used in the film, but also the early ideas and dead ends that are part of the creative process.
Terminator is an especially interesting subject, as James Cameron created the entire look for the world in the first low budget film and every subsequent movie has had to elaborate on that original style.
As such, we see the killer robot equivalent of the Cadillac tailfin design style -different enough to suggest something new, but not so radical that it steps outside the established formula.
This fourth film in the series is particularly interesting as being a prequel to the original movie, it has to suggest designs that are more primitive than the ones created 20 years ago!
In this respect Terminator Salvation is not entirely sucessful, as audiences expect to see more rather than less and the temptation is always to go bigger and better, to top what has been seen before.
The original Terminator was a small film, but it packed a big visual design punch for it's day.
The advent of today's digital effects and mega million dollar budgets don't nescessarily equate to a better final product.

This book is nicely presented and it makes a cool techno-fascist addition to any coffee table!
It's interesting to see how the standard and style of pre production art has changed over the years.
Cameron used white conte pencil on black paper to define the gleaming chrome of the Terminator robot, now today's artists produce much more finished pieces, using Photoshop and photo collages, 3D rendered models and electronic tablet pens instead of squeaker markers and airbrushes...

If nothing else, this book gives a good idea of the standards that are now expected in a big budget Hollywood movie...
Having done a very small amount of design work on films like "Red Planet" and "Star Wars Ep2." I can really appreciate the degree of skill that goes into these artworks, as opposed to the napkin scribbles I produced!
Now with the decline in local film production, I have moved on to teaching, rather than actually working in the industry and I find books like "The Art of Terminator Salvation" excellent teaching aids for my students.

In many ways I've enjoyed this book more than the film that created it!

I gambled when I ordered The Art of Terminator Salvation but the bet paid off. I am very impressed with this book. The artwork is top-notch. It's thick with hundreds of great illustrations and much detail. Fans of the Terminator saga will not be disappointed. If the film left you hungry for more, this is the seconds you were yearning for.



--Guy P. Harrison, author of

Race and Reality: What Everyone Should Know About Our Biological Diversity

and

50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God

This book is huge and has given me inspiration in my art. any fan of the series should own this. Lots of detail not seen in film.

FRANKLY I love this book even if I expected to bring MORE IMAGES AND VIEWS OF THE DIFFERENT DESIGNS OF BUILDINGS AND MODELS, HOWEVER IT IS VERY HELPFUL

The Art of Terminator Salvation is an incredible book that evokes that curiosity of wanting to know what goes into making such visually stunning technologically advanced movies, information that can't be sourced through DVD's or movies, these books walk you through step by step in the creation of the characters the special effects actors and crew. In this book the process of creating that world is superbly illustrated in a future world ravaged by a nuclear holocaust. A 240 page hardcover massive book more than suitable for any coffee table Author Tara Bennett who has given us a number of great visual books including 300. This book (I keep forgetting there is also the movie companion that is equally presented) has page after page of dramatically visual images created to illustrate the settings, sequences, characters and machines. It has innumerable pictures of designs for the terminators T-1, T-600, aerostats, hunter-killers, hydrobots and transports, harvesters, moto-terminators and as well as the T-70. All are presented in 3D modelling, paintings and sketches. Very little in the way of text besides captions, to explain the thought process behind the designs. Interesting sections on the development and concept sketches from early on. The final evolution of the aerostat mechanistic form, from an organic design. The redesigning of the harvester to remove the similarities with the transformers. If you like eye popping artwork than this is the book, the reproductions are big and more than generous no squinting required. Although Terminator Salvation has incredible special effects an array of visual stimuli that is unbeatable, set pieces and cast that do an exceptional job it somehow did poorly, comparing terminator salvation with the likes of 1984 terminator that was and is in a scale not yet beaten and 1991 judgement day where a whole new concept of terminator was introduced the T2 a shape shifting cyborg taking the terminators to a whole new level back down to the T3 great digital effects again stunning technology just didn't have the story and the visuals of the previous. TI and T2 were hard acts to follow proven by the massively reduced ratings that the T3 and T4 received. T1 and T2 were stunning extravagant special effects. Actors of this termenator didn't have the charm and charisma that the previous actors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Patrick.

Not really what I thought it was.. lot of low res images scaled to fit the page, low on details. I started buying concept books to inspire myself and to see how other artist deal with design tasks but this book das not serves me much, although there is great amount of pics

Good collection of artwork. Nice to see how the machines evolved from blobs of ink on paper to highly detailed VFX.

This blew me away. I enjoyed this film, for what it was, but getting to see inside the late, GREAT Stan Winston's mind, and his remaining workshop is always a blessing to me. Much like the AVP artbooks, this gets you a deeper look at what was used to create these things, up close shots, and much of the mechanical elements. The concept art is wonderful as well, and anyone looking for inspiration for robots or the like would do well to have this in their catelogue. This honestly was one of the best purchases I've ever made.

This is one of the better art books that I've seen lately. Have tons of great art as they describe production details into the movie. If you are a collector of how-to art from the many movies, this is a must have. A great reference for machines and shows a creative effort.

Author and writer of the Battlecruiser books.Battle Cruiser: Prototype