Customer Reviews

The Art of Tron: Legacy

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Length:: 1:00 Mins

The Art of Tron: Legacy is more of a visual companion than an art book. Whenever there's "art of" somewhere in the book title, it sets people up with certain expectations. This title definitely sets up the wrong type of expectation, at least to me.

About half the book is concept art and the other half is just film stills, and even if it's not exactly half, it feels that way.

Much of the concept art are actually the finalized designs. You won't see much iterations. It's like they nailed the design of the Light Cycle bike with the first try. Same applies for characters and environments. And the Light Jets are missing.

The selection of films stills included is also questionable, but I'm glad for the most part they look stunning visually, especially the ones that are showing more of the Tron world.

This book should still appeal to Tron fans. I'm not so hot about the book, but I've two colleages (fans of the film) raves about it.

As an art book, I'll give it 3 stars. As a visual companion or picture book, 4 out of 5 stars.

(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

The design work for T:L is impressive, but unfortunately very little of the concept design work leading up to the final product is in this. Almost all of the art appears to be the final approved pre-vis, but not the development sketches or alternate ideas.

Moreover, my favorite moments in the movie involve the fantastic light jets and light flyer at the end, but there is not a single sketch or screen shot of them. Seriously, I was flipping eagerly to the back of the book looking for them, and even checked the table of contents to see if maybe I had missed it, or the book was missing a section. Disappointing.

Disney has pulled together some of the industries most talented artists to work on "Tron Legacy". The art work speaks for itself, the sketches, the 3d work, everything looks phenomenal and Tron: legacy is clearly going to be the most ground breaking film in years. Seeing Neville page's work was also a huge treat, I love his drawing and hearing he has ventured into 3d is truly exciting. Industrial design enthusiasts will love the work done on the vehicles as well. This is a must buy for any fan of tron or art in general.

I'm not sure how the first reviewer gave this 1 star. Maybe he has a grudge against the makers this film? After reading some of his reviews, though, I can see why. Darned near everything he reviewed received a 1 star rating. Detect a pattern? A bit bizarre as this is a very good book with some very good art in it. There is also some super high quality 3d concept work in here is great as well. After being a bit disappointed with the art of Avatar book I'm much happier with this one. I would have liked to have seen more sketches but overall very satisfied.

How highly you rate this book depends on what you're looking to get out of an "Art of" book. Clearly there are differing opinions. Personally, I think it depends on the movie. As I was watching the movie, I wished I could get a better view of the vehicles, costumes, locations and overall art direction. The eye-candy was the reason I went to see the movie. And it did not disappoint. That's how I approached this book. I wanted to relive the visuals and really immerse myself in them. Sure, I would love to see more of the development process but they would have skimped on the immersive production illustrations that you get in this book. It's filled with many large double page spreads that they usually skimp on in other books to favor the earlier renderings and sketches. Don't get me wrong, it's not a visual companion. But the illustrations are as slick and as polished as the designs they represent. I was constantly impressed with the quality of the artwork and isn't that part of what an "Art of" book is supposed to do? A five star rating would have been given if the book were twice as thick and filled with all the conceptual ideas but that would have made for a cost-prohibitive book. If you want to appreciate the beauty of the movie's designs, you won't be disappointed. The only nit-picky downside is the printing. The pages are fingerprint magnets because of all the black.

Just when I thought the cool days of jet black design with cool lit edges were gone....along comes Tron Legacy! For someone who was a fan of the first film its wonderful to see how the conceptual artists of today have translated the computer world visuals to 2010. This book is a must have. Maybe a bit too many pages dedicated to the look of the city and sets (versus vehicles) but all in all, still 5 stars. p.s Long live Syd Mead! You can see his inspiration on every page.

Everyone who puts 5 stars on this art book is about subject.
In reality this book is lacking a huge amount of concept art. So much that they show a ton of stock footage from the movie. I know concept artists that produce hundreds of variations of the same character. All we see is the final product.

Art books are about the process, not the result. We see the result every time we watch the movie.
This book is great for Tron fans but for anyone looking for some deep art work you have better stuff online for free

While I would have liked to have seen more pre-production art and design ideas, this book is still quite handsome inside and out. For a fan of anything TRON, it also makes a great item to keep through the years. The digital designs for character costumes, settings, are amazing in detail. It's a very worthy book overall.

So this is my first review about a product, I hope I won't do tons of mistakes. Anyway let's start.

The presentation of the book, (by the nature of the print) is really good. The book is hardcover so it is neat, clean and sturdy at the same time. I've been flipping the pages since the day I've bought this book and there is not a attrition anywhere. This is a nice thing, considering that the book will serve for a long time.
The inside of the book, I mean the content is somehow the dissapointing part. Don't get me wrong, the book had tried to explain everything, but failed in nearly every way of doing that. Tons of topics, considering light-cycles, sirens, end of line bar, etc. but for every topic, there is just not enough information. Everything is shallow, there is no detail in it. 'f the book had like 100-page thicker, maybe the resould would've been more succesful. But at this state, it is just not perfect.

The design precess is not explained, there is no little notes about the designer's thoughts about the project, no info about their inspirations or anything. When I watched the movie, (after the first one, to remember every detail) I sincerely believe that the design department had worked really much. But we cannot see that effort in that book. It is not because the movie is shallow, it is because the book is. But Why am I giving the book 4 stars?

First of all, there is no equal to this book, if you want sci-fi desings you can find but as TRON, it is the only book out there. It is not like Star Wars, you cannot choose one of many books.
The second is, the overall quality of the book is really good, as I've mentioned before. You don't feel that the book will abandon you halfway.

At the end, I am not regretting that I'd bought this book. I am actually happy. It is not a waste of money, but it could have been so much better. And a side not, there is no light jets in this book.

Sory about my grammar mistakes, English is not my mother tongue. I hope that this review gives you some insight about the product.

El libro es genial y nos muestra como fue el proceso de la pelicula y el arte de la misma, sin duda si te gusta el arte minimalista, o futurista aunque no seas fan de la pelicula te va a encantar. Lo recomiendo ampliamente!!