Spectrum Presents: Frank Frazetta: Rough Work (Hardcover)

by Frank Frazetta (Author), Arnie Fenner (Editor), Cathy Fenner (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Frank Frazetta has excelled in a wide variety of artistic formats, from fine art to paperback covers, comic books to record albums. His atmospheric worlds of sinewy superheroes, seductive sirens, and vivid monsters are wonderfully detailed, fully realized, and unmistakably his. This book gives fans an intimate glimpse of Frazetta's creative process by showcasing not only black-and-white and full-color drawings from his sketchbooks, but concept art as well, showing the artist's raw imagination and problem-solving skills. Printed on deluxe art paper and featuring personal and previously unpublished material, these “rough works” offer a fascinating look at how a modern master creates.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Spectrum Fantastic Art; 1st Hardcover Ed edition (September 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599290138
• ISBN-13: 978-1599290133
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #73,470 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A tiny book with powerful art., December 6, 2007

By	Freudian Shrimp "Proud to be the stupidest pe... (Roundabout Seattle, Close to the Edge of Mt. Tahoma.) - See all my reviews

This is definitely NOT a coffee table sized art book. It's downright tiny (9 1/4 inches by 6 1/4 inches.) and I have to admit that when I pulled it out of the mailer I was disappointed by its petiteness. But this disappointment was replaced by joy and amazement as soon as I started looking at this volume's contents. As Arnie Fenner explains in his introduction "ROUGH WORK isn't so much an art book as it is an informal look over Frazetta's shoulder as he draws." and that "...we wanted you to feel as if you were sitting in his studio, watching a Mets game, and Fritz had casually tossed his drawing pad into you lap and asked 'Whatdoya think about this one?'" Looking through this book does give the sense that one has been granted the privilege of looking into that most private of Frazetta's artistic domains: his sketchbook.

Rough Work begins with a brief biography of Frank Frazetta. This is followed by artwork spanning the artist's career. The artwork runs from quick thumb nail sketches to more finished renderings displaying many moods and approaches, some expressively muscular and others carefully nuanced; all done in a variety of media. The presentation of the work adds to the sketchbook feel, with wrinkled pages, smudges, and stains reproduced unmodified.

Many of the subjects will be recognized by those familiar with Mr. Frazetta's works and such admirers will enjoying comparing these initial sketches to the finished illustrations. Other subjects will provide new discoveries - the concept art for a never produced animated Dracula film was completely new to me.

Minor complaints include the absence of size information and execution dates for the artworks and the lack of a removable protective dust jacket (The illustrated padded cover is permanently affixed.). But aside from these quibbles, this book is required reading, and looking, for Frazetta fans and will enlighten anyone interested in a behind the scenes look at the creative process of one of the most talented illustrators from the twentieth century.

Todd Schorr's appreciation from the back cover is dead on: "What makes Frank unique is that he was the first artist to combine a highly stylized drawing ability distilled from comics and animated cartoons with classic oil painting technique on a par with the great French academic historical and mythological painters of the 1800s. Frank is a cartoonist who can paint with the skill of an Old Master. Because of this, he's been a huge influence and early guiding light to many...artists, myself included..."

Having this book makes me doubly disappointed that publication of "The Comic Art of Frank Frazetta" has been canceled.

Four stars.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three words: A Must Have!, November 28, 2007

By	Andre Heeger (Germany) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't think I need to tell anybody what a great artist Frank Frazetta is. His different techniques, his compositions, simply fantastic. You can always tell when it's a Frazetta, but he will surprise you with every "new" piece of his art. I'd even say that without him the entire fantasy craze would probably still be in its infancy.
Frank was the one artist who was able to really pull me into his worlds at a time when fantasy books were mostly published in paperback. And he hasn't aged a bit. He introduced me to strange worlds, great warriors and beautiful women like nobody else before or since.
The book's 127 pages are filled with pencils, sketches, studies, both in color and in black and white. The introduction has 7 pages. From then on it's pure art. It's very interesting to study the concept art, and to discover what he changed for the final painting or illustration. Of course those are not included here (if you don't own them already, I strongly suggest you take a look at Legacy, Icon and Testament, the three marvellous hardcovers from Underwood Books).
The book is a huge source of inspiration for painters and modellers but also for writers and anybody interested in the classic arts.
As always with Spectrum Books the reproduction quality is first class.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Yet Another Fawning Compilation, January 1, 2008

By	James S. Hentschell (st. louis, mo) - See all my reviews

I am entranced by the skil of Frazetta. What is not necessary is the fawning, hyped swirl that surrounds this great art. The book is small in size, which means that a lot of art is not viewable due to the tight binding in the gutter. A little extra paper would have been a great help. The art is superb, as usual, and there is a large group of "roughs" that were new to me and demanded a breathless examination. Frazetta is a spectacular illustrator and his roughs bring out some of the arduous steps that were necessary to obtain the final work. As an amateur artist, this is a fine addition to my art book collection.