The Art of Up

By Tim Hauser
Chronicle Books, $40.00, 160 pages

Up…what else can be said, and where else can be gone but Up? By far one of the most visually stunning and well received animated feature films of all time, Up was and is a breakthrough in the art of animation, and The Art of Up by Tim Hauser gives a unique insight into the creative, conceptual, and designing process of all of the art, from the ground up.

While The Art of Up definitely focuses less on the completed and rendered images of characters, settings, and backgrounds, and more on the thought and design process of their creation, it is nevertheless an ever useful and insightful look into how this visual masterpiece that is Up was created.

Serving its purpose and intent well, this work contains not only preliminary sketches, storyboards, concept frameworks, renderings, re-renderings, and paintings and drawings of all of the most important visual aspects of Up, but also commentary and background information on the process of creating all of it. The Art of Up incorporates artist input and telling imagery that provides an informative and well-thought-out showcase of how Up was created.

Reviewed by Jordan Dacayanan