The Art of Monsters, Inc. opens the door into Pixar's colorful archives of concept art and to the endearing story of Monsters, Inc. Since the very first bedtime, children around the world have known that once their parents tuck them into bed and shut off the light, monsters lie waiting behind closet doors, ready to emerge. But what they don't realize is that these monsters scare children because they have to. It's their job. This superb film from Pixar Studios, the people who brought you Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and Toy Story 2, reveals the truth about monsters with the brilliant techniques that have earned them their reputation as a ground-breaking animation studio. This incredible body of artwork was commissioned from the top artists, illustrators, and animators in the industry and from it the ultimate visual approach of the film was defined. From sketches scribbled on napkins and quickly inked marker drawings, to finished oil paintings and fabulous pastel color scripts, this behind-the-scenes artwork reveals the elaborate creative process behind a blockbuster film.

"Destined to become a new classic . . . Elkin shatters the truisms that have evolved around feminist thought.” —Chris Kraus, author of I Love Dick and After Kathy Acker: A Literary Biography One of Lit Hub's most anticipated books of 2023 What kind of art does a monster make? And what if monster is a verb? Noun or a verb, the idea is a dare: to overwhelm limits, to invent our own definitions of beauty. In this dazzlingly original reassessment of women’s stories, bodies, and art, Lauren Elkin—the celebrated author of Flâneuse—explores the ways in which feminist artists have taken up the challenge of their work and how they not only react against the patriarchy but redefine their own aesthetic aims. How do we tell the truth about our experiences as bodies? What is the language, what are the materials, that we need to transcribe them? And what are the unique questions facing those engaged with female bodies, queer bodies, sick bodies, racialized bodies? Encompassing with a rich genealogy of work across the literary and artistic landscape, Elkin makes daring links between disparate points of reference— among them Julia Margaret Cameron’s photography, Kara Walker’s silhouettes, Vanessa Bell’s portraits, Eva Hesse’s rope sculptures, Carolee Schneemann’s body art, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s trilingual masterpiece DICTEE—and steps into the tradition of cultural criticism established by Susan Sontag, Hélène Cixous, and Maggie Nelson. An erudite, potent examination of beauty and excess, sentiment and touch, the personal and the political, the ambiguous and the opaque, Art Monsters is a radical intervention that forces us to consider how the idea of the art monster might transform the way we imagine—and enact—our lives.

In Monsters, Inc. (2001), Pixar Animation Studios introduced audiences to the #1 scaring team, Mike and Sulley, and the monstrous world behind our bedroom closet doors. In this prequel to the much-loved classic, Mike and Sulley meet for the first time at Monsters University—where they are joined by a few familiar faces and a host of delightful new characters—as they seek to attain degrees in scaring. Author Karen Paik goes behind the scenes to interview the film's many artists for the ultimate inside look at the conception and production of this highly anticipated film. Featuring full-color concept art including character sculpts, color scripts, storyboards, and more, The Art of Monsters University fully explores the process of creating this new and expanded Monsters universe.

Living on a damaged planet challenges who we are and where we live. This timely anthology calls on twenty eminent humanists and scientists to revitalize curiosity, observation, and transdisciplinary conversation about life on earth. As human-induced environmental change threatens multispecies livability, Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet puts forward a bold proposal: entangled histories, situated narratives, and thick descriptions offer urgent “arts of living.” Included are essays by scholars in anthropology, ecology, science studies, art, literature, and bioinformatics who posit critical and creative tools for collaborative survival in a more-than-human Anthropocene. The essays are organized around two key figures that also serve as the publication’s two openings: Ghosts, or landscapes haunted by the violences of modernity; and Monsters, or interspecies and intraspecies sociality. Ghosts and Monsters are tentacular, windy, and arboreal arts that invite readers to encounter ants, lichen, rocks, electrons, flying foxes, salmon, chestnut trees, mud volcanoes, border zones, graves, radioactive waste—in short, the wonders and terrors of an unintended epoch. Contributors: Karen Barad, U of California, Santa Cruz; Kate Brown, U of Maryland, Baltimore; Carla Freccero, U of California, Santa Cruz; Peter Funch, Aarhus U; Scott F. Gilbert, Swarthmore College; Deborah M. Gordon, Stanford U; Donna J. Haraway, U of California, Santa Cruz; Andreas Hejnol, U of Bergen, Norway; Ursula K. Le Guin; Marianne Elisabeth Lien, U of Oslo; Andrew Mathews, U of California, Santa Cruz; Margaret McFall-Ngai, U of Hawaii, Manoa; Ingrid M. Parker, U of California, Santa Cruz; Mary Louise Pratt, NYU; Anne Pringle, U of Wisconsin, Madison; Deborah Bird Rose, U of New South Wales, Sydney; Dorion Sagan; Lesley Stern, U of California, San Diego; Jens-Christian Svenning, Aarhus U.

Rachel Lyon's first novel – soon to be made into a major motion picture starring Zoë Kravitz and Thomasin McKenzie Lu Rile is a relentlessly focused young photographer struggling to make ends meet. Working three jobs, and worrying that the crumbling warehouse she lives in is being sold to developers, she is at a point of desperation. Until, by pure chance, Lu discovers she’s captured a tragedy in the background of a self portrait; a boy falling to his death. The photograph turns out to be the best work of art she’s ever made. It’s an image that could change her life – if she lets it. Set in early 90s Brooklyn on the brink of gentrification, Self-Portrait with Boy is a provocative commentary about the emotional dues that must be paid on the road to success. ‘Beautifully imagined and flawlessly executed’ Joyce Carol Oates ‘A sparkling debut’ New York Times Book Review

A spectacular and comprehensive authorized retrospective of Oscar-winning visual effects master Phil Tippett, founder and namesake of iconic Tippett Studio From Star Wars to Jurassic Park and RoboCop to Starship Troopers, special effects master Phil Tippett has brought his magic to some of the most iconic films of all time. His unparalleled career in visual effects spans more than 40 years, with two Academy Awards, one BAFTA, and two Emmys. This stunning book celebrates Tippett’s career, from early Super 8 explorations through his groundbreaking work with Industrial Light & Magic, DreamWorks, and beyond. While Tippett’s first love remains the stop-motion animation that made him a Hollywood legend, he was present at the birth of big-screen digital effects, and his genius has evolved with the times. In 1984 he founded Tippett Studio, which has come to specialize in digital effects. Packed with over a thousand behind-the-scenes photographs, Mad Dreams and Monsters includes never-before-published stories from the master himself and a veritable who’s who of visual effects luminaries—a must-have for movie fans, film students, and anyone who’s ever been captivated by movie magic.

The official art and making of book for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Following the global success of Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island comes the next chapter in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' cinematic Monsterverse, an epic action adventure that pits Godzilla against some of the most popular monsters in pop culture history. The new story follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species--thought to be mere myths--rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance. The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters is an in-depth behind the scenes look at the epic movie. Packed with concept art, on-set photography, and insight from key members of the production--including director Michael Dougherty--this beautiful book tells the story of how Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah were brought to terrifying life.

From the depths of man's imagination comes a mesmerizing menagerie of fantastic beasts — griffins, werewolves, serpent monsters, dragons, mermaids, and other fabulous creatures of land, sea, and air. An invaluable source of royalty-free art for artists and hobbyists, this splendid archive will delight anyone interested in creatures of myth and legend. 192 black-and-white illustrations.

Sketching from the Imagination: Monsters & Creatures showcases sketches and insights by fifty artists from the field of creature design.