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As with most animated movies, a companion art book is generally a must. The Art and Making of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Besides character design, production art and a foreword by original Cloudy author Judi Barrett the book offers some extra "hands on" materials. As if 180 pages of art isn't enough, there is a scratch & sniff sticker book, some top secret post-cards containing Flint Lockwood's inventions, a complete fold-out map of Swallow Falls and a couple other goodies that I'll leave you to discover on your own. It's a stunning collection of art considering the subject matter, food. In fact, the food monster and disaster design is some of the best in the book. Click through the break for more awesome art from the book.
If you've seen the movie, you understand how devastating a spaghetti tornado can be. Probably just as bad as a regular tornado. When designing something like this, animators don't just go buck wild. They have to study actual tornadoes and mimic the physics. They have to account for the extra projectiles (meatballs & noodles) and what the wind speed would be. You may also notice the "bread boat" in the corner - a nod to the original book.
Personally, I think this is the part of the book that your kids would enjoy the most. The character design pages are great lessons in animation and illustration as they take the reader from beginning sketches to final product. All the while, it's all explained in the text, revealing the inspirations and motives behind certain aspects of the characters. Such as the below preliminary designs for the man himself, Flint Lockwood.
Does anyone else notice that one of the early designs for the food monster look very similar to "Bob" from Monsters vs. Aliens? That might be a reason why the monster ended up not looking like that. As mentioned, there are 180 pages of art in this book, and it was hard enough to pick just these images. With the text, this art book will look freaking awesome on your coffee table. It also comes in a sturdy cardboard case, so you can rest your coffee (or sippy cups) on it.
More on Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs:
The Art and Making of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on Amazon.com
Interview with Cloudy Directors Chris Miller & Phil Lord
Interview with Cloudy animator David Gibson
10 things parents should know about Cloudy
