The Art of Hercules: The Chaos of Creation

★★★★★ Book Design This time, I'd like to start with the book design because it’s outstanding. It’s big, it’s heavy—it’s Hyperion! It feels great to hold in your hands, and it even includes a special section printed on paper resembling watercolor paper. The images are large (even the smallest ones are detailed enough to be admired closely), the text is easy to read, and the layouts are perfect! This edition also has a fancy ribbon jacket with the book's title in golden letters, although my copy, unfortunately, was missing it. ★★★★★ Art Hercules is one of Disney's most stylized animations, and the concept art here not only complements it but lets you see the visual development in action. There are many production stills, work-in-progress artwork, and, best of all, the initial designs that helped shape the animation style and final character look. A particularly enjoyable addition is the set of caricatures of producers and team members drawn in the Hercules style and universe, which captures the humorous camaraderie among the team artists. ★★★★★ Text From the beginning, I was intrigued by the book's title, The Art of Hercules: The Chaos of Creation. What chaos? Was Disney really going to share its insider struggles? Hercules is one of my favorite Disney animations; it was legen... wait for it... dary! LEGENDARY! But was it truly that challenging to produce? So, I was hooked even before I started reading. The book opens with the line: "In the beginning, there was... CHAOS!" And you see Pain and Panic causing mischief! Intriguing, isn't it? For me, this was one of those books I could hardly put down. It’s not text-heavy but full of humor, with character sketches often breaking the fourth wall to speak directly to the reader. You’ll discover how hiring one man to diversify the animation style created "chaos" and how the team managed to tame it. It’s an exciting read! The icing on the cake is the final page, filled with fun stats: how heavy Meg’s hair is, how many calories Herculade contains, and more. ★★★★☆ Price The book’s price is significantly higher compared to other Disney/Hyperion books, even on the pre-owned market. As of October 2024, it cost me nearly $60 (including delivery and tax) to get a “Very Good” quality copy, and I can’t say that the price often decreases. ★★★★★ Overall Impressions The Art of Hercules: The Chaos of Creation is undoubtedly one of my favorites in the Disney/Hyperion book collection. If you’re a fan of Hercules, artbooks, and a good story about the making of an epic, humor-filled heroic adventure, this book is for you!

I love my Art Of books and I've been collecting some of the Disney ones. I finally got my hands on The Art of Hercules and it doesn't disappoint. This is a large art book that could double as a coffee table book. If you've seen Hercules, then you know it has a very specific art direction. You can read about and see the many concepts for characters and locations that led up to the final selected decisions. Note: This is published by Hyperion while the current ones all seem to be Chronicle books. This means this book is not the same size as the other Disney art books. If you like your Art Of books, this is definitely one to add to your collection. Recommended.

and a good price even with high taxes in my country, small damages on the cover, but no mold inside. I loved it 🥰 artbook

I bought an old used copy from Goodwill. I wish this was still in print! I feel like Hercules is such an underrated Disney movie, but I think the art direction for it was fantastic and I love the visual style. The concept art for it is amazing! Love this book!

One of the best "Art of" from Disney ! There is a lot of art inside and not just screenshot. It is a mix between an artbook and a making of book. Similar to "The art of Mulan" but a lot more funnier.

Even though this book was used, it was in great condition and came from a loving home into another one. One of my all time favorite Disney movies, the art is beautiful.

A big book full of concept art and the process of creating the world of Hercules. Seeing how the art of Gerald Scarfe turned into the characters of the film is incredible!

"The Art of Hercules" was everything I expected and I'm excited to have it as resource, however, I have a small complaint about the condition of the book. The condition was written as follows: "Excellent Condition from Cover to Cover. No Writings or Markings on Text Pages. All Pages are Very Bright, Crisp and Tight. Fast shipping." They shipping was fast because I paid a little extra for it and the page and color quality is fine. The cover is where I have issues. It is not the same cover as advertised, which is okay, if a little misleading, and the cover has some serious wear and tear on the corners which has allowed the pages to be bent as well. The worst is the binding, which the condition statement mentions nothing about. The binding is torn on the front corner from top to bottom and is extremely weak. I'll use the book myself as a resource but I doubt I'll be loaning out for fear that it'll be damaged worse.

antiquato

A fantastic book of an even more fantastic film! this book is loaded with fantastic visual artwork, imput from both the animators, concept artists and voice actors. We are also given an in-depth look at how we went from initial sketching from the final film reel. Great book!

Das ist ein sehr schönes Artbook zu einem meiner Lieblings-Disney-Filme, Hercules. Ich habe es in sehr gutem Zustand und zu einem relativ günstigen Preis bekommen.

It's really big! i loved it! and it was in a really good condition! a Must-have for any fan of the movie.

Ce livre est passionnant et bien fournis. Il y a beaucoup d'informations, d’anecdotes, de croquis et de dessins. C'est un véritable aperçu des coulisses du film.