Hi everybody!
Aside from collecting pins, I am a mad collector of books... especially pretty books like collections of art and graphic novels.
A few months ago, I stumbled across this beauty at Disneyland.
It is called "Art of the Disney Princess," collected and introduced by Glen Keane.
I rediscovered it on my bookshelf last night and fell in love all over again.
This book was actually released way back in 2009, so I'm sure most of you die-hard Disney fans already either own it yourselves, or know all about it... but I thought I'd share a quick review for those princess lovers who don't know it exists yet.
This is a really big book, kind of square in size (about 10x10 inches), chock full of artwork inspired by our favorite Disney princesses. (That's right, I said Disney inspired - This book consists mostly of fan art, so don't expect any screen shots or official concept sketches.) The artwork ranges from old-school oil paintings to newfangled digital media (hello Photoshop), with some really cool photography, collages, and schoolgirl doodles thrown in for good measure.
Just for fun, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite pieces with you - one for each of the main princesses represented in the book:
Ariel - artwork by Jenny Chung
Aurora - artwork by Eric Tan
Belle - artwork by Dorota Kotarba-Mendez
Cinderella - artwork by Vince Musacchia
Jasmine - artwork by Enrique Pita & Ed Irizzary
Mulan - artwork by Ron Valesco
Snow White - artwork by Jenny Chung
Tiana - artwork by Dorota Kotarba-Mendez
There were also a couple Pocahontas-inspired artworks, but none I personally liked enough to include a picture of. (Poor Poca!)
Interestingly enough, the book also included a small representation of two oft-forgotten Disney heroines - Atlantis' Kida and Peter Pan's Tiger Lily. But sadly, nothing for fans of Princess Eilonwy (The Black Cauldron) or Maid Marian (Robin Hood).
Note that this book came out shortly before the release of Tangled, and long before Brave, so the darling Rapunzel and daring Merida are also nowhere to be found within its pages.
We can only hope for a sequel!