The Art of District 9 - Weta Workshop

Under the supervision of multi Academy Award winner Richard Taylor, Weta Workshop was responsible for the design of the creatures and technology for director Neill Blomkamp’s 2009 feature film, District 9. Weta Workshop’s artists created the special make-up effects and physical creature elements, the alien weapons and special props, armor, custom vehicles and developed the graphic language that defined the film’s distinctive alien aesthetic.

This large and profusely illustrated book illuminates the creative design process, detailing two years of interaction between Weta’s artists and District 9 director Neill Blomkamp, including hundreds of images of concept art from both the designers and director, museum quality photographs of the props and sculptures, and insights in the form of quotes directly from the artists. Many of the images included have never been made public before, including some that were cut or barely glimpsed in the finished film.

Written by designer Daniel Falconer, with a foreword by Neill Blomkamp and introduction by Richard Taylor (pic left), The Art of District 9 offers an unrivalled ands amazingly detailed glimpse behind the scenes at the creative processes that shaped all of Weta Workshop’s contributions to this amazing film.

About Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop is a multi-award-winning conceptual design and physical manufacturing facility based out of Wellington, New Zealand, servicing the world’s entertainment and wider creative industries.

Best known for the company’s design and effects work on award-winning film projects, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar, and now District 9, Weta Workshop is not limited to film and television, offering services to creative industries worldwide.

About the Author
Daniel Falconer has been a designer at Weta Workshop for more than a decade, producing conceptual art as part of the design team on many of the company’s high profile projects including The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the short-lived Halo movie adaptation. Daniel wrote and collated Weta’s first two books, The World of Kong and The Crafting of Narnia, art books showcasing the illustrative work of the entire design department on King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia movies, and has provided descriptive copy for movie-based toys and collectibles including The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.

He lives in Wellington with his wife Catherine and two daughters, reveling in his dream career of playing in imaginary worlds every day.

The Art of District 9
Harper Collins - NZ$70 - A$65.