On The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Weta Workshop was tasked with designing the Centaur species.  In the final film, these would be realised as augmented creature make-ups on actors by K.N.B. FX Group.  Weta worked closely with K.N.B.’s Howard Berger, first designing the creatures and then constructing the armour that would be fitted over his company’s “phoney-pony” horse-rigs.  Weta also provided the neutrally posed Centaur sculptures that would be scanned to produce the film’s digital versions.

Harper Collins and Weta Publishing’s new book, The Crafting of Narnia: The Art, Creatures and Weapons from Weta Workshop, explores the design process in detail, with insights into the creative and practical challenges of making the Centaurs and their armour for both movies.  Here are some selected pieces of artwork that Narnia fans can find more of in the book, out now…

Among the most featured of Weta Workshop’s creations in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe were the elements of the children’s armour and weaponry, among them Susan’s gifts from Father Christmas.  The bow, quiver, arrows and horn were all designed with familiar motifs and colours in mind, bringing them together within the same family of design as the rest of the children’s gifts.

Harper Collins and Weta Publishing’s new book, The Crafting of Narnia: The Art, Creatures and Weapons from Weta Workshop, explores the design process in detail, with insights into the crafting of Susan’s weapons.  Here are some never-before-seen previews of what Narnia fans can find in the book, out now…

On The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Weta Workshop was tasked with designing a myriad of different species to inhabit the world of Narnia.  A huge number of ideas were pitched, with the director choosing his favourites from the throng.  Along the way, some were discarded, while others evolved into the versions seen in the film.

Harper Collins and Weta Publishing’s new book, The Crafting of Narnia: The Art, Creatures and Weapons from Weta Workshop, goes into great detail in covering the creature designs, presenting, for the very first time, some of the unusual designs that didn’t make it into the final film.  Here are some of these never-before-seen images that Narnia fans can expect to find in the book, available to buy now…

On The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Weta Workshop was tasked with designing the Minotaur species.  In the final films, these would be realised as physical creature suits worn by actors, constructed by K.N.B. FX Group.  Weta worked closely with K.N.B.’s Howard Berger, first designing the creatures and then constructing the armour that would be fitted over his suits.  Weta also provided the neutrally posed Minotaur sculptures that would be scanned to produce the film’s digital versions.

Harper Collins and Weta Publishing’s new book, The Crafting of Narnia: The Art, Creatures and Weapons from Weta Workshop, explores the design process in detail, with insights into the creative and practical challenges of making Minotaurs.  Here are some selected sneak previews of never-before-seen artwork and photos that Narnia fans can expect to find more of in the book, out now…

While many of the creatures that had to be designed for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe were based on mythological beasts, Narnia was also populated by talking animals that were of familiar kinds.  Weta’s artists produced some concept art exploring how these animals might look and act. 

Harper Collins and Weta Publishing’s new book, The Crafting of Narnia: The Art, Creatures and Weapons from Weta Workshop, explores the process of designing both the familiar and fantastical Narnians in great detail, with insights into the creative and practical challenges faced by the artists.  Here are some selected previews of the artwork produced.  Narnia fans can expect to see more in the book…

Some of the most featured of Weta Workshop’s creations in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe were the children’s gifts, among them Lucy’s.  Weta workshop’s creative team designed and built Lucy’s vial and dagger, both exquisite little props with layers of meaningful detail.

Harper Collins and Weta Publishing’s new book, The Crafting of Narnia: The Art, Creatures and Weapons from Weta Workshop, explores the challenges and choices made during the design process in detail.  Here are some selected, never-before-seen previews of what Narnia fans can expect to find in the book…

Prior to a costume designer being hired on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Weta Workshop’s artists were asked to begin offering concepts for the White Witch’s look.  Hundreds of drawings were produced, none of which have been published before now.  Weta also went on to design and build the Witch’s intricate props and weapons.

Weta Workshop was tasked with initiating design work on Aslan for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  The process began with drawings but progressed quickly to sculptures and eventually culminated in the creation of a neutrally posed scannable maquette to serve as reference for the digital artists at Rhythym & Hues, who produced the final computer generated Aslan seen in the film. 

On The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Weta Workshop was tasked with designing a myriad of different species to inhabit the world of Narnia.  A huge number of ideas were pitched, with the director choosing his favourites from the throng.  Along the way, some were discarded, while others evolved into the versions seen in the film.

Weta is giving away one very unique copy of The Crafting Of Narnia - The Art, Creatures And Weapons from Weta Workshop. The book has been signed by artists and craftspeople at Weta who were involved in creating the world of Narnia for Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia series.

Quick note to say that next week, we will start taking pre-orders for a new book that’s been written and designed by the artists at Weta and published by HarperCollins.

The book features sketches, sculptures and concept drawings as well as photos, commentary by the artists and a foreword by Richard Taylor.