The Art of Brave review. FINALLY!

Hey everyone!!  So so so sorry it's been so long since I said I'd have this up!  :(  But without further ado, here is is! 
The Art of Brave is a very good book, well worth the $25 Amazon is asking for it.  I would reccomend it to any Brave fan!!

 

 

The front of the dust cover. 

The back of the dust cover.

On the inside, the actual cover of the book is a very pale grayish-blue with the DunBroch clan emblem (coat of arms?  Whatever it's called...my mind drew a blank!) on it. 

The first page

The page giving credit to who did the foreword, who wrote the book, etc.  I LOVE the concept art on this page!

It has a foreword, "Setting the Arrow", which, if I remember correctly, is written by Brenda Chapman, who was the director of Brave.  It has the backstory to what inspired the movie. 

"Gathering the Clan"

"Wind, Weather, and Ruins" includes information on the environment of Scotland. 

 

I LOVED this chapter.  It includes some awesome Scotland landscape pictures that were taken for the movie.  More landscape pictures are scattered throughout the whole book. 

The next chapter, "Kith, Kin, and Bears" includes concept art and info on the characters. 
There are plenty of Merida concept art photos. 

Like this page:  for some reason, I love the drawing on the far left, the one with her in her light blue dress.  I can relate to that expression sometimes!

Elinor gets a few pages, too.  I love this picture of Merida with Mum-Bear. 

And Fergus gets a spotlight, too...can't forget him! 

Hubert, Harris, and Hamish all get a spotlight...a small spotlight, but a spotlight nonetheless. 

And Angus!!  His concept art is soooo beautiful.  I love the drawing of Merida kissing Angus's nose.  =]

The wisps, the witch, Mor'du, and the Macintosh, Dingwall, and MacGuffin clans all have some concept art as well. 

"Stalking the Bear"

Also, this book has a LOT of storyboards.  There are just pages and pages and pages..and pages...and pages (Okay, I'll stop now!) of storyboards.  I'm not exactly a huge fan of the storyboards; I'd prefer insight into the movie and concept art over storyboards, but they're interesting, too.  (:

"Kith, Kin, and Bears"  actually proceeds "Wind, Weather, and Ruins", but Blogger decided to be weird and upload it next to the last...and I couldn't get it to cooperate and move it, or put it where it needed to be at! :(  Sorry...

And the last page. 

 

 

That's just about it...I really like this book, but I'd give it a 4 out of a 5, basically because it's mostly storyboards, and not concept art and reading :P  Regardless, if you're on the fence about getting this book, I'd reccomend it! (: 

Hope you guys enjoyed this, and once more, I am so SO sorry I didn't get this up 'til now! Hope you enjoyed it, after all the waiting you all had to do before I got it up xD...

On that note, what do you think about The Art of Brave?  Do you have any 'The Art of' books?  If you do, what do you think about them?  I love to hear from people, and I don't bite, so feel free to drop a comment! :P 

ANOTHER busy week :(

Hey everyone! 
I just realized that I said I'd have posts up this week!  :( I have had an unbelievable week.  Getting the house cleaned for a friend that's coming over this weekend, and I'm busy allll weekend long and out of the house.  This week, I've been playing phone tag with several relatively important topics, AND I've still been working with my horse.  All of which has gone literally NOWHERE so far.  :(  And to top it all off, I had one of my guinea pigs die on Monday so I had to clean and disinfect everything so none of my other guinea pigs would get sick.  Not sure why he died so suddenly, but none of my other guinea pigs have gotten sick so far, so that's good.  Knock on wood. 

I will try to get some photoshoots done maybe tomorrow-ish...and hopefully Blogger will actually upload them!  Rapunzel has informed me that she's been having problems uploading pictures to her blog  as well ;).  And the other day, I tried to start a post and couldn't get the pics to upload, so I just quit then before things went downhill any further xD 

Sooooo yeah, that's where we're at right now.  I'm taking my horse somewhere else to ride her for training (she's terrified of going other places...which is kinda bad, because I bought her as a show horse... xD) so if I survive tomorrow, I'll be doing photoshoots and hopefully will have something posted for you guys!  I am so, so sorry and I feel awful that I keep having to put it off =[  I'm gonna go now to see if I can get my Art of Brave review done so if I can, I'll at least have that for you guys xD

Elegant Blog Award :D

Hopefullyyyyy I will be able to get some posts up here soon.  Sorry, guys!  And on top of me being super busy, my internet's been coming and going lately - double UGH!!!  But regardless...
For now..here's a fun little thing called the "Elegant Blog Award" that was started HERE and thank you to Elliebob at It's A Doll's World .  You should check out her blog - it's great!!

Anyway...enough stalling, I suppose :D
1. Why did you start blogging
 I started blogging because I really enjoy writing (I want to someday become an author)...and I enjoy doll stuff...and blogging sounded pretty fun, so I just started a blog to mess around with in my spare time!  (By the way  - like 1100 views and 3 followers??  You guys are AWESOME, thank you so much! xD)

2. What is your fashion style?Truth be told..I'm not a fashionista.  I like jeans and tshirts and flipflops, sneakers, or my riding boots.  I hate wearing dresses and I'd more than likely break some important body part if I'd try to wear high heels xD   

3. What is something your followers don't know about you? I am extremely shy face-to-face, but I'm starting to get over it :D  And another thing is that I'm cyber schooled and lovin' it!  (: 

4. What is one of your blogging goals?I don't really have any...it's just for fun.  So that means that when someone else decides to follow me, I'm like "OH MY GOSH YAYYY YOU GUYS ARE ALL SO AWESOME!!!" because I basicallly didn't expect ANYONE to read my blog!  I'm easily pleased, obviously.  :P 

5. Where is your favorite place to shop?Hmmm..do online stores count?  If so..Amazon, eBay and the Disney Store xD 
Anyway.  Umm...
Bath & Body Works
Tractor Supply Co (Yes, I know...Tractor Supply..  xD)
Some Amish tack shop...
Ahh..I think that's all... Yeah, I know.  I'm hopeless.  :D 

6. What would your ideal amount of followers be?

It doesn't matter!  I really appreciate it if someone does follow me, but at the same time, I'm not sad if someone doesn't follow me!  :D 

7. What are your talents?
-People say I'm a good writer
-I've been riding horses for a good while
-People say I'm good at drawing...but I dunno.
-I'm good at being really super awkward (does that count as a talent?  It must somewhere... xD)
-I like to cook...
....Yeah I don't have many talents, at least I don't think I do...so I'll stop now before I embarrass myself :D

8. Are you a leader or a follower?
I don't tend to take the reins on most matters, because I'm too shy to, but if someone's doing something that isn't right, or if someone's trying to get me to do something that I know the Lord wouldn't appreciate me doing?  I'll let them know in a big hurry...so I guess I'm not the 'go with the crowd' type either.  I'm just weird :D 

9. What is your favorite quote?
I have quite a bit of favorite quotes, but here are a couple. 
"If you don't know what you're doing, it's best to do it QUICKLY."  -Jase Robertson from Duck Dynasty.  (If you've never watched Duck Dynasty, you should.  It's awesomely hilarious and has some great values and morals too!  :D) 
"If you're lucky enough to have something that makes you different from everyone else - don't ever change."  -Taylor Swift.

10. Do you have a favorite book or book series?
Hmmm...I have a lot of favorite books or book series :D  I'd have to go with the Bonnie books by Barbara Van Tuyl. 

11. Out of all the synonyms for elegant, which would you describe yourself with (smart, dressy, stylish, graceful, or fine)?
Weellll....I'm definitely not dressy, or stylish.  I trip over my own feet (although I can run well and enjoy running) so I suppose I'm not graceful either.  Smart...would probably be the closest match to me.  Unless you're talking about math smarts.  I'm a complete idiot when it comes to math.  You know the quote from Jase I talked about earlier?  'If you don't know what you're doing, it's best to do it quickly'? That's the quote I live by in math.  : D

12. What is your favorite flower?
I'm not much of one for flowers....they're okay and everything, but I'm not too big into flowers :D
Now to tag...twelve people??  I don't think I even KNOW of 12 people in the Blogiverse!
So I'll just tag...
Amaya at American Girl Doll Crafts and Fun!
Annd...wow.  Sorry, I couldn't tag anyone else xD 
And once more, thanks Elliebob for tagging me, and you should check out her blog, guys!! (: 

Quick pop in..

Hey everyone! 
Sorry I haven't been posting as much as I thought I'd be!  I haven't forgotten about you guys!!
I've been soooo busy.  Emailing back and forth with several people about something, then my horse decided to go totally bonkers and I've been working a LOT with her to try to get her straightened out again...and THEN my cell phone's camera decided to start being flaky on me and not always want to take pictures --only to realize the actual camera was...you guessed it.  Dead and in need of charging.  SO.  I'm hoping to be able to sit down this afternoon or evening and at least get my "Art of Brave" review up...or mayb even work on a little photoshoot that I get the feeling I promised you guys at the BEGINNING of this month...if my cell phone decides to actually work, because I haven't gotten around to charging the camera yet...whoops. 
Anyywayyyy...and next week doesn't seem like it's going to be any better! Mostly cleaning and working horses though, IF my saddles sell today and I don't have to talk to anyone else about them :D 
So yeah....anyway...hope to talk to you soon and have something up besides my excuses for not having anything posted!  So sorry guys...! 

The Art of Tangled book review

Hey guys!!  So sorry it's been a week (and a day) since I last posted!  :(  I've been incredibly busy...anyway...today, we'll be doing a review of my 'The Art of Tangled' book.  It's not a doll review, but it's such a beautiful book.  And it's Disney related, and that's always good, right?! ;)
Anyway, let's get on to the book...

Here's the dust cover.  You can tell it's pretty worn...and that's because I've gone through it so many times!  :D  I love the artwork on it..so funny!  :D

Underneath the dust cover, the book is hardback, purple, and the front has the kingdom sun emblem on it.  

The first thing you see when you open up the book is all these awesome sketches!!

Turn the page and you see another sketch.  This was actually used in the back artwork of the DVD case.  

Claire Keane's artwork is scattered throughout the book, for backgrounds as well as some actual sketches, etc.  She is such a good artist, and her father is, too!  

"Introduction 

The Girl in the Tower"  

Gives a very brief overview of the production of the movie, etc., as well as a summary of the actual Grimm fairytale.  

"Once Upon a Time...and Time Again - The Many Lives of Disney's TANGLED" gives insight as to the production, again. 

"Creating a Credible Fantasy" goes into the aesthetics of the movie.  And I LOVE the concept art on the side.  It's so sweet!  :D  

"The Tower - A Luxurious Prison" gives details and concept art of the tower.  

Some BEAUTIFUL drawings of the murals Claire Keane drew.  So pretty!  I entertain myself by trying to find the hidden sun emblems scattered throughout the mural work on this page...hey, it's something to do when you have nothing else to do!  

And now for Rapunzel.  There are several pages giving information on her design, sketches, and concept art.  Can I just say this:  GORGEOUS!  

And then there's the same thing for Mother Gothel, only fewer pages....

And Eugene/Flynn.  Includes information on the "Hot guy conference"...too funny!!  

Annd the Stabbington brothers get a spotlight too!

And Maximus.  Some of the expressions in his concept art just kill me!  

Oh, and they do include Pascal...I can't believe I didn't get a picture for him!  :D

"The Snuggy Duckling - Little Roadhouse in the Big Woods".  

You can find a good deal of information on the Snuggly Duckling and character names and drawings of ALL the pub thugs.  

"The Kingdom - A Benevolent Monarchy" Gives information on the Kingdom, including what actual, real - life location was the inspiration for the kingdom design for Corona.  

Oh, and they give quite a few storyboards, as well. 

The King and Queen...plenty of sketches and info on their characters, as well.  

Let's not forget about the lanterns...GORGEOUS.  

"Ever After - Eternal Fairy Tales, the Disney Culture, and the Alchemy of Filmmaking" is basically like an afterword.  

Wedding dress ideas, concept art, etc. 

And the last page is this sketch, which was used for the DVD cover artwork.  

And the STUNNING concept artwork that was used for the back of the dust cover.  

Overall, I would DEFINITELY recommend this book; it's just gorgeous and I learned a lot in this book.  If you're obsessed with Tangled...like I am...you'll definitely like it.  It's about twenty-six dollars from Amazon, but it's definitely cheaper than getting it anywhere else!  It's well worth it, too, in my humble opinion.  

Any comments/questions?  Do you have this book?  If you do, what do you think about it?  

I'll have a review up for The Art of Brave up sometime - another good book!  I'm really hoping that there's a 'The Art of Frozen' for the Disney movie coming November 27th...I'm really excited for Frozen!  If they do have a 'The Art of Frozen' book, I'll be sure to buy it and review it! =D  

On that note, are you excited for Frozen, too?!  

Another thing is that the Disney store is starting to come out with some of the Fairytale Designer collection items; there was a set of all the dolls available for preorder for an astronomical amount; but I think they're already sold out.  Fear not, the actual individual sets of dolls haven't come out yet.  They also have mugs, journals, lithographs, purses, etc.  (:  

Talk to you all soon!  Hope you enjoyed this review!