Brian Frouds World of Faerie by Brian Froud

Brian Frouds World of Faerie Reviews

• 
  Timothy Boyd

  Nice art book with some very unusual interpretations of the Fae World. Recommended
• 
  Grace

  Brian Froud has truly outdone himself with this book. All of his art books are a delight to read, but this book gives the "Froudian" something we have been wanting for the last 20-some years or more...a glimpse into his process. Although the "peek into his studio" was mildly disappointing (I was expecting to see more than just a single desktop with books and knick knacks...as wonderful as these objects were), the essay on the next page from Wendy Froud, describing what it's like to live with Brian when he's creating, almost made up for the disappointment.
  
  The best parts of the book were the full-page descriptions beside some of Froud's art, describing in detail their symbolism, origin of props, and compositional intent. THIS is what I've wanted to see. Froud very clearly knows what he's talking about...backward and forward. I pride myself on knowing quite a bit of folklore and myth, and he taught me numerous things in these passing commentaries next to the artworks.
  
  Not to mention the gorgeous presentation of this oversized book, with its beautiful fey slip cover, and lovely modern-medieval art design on the hardcover binding, the miniature booklets found on certain pages, and the inclusion of the illustrated Gaiman poem poster in the back of the book.
  
  This is Froud at his finest, and it shows why he's not simply some British hippie faerie-lover who helped Jim Henson design a couple of movies (Labyrinth, Dark Crystal). He is instead a brilliant mind of our time, and a contributor to the world of imagination and myth whose name should be spoken of in the same sentence as Rackham, Goble, and Joseph Campbell.
• 
  Caffeinated Fae

  I've always been in love with Faeries (as you can tell by my username so when I saw this book sitting on the shelves of a bookstore, I knew I needed it. Brian Froud's artwork is some of the best I have seen. It's truly inspiring to see his portrayals of the fae. The Artwork alone is worth 5 stars but I loved the little tidbit of information he threw in as well. All in all, it's gorgeous.
• 
  Parka

  
  
  (
  More pictures at parkablogs.com)
  
  Brian Froud has illustrated several books on faeries but Brian Froud's World of Faerie is the most lavish art book yet.
  
  The book is beautifully constructed and filled with masterful paintings and sketches printed on low gloss paper. Just like other books published by Insight Editions, there are also several little booklets pasted onto the pages. At the end of the book in an envelope is a poster of a poem by Neil Gaiman.
  
  He paints as if he's beside the faeries themselves. His commentary introduces us to the world and secrets of faeries, showing us the many disguises and types of faeries. He even has his own interpretation for classic stories like Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan.
  
  There are not just faeries but other mysterious creatures like unicorns, trolls, green women and phyllomantic men. Phyllomancy is the art of divination by listening to the rustling of leaves. Interesting details like such accompany the paintings.
  
  This is a nice book for fantasy art lovers or fans of Brian Froud.
• 
  Librarian Janet Reads

  This book confused me. Amazon lists it as being published January of 2019 but the book I received from a nearby library had a copyright date of 2007. It turns out that the book I saw was a “revised and expanded” version of that 2007 one. Either way, the drawings are fascinating. The longer you stare at them the more fairy folk appear. I also highly recommend Froud’s
  Good Faeries/Bad Faeries--one of my favorites.
• 
  T.L. Wood

  Brian Froud has done it again with another beautifully illustrated book about Faeries! I truly enjoyed reading it; I love the humor that he puts into his books as well. Absolutely brilliant! :D He even added little smaller picture books inside, which were a really nice surprise. :) I highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of Brian Froud’s work. It will not disappoint any fantasy art lover. :D
• 
  Ronald

  Unlike the brillaint Good Faeries/ Bad Faeries and Goblins a lot of this book is rehashed artwork from other volumes.
• 
  J

  A recommended book given to its fantasy content. Although not having intimately explored Brian Froud before I have a feeling that I have probably seen some of his works but never knew the name of the artist nor was ever inclined to seek him out. And looking at the included pieces I can most definitely tell why.
  
  First of all the book isn't just a profile of his artwork in the hopes of gaining new fans or providing explanations to anyone who chooses to follow in his step. Instead it starts off with a Foreword in which his one-in-a-lifetime imagination and the magic of his works are touted by someone who has worked with him. To me it just felt like a bit more grandstanding before getting into the work and not actually a section that would provide me with more information on this artist I have never heard of before.
  
  From there the reader is taken into the book with a quote and led into a foldable pullout of a section of his studio. This was probably the most interesting to me since I really wanted to see if I knew any of the books that were included before noticing this his own books had a notable space on the shelf. The reader is then kicked out of the studio to listen to his wife as she explains what it is like when he gets artist block or as she puts it the Faerie people run off with his creativity.
  
  The writing then whirls to all kinds of rabbit trails where there are quotes given, symbolism into reading his pieces of works, history of Faerie lore and his own private history thrown all together in a madness that can only be considered Alice's rabbit hole. He waxes on how all women are part faerie in another section then explains in their world the tables are turned so even if they are feminine they replace the male thus stacking both traits on each other. Why couldn't we have just left off the text or used captions that just explained parts of the symbolism used in his work?
  
  The artwork tends to veer to mostly dark colors and with the exception of a few pieces were mostly crowded so much that it was hard to figure out where to focus your actual eyes on. Both human models and faerie creatures were commonly reused such as the faerie with the frog legs, the dandelion fluff creature or even some of the background trolls. Other characters were quite fantastical and as such had really very disproportionate bodies that were really painful to look at.
  
  Furthermore a few favorites of Brian Froud's seems to be an obsession with red hair and the portrayal of female nudes with the lower genitalia creatively covered up. He explains the latter as being his way of showing the innocent honesty of his faerie creatures who have nothing to cover up but as such this would be a book I wouldn't recommend for children whose guardians don't want them to see any of that.
  
  To offset his portfolio he does also include a coupe of mini-books in the pages that gather like artwork together for the reader to peruse, pencil drawings, his paints and also a few photographic shots in which he added components to them to make them into art. As such the reader who is a bit more open than me may end up discovering something they like.
  
  Furthermore was it just me or did this feel like a last bid to try to curry more fans for artwork than what he has? Anyway in the end although it was okay it just wasn't the type of art book that interested me thus may Brian Froud have his fans appear to him just as his Fay subjects appear when they want to be painted.
• 
  K.S. Thompson

  WOW! What an amazing experience. I still remember discovering Brian Froud's work and now I have this little window into his world. I have had this book for ages, but was being really precious about it (along with the rest of my Froud library). I wanted the conditions to be perfect. The perfect chair, the perfect lighting, the perfect cup of tea. But as we all know, nothing is perfect and we miss out on so much by trying to make it so.
  
  So I just decided that it was time to stop being so precious and start enjoying my books. I popped this into my bookbag, took it with me for the day, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was inspiring to me not only as a person, but as a writer.
• 
  Valeria

  One of my favorite artists. Looking at his paintings and then then reading the descriptions feels like you literally entered a new world. You'll never look at a tree or a pond the same way again. Each image is full of mystery and wonder. Very inspiring artwork! He is our modern-day Rackham
• 
  Kristina

  The paintings and sketches are impossibly lovely and Froud's meditations on art, creation and his spiritual connection to Faerie are profound and moving.
• 
  James

  Some very nice drawings. I like his studio. It looks like he uses a lot of models for his art.
• 
  Stella

  Well, that was...odd.
• 
  MKF

  The art in this book is unique and different from what I would normally enjoy. There were a few things in a few paintings I liked but overall I wouldn't say I'm a fan.
• 
  Melissa

  The art in here is so inspiring and so is the writing.
• 
  Courtney

  Can I be a little disappointed in this?
  
  I've waited years to buy my own Brian Froud book. I would obsess over my friends copy of
  Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book when I was a teen but owning my own copy was never within my financial reach at the time. I was however gifted a beautiful Tarot Card set of Brian Frouds art that I have treasured to this day. I also feel like I need to say that I was never into The Labyrinth or the Dark Crystal, so maybe I was never really as big of a fan as I thought I was?
  
  Froud's art continues to be beautiful but viewing it from a more adult perspective, I'm not as enchanted as I used to be. The accompanying text drifts into hokey too much to leave much of an impression so it's the art that has to do all the talking. According to Froud's own text, fairy tends toward the feminine so there is a lot of female bodies here. And I guess a little bit of credit is due that for drawing and painting from a male gaze there is a wide variety of different bodies here and not always ones that would be considered traditionally beautiful for women. They do seem to be of anglo appliance though but I guess the myths and legends the artist takes inspiration from are those of an anglo origin.
  
  Anyway. This would be a great book for a coffee table. It's huge and yet fascinating enough for a lingering flick through. It is NOT a read in bed book, as I learned. Too heavy and too big. It, also, doesn't live up to my memories of Lady Cottington's.
• 
  Janemarple

  Once again Brian Froud acts as an interpreter into the world of the fey. No one captures faery quite like Mr Froud and this book shows some of his most amazing drawings. Throughout his book he talks of his inspiration, the fey themselves and how he strives to correctly capture the forever changing creatures.
  
  An excellent look into the mind of a wonderful artist.
• 
  Leah

  This is another one that I had to pay through the nose for as it's out of print and has been for several years. I managed to track down a brand new copy that had been in a warehouse since like the late 70's. I don't ever take it out of the protective jacket that it is in, so don't ask me to. :)
• 
  Shelley VanWitzenburg

  Anything and everything Brian Froud EVER does I LOVE!!! He is my hero. He did the puppets for the movie The Labyrinth and his son, Toby played the baby Toby, and he and his wife did Yoda for Star Wars. Basically he is a BA and I want to live in his world. :)
• 
  Antoinette

  Brian Froud out does himself in this one ! There's the wonderful drawings from his other books. Plus, he does the text by himself this time. I liked getting a glimpse of his paints and sketch books. I don't doubt that he has seen the faeries and communicated with them !
• 
  Jada Stuart

  One of my favorite artists. Looking at his paintings and then then reading the descriptions feels like you literally entered a new world. You'll never look at a tree or a pond the same way again. Each image is full of mystery and wonder. Very inspiring artwork! He is our modern-day Rackham.
• 
  Emily

  All I have to say is how incredibly brilliant Brian Froud is. He obviously has made quite an impact on countless people. The Dark Crystal, The Labyrinth, and so many fascinating books full of aesthetic wonder are the reasons he's one of my favorite artists.
• 
  brian tanabe

  A great gift for any fan of Froud's work or the like, but it seems a bit padded if you will.
• 
  Shaun

  If only Brian Froud didn't write in his art books. His earnest treatises on the validity and magic of faeries only serves to sap some magic out of his paintings.
• 
  Cameron

  Many of these illustrations can be found in other of Brian Froud's books, but never have they been collected with such fun accoutrements, and the volume itself is beautiful.
• 
  Carly Shilling

  I live, eat, and breathe Brian Froud, so for me there is nothing better than this latest addition to his faery collection. Truly awe-inspiring work.
• 
  Alexa

  Brian Froud is a visionary and inspiration and an absolutely stunning artist. I adore him!