Alexander Production Artwork

eBay seller animationkarchives has listed some original production art, screenused props, and set dec from Oliver Stone's Alexander (2004).  I find the artwork most interesting. It really gives you a sense of the attention to detail that goes into a production of this size and scope.

Unfortunately, the art doesn't seem to be signed so we can't credit the artist.  The Production Designer on the film was Jan Roelfs but the art department was fairly large and these might have been done by a member of Roelfs' team.

I think it's amazing that the art department considered details like the furniture below. They really made an effort to give every environment in the film its own identity and the historical references are plain to see.

Xena Costume Patterns

Here are some more treasures from the eBay auctions of shed11costumehouse in New Zealand.  These pieces come from the private collection of Jane Holland who was the Xena: Warrior Princess costume designer for seasons 5-6 after Ngila Dickson left to work on The Lord of the Rings.

These are actual reinforced patterns for pieces of Xena's iconic armour!  If someone wanted to make a replica there's no better place to start than the original source material.

As I said about the earlier auctioned pieces, these are amazing pieces of history from the show.  They deserve to be carefully archived and now they can be.

Xena Costume Elements

shed11costumehouse is a reliable eBay seller from New Zealand.  Recently, they auctioned several costume elements that come from the private collection of Jane Holland who was the Xena: Warrior Princess costume designer for seasons 5-6 after Ngila Dickson left to work on The Lord of the Rings.  These pieces provide great insight into the construction of the costumes.

First, a hero copper breastplate that shows some heavy set-use.  This is an iconic piece but I was still surprised to see it sell for over $3000!  That just goes to show that Xenites are still passionate!

Second, elements of one of Xena's gauntlets:

And finally (and perhaps the coolest), here are pattern pieces for Xena's famous leather corset.  This is truly a great find.  This iconic costume is a major part of television history and to see the "blueprints" for it is fantastic!

Design of Conan the Barbarian

Ron Cobb was the production designer for the 1982 Conan the Barbarian.  He had previously worked as a conceptual artist on Alien and Raiders of the Lost Ark.  He and director John Milius were influenced by the work of Frank Frazetta and truly did a wonderful job of bringing Conan's world to the silver screen.

iconic Conan by Frank Frazetta

The sword of Conan's father is an important part of the film's story so it had to stand out.  I think Cobb managed to design an iconic prop.  The sword has been replicated dozens of times as a collectable for fans.

Cobb obviously worked closely with costume designer John Bloomfield because many of Cobb's costume sketches look as though they walked directly from the page to the screen.

I think perhaps Cobb's greatest contribution to Conan the Barbarian is his incredible set designs.  In the 1980s filmmakers still had to build most sets practically without any CG aids.  The epic scale of some of the Conan sets really hearkens back to the enormous sets for films like Cleopatra, Caligula and the biblical epics of the 60s.

Cobb has said that his favourite part of designing Conan the Barbarian was the chance to create entirely new architectural styles that seemed otherworldly but were also familiar enough to have actually existed in Earth's distant past.