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We all loved the Harry Potter and Harry Potter: Magical Creatures colouring books by Scholastic. The exciting news is, Harry Potter: Magical Places and Characters is available now!

According to Mugglenet, the pattern designs seem simpler in this instalment, however, the scenes themselves are extremely detailed.

Check out photos of inside the book over at Mugglenet here, and get the book now on Amazon here – we can’t wait for the next in the series!

As we reported previously, MinaLima has a special exhibition currently in London. The Pottermore Correspondent took a trip to the exhibition (and hinted that a Harry Potter actor or two may show up to see the exhibition themselves sometime). The PMC was also able to conduct an exclusive interview with Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima.

Pottermore uploaded high resolution scans of some of the artwork that will be displayed at the exhibition. Of the PMC’s chat with Mina and Lima, Pottermore reports:

“Edwardo tells me there are nearly 90 prints in this exhibition. ‘We are doing it chronologically, by book. So we start with the letter and the ticket…’

‘It gets very busy by the sixth book. It’s just all over the place,’ says Mira.

‘And we have a selection of authentic props, too,’ Eduardo adds.

‘It was so nice of them to let us do that,’ says Mira, meaning the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, who has lent them some of the props they designed for the films, to show at the exhibition. They’ll be carefully placed on display in cabinets throughout the gallery space.“

Pottermore got the two talking about collaboration and what it was like working together on such big projects. The pair have been working in tandem for so long, they think of themselves as one unit.

“One of the charming things about Mira and Eduardo is how they finish each other’s sentences. They never properly interrupt one another though; it’s more that they’re on the same train of thought. That’s how they work together, too, they tell me. It’s so collaborative they can never really tell who did what and when.

Eduardo says, ‘We are basically two bodies and one brain.’

‘Er, gross,’ says Mira.

‘No, well we can’t really say now that one person designed one thing and one did the other, can we?’

‘That’s true,’ Mira adds. We might say ‘oh, can you do this bit for me?’ or I might draw on something he’s started. But yes, you’re right. That’s how we are.’“

 

To see photos of parts of the exhibit, Pottermore has uploaded a small collections of photos onto their Twitter. The exhibition opened today, November 30, and will remain open until December 19th. MinaLima’s last exhibition saw over 10,000 visitors, including special guests. The exhibition resides at The Coningsby Gallery, London, and is free admission. Please see the Gallery website for times and other important information.

Leaky will be present at the MinaLima exhibit and Dinner in the Great Hall later this week. Please stay tuned for articles of these fan attractions first hand!

MinaLima, the graphic artists behind the splendor of the magical Harry Potter films is opening an exhibit in London. The Graphic Art of the Harry Potter Films exhibition will be open from Monday, November 30, to Saturday, December 19, at The Coningsby Gallery, Fitzrovia. Admission to the exhibition is free.

In the exhibition, fans will be able to get a close up look at the visual designs that brought the Harry Potter world to life on screen. Fans will be able to see details of the artworks as originally created for the films, as well as process of how these designs came to be and changes that occurred along the way. The artworks will be displayed chronologically.

As MinaLima designed the Daily Prophet, the Marauder’s Map, and many other graphic props, WB’s Leavesden Studio Tour will be loaning the exhibition original and authentic film props from Harry Potter Studio Tour. All artwork displayed was designed at Leavesden Film Studios between 2002 and 2010.

After the films finished, MinaLima continued their work with the Harry Potter franchise, designing the streets and stores of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The press release talks of MinaLima’s work, saying:

“As the designers of the Marauder’s Map, The Daily Prophet and every other graphic prop in the film series, Miraphora and Eduardo have an exceptional and passionate understanding of the Harry Potter films.

With the designs being an integral part of the storytelling, MinaLima’s attention to detail is paramount in their work. Much historical research and experimentation with techniques is employed, from finding the perfect ageing effects to scanning old typefaces and peculiar surfaces to enrich their visual reference library.“

 

Prints of artwork and other memorabilia will be available for purchase at the exhibition. The press release for the exhibition states:

“This exhibition showcases graphic designs from Warner Bros. Pictures’ Harry Potter films by Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, reproduced as limited edition art prints which will be for sale.”

“All printed in England, the prints use pigment inks on 300gsm Hahnemuhle fine art paper. Each print is edition numbered and embossed, and comes with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Some editions are embellished with hand finished metallic foiling. Artworks can be purchased either framed or unframed at the exhibition, and can be shipped worldwide. Also for sale at the exhibition will be Hogwarts prop replica notebooks and postcard sets from MinaLima’s collection.“

The Graphic Art of the Harry Potter Films exhibition is open every day from: Monday 30th November 2015 to Saturday 19th December 2015 inclusive. Free entry.

Check gallery website for opening times: www.coningsbygallery.com

Private view: Monday 30th November 6.30 to 9pm

The Coningsby Gallery: 30 Tottenham Street, London W1T 4RJ; Tel no +44 (0) 20 7636 7478

This week, someone will own a piece of Harry Potter film history.  Prop Store, a source for movie collectibles, will be holding its world-wide live auction on Wednesday, September 23rd.  In August, Entertainment Weekly reported on the upcoming sale, and now, Moviefone and others have articles about it.  Nearly 500 items related to film production, including props and costumes for numerous franchises and cult classics, will be sold.  Three auction lots in the catalog this year are from the Harry Potter films.

The first item, #178, is a Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone movie poster signed by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.  The auction catalog says, “This poster was acquired directly from a crew member who worked on location with the key cast members on the film.”

The second item, #179, is a Hogwarts acceptance envelope with its wax seal (that may or may not have a letter inside).  It is one of the many envelopes in the scene where a tornado of owls and post swirls through the Dursley’s house.

“Made from marbled-effect paper, Harry’s address is printed in green on the front of the envelope with the Hogwarts crest printed on the reverse. This hero envelope features an actual red wax Hogwarts seal rather than the many printed envelopes that were also used in the scene. The envelope remains sealed with paper seemingly contained within,” says the auction catalog.

The third lot, #180, is two scarves given to crew members on the sets of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  They are both in Gryffindor house colors and have embroidered logos from the respective films.  The Goblet of Fire scarf is in a color-block similar to Harry’s Triwizard Tournament uniform.

Wednesday’s auction will include a live webcast, and bids will be accepted in person, online, and by phone.  Will someone finally get a Hogwarts acceptance letter?

To see the full catalog of items for sale, see here.

This past week, Harry Potter fans finally got their hands on the ultimate collection of the Harry Potter films: the Harry Potter Wizard's Collection.  This box set is the culmination of 13 years of film-making, and everything a Potter fan could hope for.  Leaky got its hands on the boxed set and now has the first in a series of in depth looks at this collection, its contents, and what to expect from the Harry Potter Wizard's Collection.  With 31-discs and over 37 hours of special features all in one mega set, this collection was well worth the wait.



My first impression upon taking the set out of its box was that it was massive.  It opened up, and out, and down, and side to side, with discs and memorabilia at every turn.  This 19 lb. collection is well worth the space it takes on your DVD shelf… or, more accurately, on its own special table, because it contains everything we've seen from the Harry Potter films-- the movies themselves, the extra scenes, behind-the-scenes features-- plus new and extended content all in one place.  Blu-ray, traditional DVD, and UltraViolet versions of all eight Harry Potter films are the backbone of this collection, but the quality of both the special features and the packaging itself cannot be overlooked.  The attention to detail and build quality of the set goes above and beyond what I've ever seen before for a DVD collection.  This is not simply a vessel or a shipping case that you'd throw aside once you have extracted the DVDs and additional content from the box.  Rather, it is something that will remain a home for the discs, each with their own special place (sometimes well hidden place) in the box.

Once everything had been niffled out of its hiding place, the entire collection is undoubtedly impressive.  In addition to the DVDs, each box set contains a prop-inspired label collection, a blueprint poster of the Hogwarts Castle, film concept art, Stuart Craig sketch prints, a fabric map of Hogwarts, a Nobel Collection Horcrux Locket, and a certificate of authenticity.  These items, especially the sketches by Stuart Craig, are beautiful renderings of settings and scenes now iconic in the films.  The hard-bound Catalogue of Artefacts is one of my favorite parts of this set, for it allows for a closer look at many of the painstakingly detailed and intricate props seen for seconds in the films.

Moving on to the new content, the most interesting disc (and the disc I put in first) would have to be the Wizard's Collection bonus disc.  It is also-- a fluke, I'm sure-- the trickiest item to locate.  This contains a mixture of new special features and extended editions of previously released features.  Here's a rundown:

The extended version of the previously released When Harry Left Hogwarts adds nearly thirty minutes of extra material to the documentary, including the touching story of David Holmes, the long-time stunt double for Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter), who was injured on set in 2009.  We also get a glimpse at the filming of the Boat House scene in Deathly Hallows: Part 2, along with candid moments with the actors and director between takes.  Next, production designer Stuart Craig is the focus of Designing the World of Harry Potter, which shows just how crucial his vision was to the film series.  We also get a pretty intense look at the making of Quidditch in the films, as well as how they made the character of Hagrid appear as giant as they did.  In these sections, we get a lot of behind the scenes looks at the technical craftsmanship that goes into creating what we see on the screen.  Finally, in 50 Greatest Harry Potter Moments, the cast and crew go back through the eight films to recount some of their favorite moments to film.  A highlight is Harry Potter author J. K. Rolwing speaking to seeing Mirror of Erised on the set of the first film and being thankful to the filmmakers for remaining true to her story's British roots.  Together, the four plus hours of special features on this disc give us fans a new look into things that we may have already seen or read about, but sheds so much more light onto the craft and care taken to create these films.

The artistic design and presentation of these items is evident at every turn when exploring this collection.  You can tell that the designers of this box continued the tradition of immersive detail the filmmakers used with crafting the Harry Potter films.  There isn't one element in this collection that seems cheap or unnecessary.  When it comes to what's new, this collection delivers on its claim to share new content with the inclusion of thoughtful and revealing behind-the-scenes looks at the processes and people that brought J.K. Rowling's books to the screen.

If you are or know a Harry Potter fan that is looking for the most comprehensive set of films, features, extras and then some, this collector's set makes for the perfect gift.  Harry Potter Wizard's Collection, with an MSRP of $499 (although, discounted through many retailers), is available to purchase now via this link.  More information about this collection can be found on the official site here.

Check back for more from Leaky and LeakyNews about the Harry Potter Wizard's Collection!

Artist Adam Brockbank has updated his website again with some truly stunning concept art he did for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Most notable and perhaps most moving, is this lovely and sad piece depicting the funeral for the late great Professor Albus Dumbledore. Fans will recall of course, this scene was not in the film alas, and neither was the trip to the Giants, depicted in this... Read the rest of this post

With the news of the Ultimate Collector's editions of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets due out on December 8th, readers will note we will be seeing some rare artwork and more for the films included as part of these sets. As such, it is worth another look to check out artwork by acclaimed artist David Edward Bryd, who drew some early concept art ... Read the rest of this post