The Gnomon Workshop has announced the release of 3 new sets of concept art DVDs, one from Feng Zhu, who work on the Star Wars Episode III Art Department, Carlos Huante, creature designer at ILM whose latest will be seen in the upcoming Van Helsing, and concept car designer Harald Belker whose work has been seen on such films as Minority Report.

The first Cinefex newsletter was released today and contains an article detailing the VFX work of the HBO movie Angels in America, supervised by former ILM VFX Supervisor and Boss founder Richard Edlund and done by R!ot.

CGNetworks.com is running an in-depth article on the VFX of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.Weta Digital VFX Supervisor, and former ILM Supervisor Joe Letteri, discusses things like the workload, the battle at the Pelennor Fields, digital environments, and creature work including the armies, Gollum and Shelob.

A press release by the Gnomon Workshop has announced that they are partnering with Design Press Studio to create a series of concept art DVDs. Upcoming titles in this new partnership include a set by ILM Art Director Carlos Huante, concept artist James Clyne (who worked for ILM for Galaxy Quest, and in the productions of A.I. and Minority Report), Harald Belker, John Brown, Neville Page, Mark Goerner, Scott Robertson, plus another new set by Feng Zhu.

The latest official Star Wars newsletter pointed out a link describing the book by ILM modelmaker Grant Imahara about building your own battle bot. Grant Imahara has his own robot called Deadblow (just like Fon Davis' Mouser Mecha-Catbot, who also assisted on Grant's project), which is in competition on BattleBots.

The Australian newspaper The Age has posted an article about the production of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and what the future may hold for Peter Jackson's filmmaking empire. It mentions that ILM animator Paul Griffin recently moved to New Zealand betting on the future potential and projects of Weta Digital.

Don Bies, a veteran of ILM at the model and creature shop, recently launched his personal website where you can read his bio and film/TV credits and even look at behind the scenes pictures at work.

CGChannel.com is running an interview with Phil Tippett, where he mainly discusses his directorial debut: a sequel to Starship Troopers.

DeathFall.com is running an interview with animator Carlos Baena, who worked at Will Vinton and ILM, and is currently at Pixar, fresh from Finding Nemo, working on The Incredibles. He discusses his career and his personal projects including Screws.

IGN Filmforce has posted an interview with the legendary Ray Harryhausen, where he explains how he got started, working almost single handedly on projects, his opinions towards modern VFX and CG and the upcoming book on his career.

The Discovery Channel has a new TV show called The MythBusters, with frequent ILM modelmaker Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman of M5 Industries as hosts, trying to separate fact from fiction from popular urban legends and tales.

The Guardian has posted an article about Ed Catmull and Pixar. It mentions the origins of Pixar, trying to make it after being spun off Lucasfilm, their successful string of animated films and his views on 2D animation.

Craig Barron, of Matte World Digital, and author Mark Cotta Vaz have been awarded the 2002 Theatre Library Association Award for excellence in writing on film, for their book The Invisible Art about the history and techniques of matte paintings.

VFXPro.com is reporting that Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has created the Academy Science and Technology Council. Among members of the oversight committee will be Visual Effects Governor Bill Taylor (cofounder of Illusion Arts), visual effects pioneer Ray Feeney, Richard Edlund (former ILM supervisor, Boss Film founder and Academy VFX branch governor and Sci-Tech awards chairman) and Jonathan Erland (original Star Wars VFX member and cofounder of Apogee).

CGNetworks.com is running a profile on concept artists Feng Zhu where he briefly talks about his career, his inspiration growing up like Star Wars and Ralph McQuarrie, the new Gnomon training DVDs and some of his work.

VFXWorld.com is running an interview with Doug Chiang about the recently published Robota, and Alan Portillo of *Sparx who created the second teaser based on the book.

CGChannel.com is running an interview with Jonathan Rothbart, former ILM member and co-founder of The Orphanage, about their work on Jeepers Creepers 2.

The Marin Independent Journal is reporting that the Lucas' companies, including the construction at the Presidio, are good examples of environmental friendly businesses.

The Gnomon Workshop, part of the 3D and VFX school Gnomon, will release a set of 4 DVDs about concept design by Feng Zhu. He joined the Art Department for Star Wars Episode 3 where he is working in designing environments, vehicles and props.

The San Francisco Chronicle website is running and article on the influence of CalArts has had on modern animation. John Lasseter, who is the Executive VP of Creative at Pixar and worked at Disney and the Lucasfilm Computer Graphics Division, discusses the impact the old masters had on him and the industry. Many key people at Pixar, including director, came from CalArts like Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo), Pete Docter (Monsters Inc.) and Brad Bird (The Incredibles), Joe Ranft and Ralph Eggleston (For the Birds). Many current and former people at ILM also come from CalArts including Animation Supervisors Colin Brady and Tom Bertino, and Robert Blalack (who worked on the original Star Wars).