Roger Deans Avatar

With the recent launch of the James Cameron film ‘Avatar’, many are claiming the movie has been heavily influenced by Roger Deans work.
Roger Dean has been producing art and sculpture for over 30 years. His work explores other worlds, other dimensions and exploits the imagination by creating whole narratives and stories to spark wonder.
Roger Dean has been one of the most widely respected album cover artists since the 1970's. Since his early success with the progressive rock band 'Yes', Roger Dean has produced work for a number of other bands and has been involved with hundreds of other projects, including Virgin Records first logo.

Now however, he is coming back onto the scene under a new banner as some claim he is the unofficial creative mind behind the stunning scenery in the new motion picture 'Avatar'

The 'Flights of Icarus' is one of the closest examples of Roger Deans link to this new stunning film. 'Avatar' follows the variation of a story that has saturated the written word and, then later, the motion picture for many years. The story of a man who is charged with the destruction of a world and people that he comes to love and fight for. However, James Cameron's story is not in question, it is in the scenery and landscape of the far off planet that his film is set.

The Islands move slowly and magnificently across a deep blue sky, water falls from their summits, evaporating as they fall in to the empty atmosphere of a sky filled with mysterious creatures and colours - Roger Deans floating islands or James Cameron's Avatar? The native people in Cameron's film ride dragons with startling similarity to the early 'Green Dragon' and 'Red Dragon' of Roger Deans work. The fantastic and dramatic scenery of Avatar is what makes it a $300 Million film well worth the money.

Roger Dean has produced work that supports his 'Floating Islands' concept as well as working into this created world with characters and concepts. Such works however are not directly credited to Roger Dean by James Cameron and it is still uncertain that 'Avatars' striking scenery was inspired by the British born artist, Roger Dean.