雷·哈裏豪森（Ray Harryhausen），於1920年生於洛杉磯，但他職業生涯中大部分的傑作都是在英國完成的。退休之後，他又以極大的熱情推動著雷與黛安娜·哈裏豪森基金會的運作。這一基金會的成立目的有三：讓更多人知曉雷·哈裏豪森的大名；講解傳授他的獨門動畫技藝與特效 藝術手法；妥善保存他手中難以計數的珍藏。2013年，他在英國與世長辭。

托尼·道爾頓（Tony Dalton），曾是一位電影發行宣傳員兼影史專傢，現在則經營著自己的檔案研究公司。他與雷·哈裏豪森相識已有30多年，並和雷閤著瞭他那本極為成功的自傳《動畫人生》，該書也是由Aurum齣版社發行的。

徐辰，又名Cliffx、範剋裏夫大尉、恒星際戰術縧蟲、日丹諾夫第一一二工廠五號鍋爐房司爐工、鮮卑利亞大規模殺傷性拖稿神拳第三十五代傳人。喜愛傳統影視特效的老小孩，近年譯作《星際迷航：聯邦星艦進取號完全圖解》、《星球大戰：韆年隼號完全圖解》。

As one of the most highly acclaimed stop-motion animators in movie history, Ray Harryhausen was responsible for the dinosaurs, animals, mythological creatures, and aliens in such classic films as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, King Kong, Jason & The Argonauts, and War of the Worlds . These extraordinary creatures stole scene after scene from human actors, and this book shows how he developed them.

When writing his autobiography, An Animated Life , Ray Harryhausen and Tony Dalton realized that they were working with a collection of art too extensive to share in one book. As a result, this companion volume lets readers explore the hoard of artwork that Harryhausen has preserved in his London home.

Reproduced to the highest standards, this artwork includes preliminary sketches, elaborate drawings of key scenes, and storyboards, all produced as he prepared to undertake the laborious task of animating each creature. Also shown here are the tiny, elaborately articulated models that Harryhausen created to play enormous roles, and the bronzes he cast to preserve their forms in perpetuity.

The stunning array of images in this book is a tribute to the vast scope of Harryhausen’s imagination and artistic skills. It is a collection that no one interested in special effects or cinema history can do without.