Tag: Art Of

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Art of Big Hero 6

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The Art of Big Hero 6 by Jessica Julius

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Bought for myself.

As you may know, if you follow this blog, I have a soft spot for Art of books, and I treat myself to them because someone somewhere was saying that basically, once an art of book for a film or game comes out they don’t usually do any reprints, so the ones that are out there are what you get and they will only go up on price, so it is a worthy investment if you really want to keep the books. So I started slowly growing my collection and I have to say that I am learning new things on storytelling with each one alongside finding new inspirations on each of them.

The review, in this case, is for Big Hero 6 and basically, as an Art of book, it does extremely well giving you various areas of exploring what the content is. One of my favourite things is the tidbits of trivia they throw about a character design or maybe about how they started with an idea for a plot to go here and after some random doodles that were just for fun, the story took a fun turn or they included a specific element and changed something. I find these fascinating and Disneys overall books in this style tend to be rich in little trivia.

Like for example in the above, you can see the ideas of how Mochi would end up going around the room and why the little paw rockets, etc, and the fact that they would have a cute pet, which obviously adds to the story. And you can see from really cute simple sketches to more complex and developed pieces.

Obviously, the story is super cute so I had a good time going through the book and there is a very soft sketch and watercolour vibe throughout the book which adds to the charm.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Art of Bioshock Infinite

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The Art Of Bioshock Infinite by Ken Levine and Nate Wells

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No, but I have played the game several times before.

Ownership: Ordered through Abe Books as you can only get the German version here for some reason

Spoiler free review: No, art of books are all about the game the art is of, so spoilers may be included.

Bioshock as a series of games is one of my favourite comfort games (yes, I know it is not actually a sweet fun game) and the pushing the boundaries and asking but what if this was taken to the extreme with DNA modification and in this particular period of time, what would happen?

Which is part of the interesting part because the Art of Bioshock Infinite explores what could have happened if America had gone more religiously extreme and designated themselves and whiteness as better than others. On top of that it adds the theory of multiple universes and it was great to have a good AI character to help you through your journey.

The book has a lot of the “we knew we wanted to explore this topic, so we tried so many iterations of this and then figure we liked some parts of it and not others or had to redo some other parts”. For example, the concpet of Songbird was initially too close to another Big Daddy and you get sketches of it or way too far away mythical mechanical feel creatures that when you look at the game did not fit as well.

I always enjoy seeing some of the things that didn’t make it into the game and how they coloured the final product, for example the scene below of Elizabeth’s room gives that idea of her being a dreamer and wanting more, and how that ties to her innocence and loss of it throughout the game.

Overall, it was worth trying to get the book from the US as a version here is too expensive or only in German unsure why), but realising it was hard to get meant I ahve started prioritising Art Of books more now.

Recommended for fans of Bioshock, and for those that like Art Of books or if the topic suits your drawing isnpiration style.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Art of Concrete Genie

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The Art of Concrete Genie by Pixelopus

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Bought for myself.

Spoiler free review: Yes

Concrete Genie is a very underrated game that is probably one of the games that own the PS4 motion sensors of the controller. I absolutely loved it, it did take me a while to get used to the controls but once I did, I was hooked and didn’t want the game to end because it was so good.

But this isn’t a review of the game, that is to come, instead, I found that there was an art of book and HAD to buy it. The whole premise of Concrete Genie is that our main hero slowly brings back the town by drawing and creating “genies” in the concrete and clearing the bad graffiti and bad stuff from the town with them. Basically, the make something ugly pretty premise with a sweet story. So a book for that, yes, please!

And the book doesn’t disappoint, it is crammed full of the concepts and explanations of the details they wanted to include for each character, the concepts for the town and different areas, and many other things. For example, you get an idea into how Luna, the main genie that starts the genie thing, developed as a concept and why they chose the version of Luna you get in-game.

Overall it is the perfect kind of Art of book, with commentary, conceptual art, discussions of it, and art that influenced the final game, alongside little extras that didn’t make it into, but that would have been fun or something and yet don’t make it any less.

Recommended for gamers, if you are interested int he game but don’t want to play it, or if you like the concpet of saving a town and remaking it with beautiful art and art genies. Or you just enjoy Art Of books.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Art of Ghost of Tsushima

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The Art of Ghost of Tsushima

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I ended ordering The Art of Ghost of Tsushima after realising that books of this kind for older games had sold out and I was desperately trying to find them. I have many reasons to buy an Art of book, but for hte most part is to see what is conceptual art, what was promotional, what ideas where bounced around and a few other details that you don’t see in the game or film.

The other reason I buy them is for reference, as sometimes I want to study the artwork, style or motifs and other I want to make fanart. So this would be a great encyclopaedia for drawing Jin and company.

The game has blow you away stunning visuals and as you can see from my chosen flat lay of the book, you can find the same alongside more details on clothing and character design and scenery. Honestly I just went page by page through it thinking that I’d love to just transplant myself to the scenery but preferably without the drama. Don’t want to be fighting mongols in real life thank you very much.

So, if you like game art and conceptual art or Japan or are intrigued by the artwork from it, this ia good book, the quality is stunning, presentation also wonderful. No faults from me except that I would like more pages and more art for the book.

Book Review

The Art of Brave Review

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This is an informal review, in the sense that usually I follow a particular format, but not for this book (it isn’t the first time and won’t be the last).

The Art of Brave had been on my wishlist for a long long time. I am picky with my Art Of books, as they are expensive but also if done well, they tend to inspire my art and own ideas a lot. And they serve as study material for my art.

Obviously, it was an easy choice to buy this when it went on sale on Forbidde Planet, so I did and I do not regret it. The book has a lot of art, yes I know, it is an “art of” but some of them have more of this is how we did stuff and stock images that turned into this. We have some of that here, but also a wonderful quantity of sketches on the various approaches and potential ways of showing each integral character, and even smaller parts, like the will’o’wisps.

It is gorgeous, good quality and I am a happy fox, so I recommend that if you like Art of books, you may consider this one. Plus, maybe watch Brave alongisde (I ended up watching it after going through this book because it is like having a new perspective into it! I love that).

Finally, have a glimpse itno this book, with the page spread for Angus.

Book Review

The Art Of Horizon Zero Dawn Review

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It is no secret I am a gamer. Not the sexy-lick-a-controller kind, but the “oh my gosh I will scream at the screen because Lara Croft just fell off a cliff after the 12th attempt to do that part”.

I am also a stupidly loyal one, I fell in love with Bethesda’s games (Dishonored and Fallout 3) so now I have all of the Dishonored games on my computer, XBox360 and PS4 (just so I can play them whenever, I’d probably have them on my mobile if it was possible).

Trust me, I can rave about any Bioshock game or one of the previously named ones (also Alice Madness Returns, Batman games, Lego games, etc). But I am also careful of trying new games from developers I have never played a game from before.

However, my love for Horizon Zero Dawn blossomed not because I saw adverts for it as a game, but rather because Loish (Lois Van Baarle) released some of the “concept art” she had done for the design of Aloy.

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I have been following Loish’s work for over 10 years, so I knew that if she had contributed to this game, I would have to play it, even if it was JUST for the artwork. I bought a PS4 just so I could play HZD, my birthday present was buying a bundle of console and game. That much I love her artwork (and gaming).

Needless to say, I LOVE this game. If you haven’t played, you have to. The story poses some very interesting technological questions (and about humanity), the gameplay is interesting and has an “Open World” feel. And of course, the artwork and design are stunning.

(I know this is the weirdest review of a book I have ever made, I promise there is a book review somewhere in here!)

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So much I love this game I preordered Funko’s (Aloy and a Watcher), bought licensed pins of Aloy and a Thunderjaw (they are awesome!), and bought the soundtrack CD for it.

The only thing missing was this book. And I couldn’t have that, so I got the book too.

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The Art of Horizon Zero Dawn by Paul Davies

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I have several “Art Of” books and I have to say that the quality of this one is stunning. It does NOT lack artwork (sometimes some of the books say too much and have very little art or nothing new). This is full of artwork and details but also explanations about why they chose to do certain things.

It made me want to draw all the characters + creatures there and then as I was reading it. And it also made me want to play the game again. (And of course, it has some of the sketches/pieces Loish did, so win win).

I just have to say that is one of the best “Art Of” books I have ever had. Blown away by it.

Moon recommends

You play Horizon Zero Dawn, and maybe follow Loish. She has two artwork books (she started them on Kickstarter and the second one is just coming out in March). And of course, if you like books about the art of, buy this one.