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Art Books (art of x, etc)

InkyblotsInkyblots Registered User regular
edited October 2010 in Help / Advice Forum
I have an addiction to buying these crazy, sometimes crazy expensive gaming/animation art books. After recently playing Okami, I've got my eyes set on the Complete Works off of the Capcom store. Other books that have caught my interest are the FFIX art book, Mulan, Hunchback of Notre dame can be gotten pretty cheap on amazon so I'm aiming for those also.

I'm not asking where to find them, I've got that pretty much covered. What I'm wondering is if anyone shares this hobby/problem and can recommend any books they have gotten and are fond of. So far I've only gotten the Guild Wars 2 book off the PA store, which is awesome but I've had it for quite awhile and I'm itching for a new book to look through.

Thanks in advance!

Inkyblots on

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    ScorchedScorched Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    I don't have this one myself, but considering it's from one of the best looking games of 2009, it probably won't disappoint. Plus, it's crazy expensive.

    http://www.ballisticpublishing.com/books/uncharted2/

    And they do exactly the same thing for God of War 3.

    http://www.ballisticpublishing.com/books/theartofthegame/godofwar3/showcase.php

    Man, Ballistic is such a rip-off.

    Scorched on
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    InkyblotsInkyblots Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Man you were not kidding about crazy expensive. The damn paperback is 65 dollars. I did love me some Uncharted 2 and God of War 3 though, especially UC2. So tempting...

    Inkyblots on
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    ScorchedScorched Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    As for other books... On my shelf, the ones which I consider good are:

    The Cinematic Art of Wrath of the Lich King (Basically a case study for the WotLK opening cinematic. It's pretty cool, but there are three themes: undead, dragons, and ice.)

    The Art of Toy Story 3. This one has beautiful, beautiful colour and mood boards. It's so much better than the other Pixar art books I have.

    The Art of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Pretty cool. I've looked at it too long though, so I can't give a good opinion on it.

    My favourite though is a comic book cover book - and I'm not a comic book fan at all. It's The Cover art of Marko Djurdjevic. Amazing cover artist. Suggest you check it out.

    CCAD also has some nice student thesis books out. I think one is Alien Race? It's pure conceptual stuff.

    Scorched on
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    InkyblotsInkyblots Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Looking at the preview for the Marko Djurdjevic book just sold me, definitely picking this up. I've been on the fence with Toy Story 3 for awhile now but I think I might pick it up since it seems like a very decent price for something I will probably love unless I have no soul.

    Great suggestions man, ton of thanks.

    Inkyblots on
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    rtsrts Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    If you like the Marko book you would probably like Cover Run.

    You may also consider just straight up art books, because while it is impressive what goes into the production of these films and games...the shit old masters is more so.

    rts on
    skype: rtschutter
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    Angel177Angel177 Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    I currently share your passion(its not an addiction), one i would recommend if you love Art books is the art of Bioshock as well as the Art of Bioshock 2, and if you snag a copy of the collectors edition you get 3 posters with SECRET messages...wooo as well as a rapture vinyl record.

    Also any of the Pixar art books are...awesome, I have borrowed the Art of the Incredibles, Up and Wall-e everyone an awesome read.

    and even if our not into it the Udon books from street fighter are so, so, so, well done.

    Angel177 on
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    IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited October 2010
    Seeing the complexity of the backgrounds in the Spirited Away Art book is awesome. You can also occasionally find it in borders/barnes and noble if you want to flip through it first.

    I saw a book for half life 2 That I was dying to get.

    Ashley woods has some sweet books, if you like painterly stuff, ladies with robots, or Metal Gear Solid.

    Iruka on
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    starmanbrandstarmanbrand Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    I've got a few coffee table books. Street Fighter Tribute by Udon is a lot of fun to flip through. I also picked up I am 8bit which is modern art based on classic games.

    starmanbrand on
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    TaminTamin Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    My small collection:

    http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3959680?shelf=art

    The MegaMan Zero Art Book is my most recent addition. Very detailed artwork from all 4 games.

    Raising The Bar is pretty much a must read if you enjoy the Half-Life series. Concept Art (Ivan the Space Biker comes to mind), story elements that came and went, and lots of general information.

    Game of Thrones is less an art book and more rules for the d20 game, but it contains a number of decent-to-excellent art pieces, and is otherwise fairly involved in fleshing out the world of Westeros.

    Tamin on
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    BartholamueBartholamue Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    http://www.amazon.com/Art-Final-Fantasy-IX/dp/0744000505

    This book is apparently really good, and has a lot of in depth things.

    Bartholamue on
    Steam- SteveBartz Xbox Live- SteveBartz PSN Name- SteveBartz
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    InkyblotsInkyblots Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    FFIX and Raising the Bar are certainly at the top of my list. I haven't really looked at a megaman book but I did love the games. I can't believe I missed the MGS book.

    I really want the Bioshock books but they are, as with the UC2 and GoW3 books, crazy expensive.

    Thanks for all the suggestions, definitely updating my amazon wish list after this.

    Inkyblots on
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    curly haired boycurly haired boy Your Friendly Neighborhood Torgue Dealer Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    the art of mass effect is pretty great

    http://www.amazon.com/Art-Mass-Effect-Dan-Birlew/dp/0761558519/

    i managed to get it last year back when it was under $30, but after the second game was released it appreciated quite a bit.

    curly haired boy on
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    Registered just for the Mass Effect threads | Steam: click ^^^ | Origin: curlyhairedboy
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    NotYouNotYou Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    This site is your friend: http://parkablogs.com/

    NotYou on
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    InkyblotsInkyblots Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Teach a man to fish etc... you are a wise man good sir. Bookmarked.

    Oh man this is by the person that does all the video reviews on amazon! And it seems he goes a little more in depth on this website, excellent.

    Inkyblots on
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    BullioBullio Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    curly haired boy wrote: »
    the art of mass effect is pretty great

    http://www.amazon.com/Art-Mass-Effect-Dan-Birlew/dp/0761558519/

    i managed to get it last year back when it was under $30, but after the second game was released it appreciated quite a bit.

    Came in here just to post that. The only reason I bought the strat guide was for that book, and it was completely worth it.

    I'm not real crazy on collecting artbooks, but every so often I find one I just have to have or a series comes along that I love the style of and really grabs me. M:TG's art really grabbed me as a kid, and I bought one or two of the books that reprinted collections of art from groups of sets.

    Bullio on
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    NotYouNotYou Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Inkyblots wrote: »
    Teach a man to fish etc... you are a wise man good sir. Bookmarked.

    Oh man this is by the person that does all the video reviews on amazon! And it seems he goes a little more in depth on this website, excellent.

    I will warn you, your credit card will be taxed. You'll be rethinking your 80 dollar imported japanese art books next month as you look at your bill.

    NotYou on
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