Are Your Sources of Inspiration Depleted?
Hmm, I know that look. Your tanks are low. Your inspiration, waning. Your muse, yawning. Confecting new ideas is laborious.
Maybe it’s winter during a pandemic and you’re fully 100% losing it. Hey friend: may I suggest an art book in these trying times?
What makes for a good art book?
Well, of course, this is plenty subjective, but the content and the way it’s put together make a huge difference.
For instance, I would rank a book that simply compiles all of the existing, very familiar, publicly seen art or assets from something into a book (and that’s basically it) very low. Like, hey, no one wants you just printing out of an existing game or movie— we’ve seen that.
But an art book that shows process, that shows iterations, and where the creators thought about going, especially in visual development, makes a book really valuable. Some of these books even talk about the technical process in an insightful way too.
Today, I’m sharing five art books that are top quality, top value, and guaranteed to refuel those low creative tanks.
Watch this video now!
No matter what, good art is good art, and lookin’ at good art is good lookin’.
Buying art books can be a little dicey sometimes, since you aren’t so sure what’s inside after spending a decent amount of money.
So, as someone who has grabbed quite a few— andwrittenthemoffasabusinessexpense— Here’s 5 art of books that I’ve absolutely loved.
Books 1: The Art of Spyro Reignited Trilogy and The Art of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time
For the first book recommendation, I’ve put two together. Why? Because the Art of Spyro and the Art of Crash 4 are both made by the same team in a short span of time, and the subject matter has the same goal.
Editorial note: I’m friends with some of the folks making work in these books, you can even watch my interviews with them, but even without that personal bias these are top notch, incredible books.
(Watch my interview with Nicholas Kole and get the scoop on his work on Spyro Reignited)
Both of them deal with updating an old Playstation game character to the modern day, and all of the baggage that comes with appeasing fans, finding the core and tone of the originals, and ever so slightly changing things for the better if it’s called for.
There was so much art created for these games, and you’re seeing a big chunk of it here, it’s not just the promo art or stills from the game just printed out. And what you see is absolutely gorgeous. Even if you haven’t played the games, these books are absolutely worth it.
Book 2: The Art of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Nausicaa is a really unique situation because it’s obviously a passion project of Miyazaki, it’s something that he personally drew as a manga and directed as a film.
This book focuses on the film obviously, but the insight in here has a ton of depth. It collects character design, illustration, cells from the film, watercolor art by Miyazaki, even notes on the camera rig and tech they used. All art done pre-computers and totally traditionally.
This is something really valuable to independent creators working on stories, and hey, I didn’t even say a single word about how visually rich Nausicaa is. The art, S’GOOD.
Book 3: The Wanderer’s Journal from Hollow Knight
This one is a bit different from the rest. Instead of functioning as strictly an Art Of book, this is one is told and made by a character in-universe. It’s the Wanderer’s Journal from Hollow Knight.
The art in this book is technically re-illustrated for the book, but because it’s assembled the way that it is, it gives context to where the creatures are from and tons of little lore drops, again from a possibly unreliable narrator in the form of the Wanderer.
As a fan it’s a really fun book, but if you aren’t one, it’s probably less of a must-grab especially since it’s a little harder to get, but definitely an example of lore dumps done right.
Book 4: Splatoon 1 & 2, Kirby, Super Mario
For #4, we’re doing four books. Yep. four books all at once. So the ‘5’ in the title is- I mean, this is now 5 additional books in the line-up on top of the existing five. *sigh* …Fine.
All four of these books are from Nintendo games, and the way they’re each presented is very different. The Art of Splatoon and Splatoon 2 is— something I haven’t said yet— a visual menagerie.
It collects everything that needed to be connected for these games- character design and world building, and more specifically, fashion and architecture.
The in-game logos and brands all have their visual development here, and in general this really distinct art style Splatoon has is on full display.
The Kirby Art and Style Collection Is more like a walk through history with the Poyo himself. Not only does this include art from the games, but things like merchandise, and the branding for the Japanese Kirby Cafe.
You don’t get a ton of behind the scenes work, but because it’s decades of history, that’s easy to let slide.
Last but not least, is a book that gives you WAY more than you’d expect by way of iteration, behind the scenes looks, and concepts: the Art of Super Mario Odyssey.
What’s so great about this is that it really helped me appreciate a lot of that Mario stuff that you take for granted. And the sheer amount here is like, almost refreshingly non-Nintendo.
Book 5: The Art of the Mandalorian
So y’know how, you’re watching The Mandalorian, and the credits come on, and there’s those beautiful illustrations? Yeah, those are in The Art of Star Wars The Mandalorian.
So is a ton of concept art, and production design, and character design, and costume design. This is the only book on here that deals with live action production, and I think it’s a great reminder of how powerful an effect concept art and illustration can be on something that ends up integrated into live action.
Plus, the groundbreaking use of the volume just opens up crazy avenues of possibility with filming and is great to learn about.
Hey what would this video about 5 books that had 5 books tacked on to it be without a couple of honorable mentions?
Honorable Mention: The Art of Cuphead
The Art of Cuphead has a great breakdown of some of the pencils and their process in this literally hand animated game.
Honorable Mention: The Art of The Iron Giant
The Art of The Iron Giant is a little harder to find, and older, and has some great art, albiet, somewhat comparatively sparse compared to some of the other books on this list. The same goes for The Art of Star Wars Rebels. Not a ton of extraneous art but great if you’re a fan anyway.
Well, this was my top (5-7-10??!) art books that won’t break your bank and are sure to fuel up your creative tanks!
What about you? Let me know in the comments section below on what your top 5 favorite arts book are!
We talk about good character design overall in my course Learn Character Design. And make sure you’re following over on Instagram @bageldenizen, I share a lot of my own processes and designs there regularly.
Thanks for reading, and have fun creating!
Do you Want to Master your Digital Art and Character Design Skills?
You Can Do it in Just Six Steps
Take the online course now that has helped countless students master basic and advanced character design skills.
Hey! I’m Brookes Eggleston…
If you’re new here, welcome! I’ve worked in studio settings and in a freelance capacity as a Character Designer, Illustrator, Story Artist, and 3D Modeler for nearly 15 years. But what I love as much as drawing characters is sharing what I’ve learned. Get to know my mission here at Character Design Forge.
