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Artbooks - The Best And The Worst

Lime

Member
I was reading through my Homeworld artbook yesterday (Blue Canvas as the publisher) and it's absolutely an amazing display of sci-fi art with thorough interviews with the two lead artists Rob Cunningham and Aaron Kambietz. It is probably the best artbook that I have of the 20-30 that I own. Highly recommended if you can get a copy somewhere.

Artbook-Hiigara-Fleet-assets.jpg

Artbook-Taiidan-Fleet-assets.jpg

From Fist of Heaven's review
 
Does anyone have any idea where to find The Evil Within artbook? I’ve only just started buying these recently and it seems out of stock everywhere and over $100 at resellers.
 
I was reading through my Homeworld artbook yesterday (Blue Canvas as the publisher) and it's absolutely an amazing display of sci-fi art with thorough interviews with the two lead artists Rob Cunningham and Aaron Kambietz. It is probably the best artbook that I have of the 20-30 that I own. Highly recommended if you can get a copy somewhere.

Wow, the prices for that books are insane! Now I'm kicking myself for not picking it up a couple years ago.

Is Blue Canvas gone? Because it looks like their website is dead. I really enjoyed their books. I have The Art of Journey (which is also incredibly pricey now) and maybe a few others that I can't remember.
 

Dyna

Member
The Oddworld series artbook (The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years 1994 - 2004) is very cool, it has a lot of information on how the series came to be, what inspired the characters and the games etc. and of course a lot of cool concept art. Not sure if it's actually available online anymore but you could probably find it on eBay for a fair price (it retailed for around $60 I believe).

Stay away from the CE artbooks. Most of the times, they are rubbish. There are only a few exceptions for CE artbooks

You are better off buying the official artbooks.

Collector's edition artbooks are usually very lackluster, I agree. One exception I could think of is Tekken Tag Tournament 2's We are Tekken Edition, it included a 200+ page artbook with different artists' illustrations of all the characters. I'm not a huge fan of the series but I really enjoyed browsing through that one.
 

Lime

Member
Wow, the prices for that books are insane! Now I'm kicking myself for not picking it up a couple years ago.

Is Blue Canvas gone? Because it looks like their website is dead. I really enjoyed their books. I have The Art of Journey (which is also incredibly pricey now) and maybe a few others that I can't remember.

holy shit they're going for 1500 to 2000 USD :O

I know Portman bought an extra copy in case you're interested in contacting him/her. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/member.php?u=126114
 

Spacebar

Member
Blade Runner book just arrived early. I'm at work so when I get home I'll take some pictures and go more in depth. First impression is holy shit it's good. Lots of concept art, set photos, and promo pictures. It also has write ups for how they did certain things like the cgi etc.
 

hampig

Member
I was reading through my Homeworld artbook yesterday (Blue Canvas as the publisher) and it's absolutely an amazing display of sci-fi art with thorough interviews with the two lead artists Rob Cunningham and Aaron Kambietz. It is probably the best artbook that I have of the 20-30 that I own. Highly recommended if you can get a copy somewhere.

Artbook-Hiigara-Fleet-assets.jpg

Artbook-Taiidan-Fleet-assets.jpg

From Fist of Heaven's review

That looks wonderful. As a fan of mech/sci-fi designs but not so much a fan of Homeworld, would I enjoy that book?
 
I was reading through my Homeworld artbook yesterday (Blue Canvas as the publisher) and it's absolutely an amazing display of sci-fi art with thorough interviews with the two lead artists Rob Cunningham and Aaron Kambietz. It is probably the best artbook that I have of the 20-30 that I own. Highly recommended if you can get a copy somewhere.

Artbook-Hiigara-Fleet-assets.jpg

Artbook-Taiidan-Fleet-assets.jpg

From Fist of Heaven's review

Picked that up at launch and still haven't opened it yet. Looked nice in my display cabinet I guess...

That interview stuff sounds great though. When I finally play the remaster of the games I'll have to crack open the book and go through it; I love the ship designs in that series.
 

Lime

Member
That looks wonderful. As a fan of mech/sci-fi designs but not so much a fan of Homeworld, would I enjoy that book?

It has some really great ship designs. Rob Cunningham is a very talented illustrator and his line work on technical ships is amazing:

4vsa8.jpg
 

Adry9

Member
Blade Runner book just arrived early. I'm at work so when I get home I'll take some pictures and go more in depth. First impression is holy shit it's good. Lots of concept art, set photos, and promo pictures. It also has write ups for how they did certain things like the cgi etc.

Oh boy...

Do you guys think supplies will last till Christmas? As in, they'll print more issues, because these are selling out for sure. Not sure what's the norm with movie artbooks.
 
Blade Runner book just arrived early. I'm at work so when I get home I'll take some pictures and go more in depth. First impression is holy shit it's good. Lots of concept art, set photos, and promo pictures. It also has write ups for how they did certain things like the cgi etc.

Got my copy on the way.

I had to cancel my preorder on Amazon - they didn't have copies and wanted me to wait until Nov. to fulfill the order.

Luckily Barnes and Nobles had them online. (None in stores though)
 
Does anyone have any idea where to find The Evil Within artbook? I’ve only just started buying these recently and it seems out of stock everywhere and over $100 at resellers.

Unfortunately you probably answered your own question.

Scarcity means sellers can jack the price up, especially when you have no retail alternative.
 

Mieu

Member
Thanks for the pics of the other books. They are much appreciated!




Collector's edition artbooks are usually very lackluster, I agree. One exception I could think of is Tekken Tag Tournament 2's We are Tekken Edition, it included a 200+ page artbook with different artists' illustrations of all the characters. I'm not a huge fan of the series but I really enjoyed browsing through that one.

Someone was selling just the boom for $60. I passed. Haha.

I've got it pre ordered and will post impressions.

My Blade Runner book won't arrive until Monday.

I won't be getting mine anytime soon. Haha. I don't even know why I orderes the friggin' LE. I don't even play the game!!
 

Spacebar

Member
Here is my impressions of The Art and Soul Blade Runner 2049. I do find it appropriate that they put "Soul" in the title as I feel like they put some really good effort into this book.

This is not just a concept art book or photos from the movie. They actually took the time and made a behind the scenes book with pretty much every scene from the movie along with back story.

The book itself is very wide. I think around 14 inches. I believe this was done on purpose to highlight some of the incredible landscape views in the movie. Some images span 2 pages across allowing you to feel the scale. There is a good mix of concept art, story boards, set photos, promo shots, and lots of information on how scenes were set up.

I really enjoy the fact that they highlighted everyone's work on the film including the director, artist, actors, actresses, prop/makeup artists. aka the "soul" part.

The book it self feels like good quality. I'm not the best judge of paper quality, but it feels good and the colors really pop. One thing I do love is that the cover is actually the cover. There is no sleeve around a basic book. I'm not a huge fan of sleeves as they tend to get damaged easier.

Overall I am very happy with this book and look forward to diving more into it. I only paid 27$ through Barns and Noble online with a coupon code, but it's worth the 39$ price tag especially if you really enjoyed the movie/series. Amazon is out of stock of the regular version and I'm not sure I would go for 99$ collectors version.

Here are some pics. I'm going to put spoiler tags around them, but I don't feel like any of them are major spoilers from looking at them. If you have any questions feel free to ask.


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tViyk4C.jpg
 

ZoronMaro

Member
I got the Shovel Knight artbook today (proof Udon is still alive).

I only flipped through it but I really like it, it has a bit of everything and seems like a nice mix. It has some Plague of Shadows stuff so I wish it also included the other DLC stuff, but can't have it all I guess.
 
Wow, the prices for that books are insane! Now I'm kicking myself for not picking it up a couple years ago.

Is Blue Canvas gone? Because it looks like their website is dead. I really enjoyed their books. I have The Art of Journey (which is also incredibly pricey now) and maybe a few others that I can't remember.


I was reading through my copy of Homeworld and The Order: 1886 artbooks as well. Sadly, Blue Canvas went out of business at the end of 2015. Still sad about missing the Journey artbook and regret letting go of the God of War artbook I had from them.


Since the company is no longer around and the reprints of the books is almost impossible, the prices for all of their artbooks have raised to an obscene amount of money. I wish the company was still around. The quality of their artbooks were great and their magazine was nice as well. I hate that there will no longer have more artbooks created with the same level of quality. IDW create great art books but it's still different from Blue Canvas.
 

III-V

Member
Right now, Amazon has a deal where you get a free hardcover book, if you sign up for a free 30 day Audible trial. You can just cancel right afterwards and not get charged.

The promo shows up as a banner at the top of the page. For example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1785653636/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Thank you. Picked up the Bloodborne art book, Moana art book and ME: Andromeda for $18. Amazing. Game and BB art book arrive today lol.
 

Adry9

Member
So the banner appears for me when I'm logged out. I click it, log in, and it takes me back to the product page but nothing happens and the banner doesn't appear either. Help :(
 

Spacebar

Member
So the banner appears for me when I'm logged out. I click it, log in, and it takes me back to the product page but nothing happens and the banner doesn't appear either. Help :(

From the fine print in my email..."Customers who have had an Audible membership or trial in the past 3 months are not eligible for this offer."

Have you had an audible sub the past 3 months?
 
From the fine print in my email..."Customers who have had an Audible membership or trial in the past 3 months are not eligible for this offer."

Have you had an audible sub the past 3 months?

I haven't for certain and I haven't received anything about a free book after signing up. I didn't see the banner either.

(I'm a prime member)

Did you get a notification by email after you signed up?
 

Garlador

Member
Right now, Amazon has a deal where you get a free hardcover book, if you sign up for a free 30 day Audible trial. You can just cancel right afterwards and not get charged.

The promo shows up as a banner at the top of the page. For example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1785653636/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Tells me it's only available to "new" customers and can't be added. I'm pretty sure I never used Audible before. Also a Prime member. Weird.
 

Spacebar

Member
I haven't for certain and I haven't received anything about a free book after signing up. I didn't see the banner either.

(I'm a prime member)

Did you get a notification by email after you signed up?

Did you try adding the book to your cart? Once you start the check out it should ask you for payment method. Then you should see the option for credit amount of the book.
 

Adry9

Member
From the fine print in my email..."Customers who have had an Audible membership or trial in the past 3 months are not eligible for this offer."

Have you had an audible sub the past 3 months?

Nope, didn't even know what it was up until know.
 
Tells me it's only available to "new" customers and can't be added. I'm pretty sure I never used Audible before. Also a Prime member. Weird.

There was an Audible promo for a $10 Amazon credit a year or 2 ago and I did it then. This hardcover book promo worked for me. I did have to wait maybe 5 minutes for a confirmation email from Amazon for the promo to automatically work when checking out. I'm also a Prime member, so not sure why it didn't work for you.

Here are the terms and conditions, with important stuff bolded:

Eligible customers will receive a promotional credit good for one (1) free physical, hardcover book from a curated selection of books priced up to $50 when they sign up for a new Audible trial membership. Offer valid from 7:00 a.m. (PT) on September 10, 2017 until 11:59 p.m. (PT) on November 10, 2017 or while supplies last. Promotional credit expires at 11:59 p.m. (PT) 30 days from date the promotional credit is received. Customers who have had an Audible membership or trial in the past 3 months are not eligible for this offer. Offer only applies to products sold and shipped by Amazon.com or Amazon Digital Services LLC (look for "sold by Amazon.com" or "sold by Amazon Digital Services LLC" on the product detail page). Products sold by third-party sellers or other Amazon entities will not qualify for this offer, even if "fulfilled by Amazon.com" or "Prime Eligible". You will receive an e-mail from Amazon that indicates the dollar amount of the promotional credit and that the dollar amount of the credit has been added to your customer account. The e-mail will also provide instructions on how to redeem the promotional credit. If any of the products or content related to this offer are returned, your refund will equal the amount you paid for the product or content, subject to applicable refund policies. Unless an Amazon Gift Card is the stated benefit of the promotion, promotional codes (including those placed directly in accounts) may not be redeemed for Amazon Gift Cards. Shipping charges and taxes may apply to the full value of discounted and free promotional items. Offer limited to one per customer and account. Offer does not apply to digital content. Offer may not be combined with other offers, is non-transferable and may not be resold. If you violate any of these terms, the offer will be invalid. Amazon and Audible reserve the right to modify or cancel the offer at any time.

Edit-
By the way, I ordered The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy. Had to view all sellers to see that it was also shipped and sold by Amazon.
 

Tarrin

Member
Speaking of Blue Canvas, I was lucky to pick up the Blackwater Archives. It's an artbook for The Order 1886, and it's amazing. Say what you want about the game, the art and world were great. Also the book has an actual leather cover, and is huge.

I also own The Evil Within artbook, which is also great. Some disgusting stuff in there.

I also have this really neat Metal Gear Solid one. Picked it up at a local college book sale. It's all in Japanese as well.

Amazon pic of the cover:
51BO0PaZKyL.jpg


I'll post pics when I get home from work of the ones I mentioned.
 

Garlador

Member
Had to chat up Amazon customer service and got added to the free trial... but not seeing any option to use the credit for a free book when I check out. Definitely is sold by Amazon and is hardcover.
 

Spacebar

Member
Had to chat up Amazon customer service and got added to the free trial... but not seeing any option to use the credit for a free book when I check out. Definitely is sold by Amazon and is hardcover.

Are you sure the book was eligible? Some books aren't even though they are sold by amazon I think.
 

Garlador

Member
Are you sure the book was eligible? Some books aren't even though they are sold by amazon I think.

I've tried to multiple books now.

Edit: This is ridiculous. I've been transferred to over NINE different customer representatives trying to get this sorted.
 

Spacebar

Member
I've tried to multiple books now.

Edit: This is ridiculous. I've been transferred to over NINE different customer representatives trying to get this sorted.

That's strange, but good luck. Amazon has been glitchy as hell recently. Sometimes it goes in your favor and other times it doesn't
 

Bii

Member
Right now, Amazon has a deal where you get a free hardcover book, if you sign up for a free 30 day Audible trial. You can just cancel right afterwards and not get charged.

The promo shows up as a banner at the top of the page. For example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1785653636/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Thanks for the heads up. I was going to go with something more expensive but the Splatoon artbook has been on my wishlist for a few months. So I got that.
 

Rated-G

Member
Right now, Amazon has a deal where you get a free hardcover book, if you sign up for a free 30 day Audible trial. You can just cancel right afterwards and not get charged.

The promo shows up as a banner at the top of the page. For example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1785653636/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Thank you so much for the heads up! I used it on The Art of Rick and Morty since it was something I wanted but didn’t plan on actually getting. Going to see if we can use my wife’s account as well to grab a second book.

For anyone having trouble making it work, you have to get pretty far into the checkout process, when you choose payment method there should be an option that says “use [exact price of book] promotional credit toward this purchase”. It should already be selected and then you can continue.
 

Garlador

Member
Ugh... still waiting here for them to give me my credit. I'm thinking of getting the Art of Bloodborne or Dark Souls II.
 
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