📚Art Library: My Top Four Fav Art Books from Artists!

I find a lot of inspiration and wonder when paging through a good artbook. There’s a lot of work that goes into the many forms of media we experience. Art books are a good way to see a little of what goes on behind the scenes when designing animated movies, video games, and other artist’s heads.  Today I’d like to talk about a few of my favorites in the collection that are based on artists. Here we go!

1. Ayako Ishiguro Art Works by Ayako Ishiguro - This is a cute kooky book full of whimsical creations and cats! This gem found me in a bookshop called Kinokuniya in San Francisco. I love the character design and visual storytelling that is stuffed within this small book. Fun fact: she’s married to the horror manga artist Junji Ito!

2. Realistic Pokemon Vol 1 and 2 by RJ Palmer - It’s easy to tell this artist LOVES creatures. The art here recreates the 1st and 2nd generation Pokemon as realistic creatures that you might find in the real wold. It’s fascinating to see the pieces go from sketches to the final results. Because he worked on this project, he worked on the Detective Pikachu movie!

3. Terada Katsuya + Kim Jung Gi Illustration Book - For those not in the know, Kim Jung Gi was an art titan who focused on drawing directly in ink. He was an imagination printer. After his tragic death in October 2022, I picked up his book which features his work with Katsuya Terada. Terada’s works is created in a similar way but in their own style. Seeing their work together is awesome. Kim Jung Gi focused on perspective and line weights while Terada focuses on form and thin lines.

4. Found Worlds by Todd Lockwood - Todd Lockwood’s dragons are the classic dragons you know and love. This books was a gift by my husband, Ryan, and I love it. It’s filled with Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, cover art, and of course, dragons! I wasn’t aware of how far Todd’s works stretched. His work is amazing and I’d recommend taking a look!

We’re busy bees in the studio this week punching through designs for our next product and preparing the for our booth at Origin’s Game Fair. We’re excited to show what’s in the pipeline down the line.

Thanks for joining me on this art book journey with me! I hope you found some joy and inspiration (I know I did)! 

Have a great and wonderful start to your May!

Arielle + Ryan