How To Draw Like Square Enix

FFX Ultimania concept art — Preview from FFX Ultimania

Best Square-Enix Fine art Books For Concept Art Inspiration

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Video game concept artists work hard to deliver unique characters, environments, costumes, weapons, and visuals for every new game. RPGs tend to accept the almost unique requirements for concept art and no visitor does RPGs meliorate than Square-Enix.

The two game development companies of Square and Enix accept been creating games since the 1980s. They merged in 2003 and take since built an empire of unique titles and long-lasting game series.

Concept artists can acquire a lot by studying production fine art and applying similar techniques to their own work. And the all-time identify to detect production art is game art books.

This gallery focuses solely on Square-Enix art books that feature the all-time concept art. If you're into RPGs or but really appreciate the Square-Enix way then these artbooks volition prove invaluable on your bookshelf.

Final Fantasy Ultimanias

Y'all can't talk about Square-Enix games without referencing Last Fantasy. This series has over 60 different titles including sequels, spinoffs, and remakes. Information technology is by far the largest RPG series in the earth and the artwork is produced past a very talented squad of artists.

I always recommend checking out the Final Fantasy Ultimanias because they have so much rare production art that cannot be establish elsewhere. However all these books are published in Japanese so yous won't be able to read whatsoever interviews without knowing the language.

If you're only interested in concept art and so go with the 25th ceremony ultimanias. Square-Enix published three different volumes every bit compendiums between all the Final Fantasy games.

Vol one: Final Fantasy I-VI
Vol 2: Last Fantasy Vii-Ix
Vol 3: Concluding Fantasy 10-XIV

These 25th anniversary artbooks were released to celebrate the history of the entire Last Fantasy series. I'm truly amazed at how much concept art is squished into these books, each totaling 300+ pages long.

You lot become concept art for basically everything including characters, creatures, props, weapons, vehicles and environments. But these compendium books only have and then much artwork for each game. You tin actually find more artwork for each game if you buy the individual ultimanias, only this approach would be much more expensive.

For instance searching for all Concluding Fantasy X Ultimanias yields over half dozen different books. At that place are three books for FFX, two books for FFX-ii, and a new ultimania for the FFX Hard disk release.

Every ultimania contains different pieces of concept art for different aspects of the title. Each Final Fantasy game has varying numbers of ultimanias, some much more than others.

If you're interested in a very specific Final Fantasy game and so effort to find copies of the individual ultimanias. But the 25th ceremony artbooks are truly incredible and for the toll you get a lot of official concept art.

Bravely Default

One of the newer game serial from Square-Enix that has seen lots of success is Bravely Default. The serial has its own Bravely Default artbook with 250 pages of concept art from the game.

Most of the designs focus on grapheme concepts with sketches, poses, and costume designs for different characters in the game. Simply at that place is a bunch of other concept art for creatures, props, and environments too.

Ultimately this volume has everything you could ask for in a concept art compendium. There's and then much to pick up and it's all in that traditional Square-Enix art fashion.

A sequel titled Bravely 2nd was released and has a similar art book total of incredible concept art.

If you lot're a fan of the series and so both books are well worth adding to your bookshelf. The games are also fun to play, but aspiring concept artists will learn more than studying these books than playing the games.

Kingdom Hearts

In early 2002 Squaresoft partnered with Disney to release Kingdom Hearts. The game started out slow but rapidly grew an audience of loyal followers who fell in love with the characters, the worlds, and the storyline.

Years later Squaresoft has merged to Square-Enix but the Kingdom Hearts series is still going potent. At that place are many different Kingdom Hearts Ultimanias just like the FF artbooks. These ultimanias accept so much rare artwork that yous'd exist sitting pretty to own even ane of them.

And if you are going for just one I'd recommend picking up Shiro Amano: The Artwork of Kingdom Hearts. This artbook spans the entirety of Amano's piece of work on the serial with postcards, promo fine art, and lots of concept art.

It may not take everything you're looking for but it is the best art book to grab if yous're only getting one. But you lot might get with an ultimania if you lot're only interested in a single game from the series.

For example the Revised Edition KH Ultimania has 600+ pages with a huge collection of concept art from the first game. The book is in Japanese then English language speakers won't be able to read anything. But the artwork is incredible and there's so much to become around.

There is i other large KH artbook that I recommend which is a philharmonic of all the games. Information technology has so much rare concept art and pre-production art, but it's also completely in Japanese(big surprise).

Simply if yous're a genuine fan of Kingdom Hearts yous actually can't get wrong with any of their artbook.

Tactics Ogre

The very offset Tactics Ogre game was released for Super Nintendo in 1995 to a Japanese audience of RPG fanatics. Today it'southward a lesser-known title in Square-Enix's lineup, simply still commands a defended fanbase.

Back in 2011 the team released Tactics Ogre Art Works Book. It's a hardcover collection of beautiful concept art with 230 pages of characters, props, and environments from the games.

This item art book is ane of the only examples I've constitute with detailed concept art from the Tactics Ogre series. In that location are many strategy guides but they unremarkably have promo fine art rather than concept art.

For a tactical RPG championship there's a lot to say about the depth of concept art used in Tactics Ogre. The art department gave and so much effort to the game's pattern, and this volume is perfect for anyone who wants to study these designs or mimic the style in their own work.

Fine art of Thief

The 2014 video game Thief was published by Square-Enix following a long line of Thief video games. This isn't an RPG of whatever kind, but rather a stealth/adventure game where you achieve tasks through furtive maneuvers.

The aforementioned year every bit the 2014 game was released we got The Art of Thief. It's a hardcover art book featuring 192 pages of concept fine art from the game. The limited edition copy is a flake pricier but also a valuable collector's particular.

Finding a copy can exist difficult but this shouldn't dissuade yous from grabbing a copy—especially if y'all're a fan of the Thief game serial.

You lot get concept fine art for all the characters, props, puzzles, weapons, loot, and the urban center environments. There'southward also a large section dedicated to storyboard work plus featured interviews with the creators.

Dragon Quest Monster Encyclopedia

Every RPG gamer has likely heard of Dragon Quest(or Dragon Warrior in America). It's a popular RPG that rose in popularity effectually the same time of Final Fantasy.

It has a very like history and the game's 25th ceremony had a Dragon Quest animate being illustration book published in commemoration. This is a typical Japanese oversized fine art book that covers every single creature from the Dragon Quest video game series.

You will never notice a larger compilation of monster artwork for any Square-Enix RPG that'due south larger than this book. It's just shy of 500 pages and has stats+artwork on every monster in the game.

Unfortunately the unabridged book is published in Japanese with no English choice. So as a reference guide it'south completely useless to English audiences.

But the artwork is truly incredible and it's a worthy collector's particular for any Dragon Quest fan.

There is another minor Dragon Quest art book for much cheaper, only it'due south mostly full of comics & illustrations from the game artists.

Chrono Trigger Ultimania

Chrono Trigger is a true blue classic RPG for the Super Nintendo. This game has seen a few sequels and the Chrono Trigger Ultimania is a beautiful guide to the entire game world.

Information technology'due south full of illustrations, storyboards, characters and environments made by Square-Enix concept artists. This ultimania is a classic game fine art megabook with 600 pages of artwork and strategies.

Since this is a Japan exclusive yous won't find it anywhere in English language. And finding a brand new copy is almost impossible.

Simply if you're OK with a decent used copy there are tons of options out in that location. You'll find illustrations and concept sketches from a completely different era of RPG game design.

If you lot want something a little more current(and cheaper) then cheque out the Chrono Trigger NDS Bible. This does accept some artwork but it'southward as well a Nihon-simply particular so the content is useless to folks who tin can't read Japanese. Thankfully information technology also has lots of pretty pictures that are perfect for concept art inspiration.

Star Ocean

Foursquare-Enix's Star Bounding main serial has a long history of brilliant games with exceptional artbooks. Unfortunately none have ever been released in America, but you can find many of these artbooks online.

In fact there are quite a few Star Ocean art books with different publications for dissimilar games. The Star Ocean Illustration Drove is perhaps the most useful for concept artists.

These books are the same as most other Square-Enix books: cute for the art but useless as a reference guide(unless you lot know Japanese). Since all of these games were created in Japan information technology'southward no surprise that the Japanese audition gets the all-time merchandise.

With the ability of the Internet at present anybody around the globe can own these nifty Star Ocean artbooks. Specifically the newest Star Ocean 5 artbook which can be tricky to hunt down.

If you're looking for English media check out the Star Bounding main 5 Collector's Edition Guide published by Prima Games. Information technology's mostly a walkthrough for the game but it does accept some promo artwork littered throughout the pages.

I Am Setsuna

The newest Square-Enix game in this article is Project Setsuna/I Am Setsuna. Information technology'south a Japanese RPG published by Square-Enix in mid-2016.

Believe it or non this game already has a brilliant artbook out for release to the public. Of course it's a Japan-only product but it has some of the most beautiful concept art you'll ever meet.

The game itself is a top-down strategy game with RPG elements. Gameplay is very unique and it shows how much game developers are moving in different directions.

At this time of writing this article the book has been titled "Project Ikenie Yuki I Am Setsuna Game Fine art Book". This is a loose translation from Japanese, and since it'south then new the toll is higher than most other artbooks.

Simply this also means there are plenty of copies to get around.

Artwork features characters, props, costumes, vehicles, and all the typical concept artwork you lot'd expect from a Square-Enix AAA title.

But the best part of this volume is the environment art. It has such a unique way and I Am Setsuna proves that it's a vivid modern RPG with its roots in archetype RPG concept art.

If you lot're interested in whatever of these games then definitely check out how many different art books have been published. Since nearly are in Japanese information technology tin can be tough searching, only all that rare concept art is worth the effort.

And if you lot're a Square-Enix lover and so yous'll exist satisfied with any of these artbooks.

If you're hoping to get a professional person concept artist then information technology helps to study other work from AAA titles. It doesn't get much bigger than Foursquare-Enix, so pick upwardly whatever game artbooks involvement you the most and strive towards that level of quality in your own work.