For this week’s casual Friday, I wanted to share with you a book from one of my favorite illustrators: Yoshitaka Amano.

 

 

“Looking at paintings by Yoshitaka Amano, I am reminded of the phrase “a fantasy machine for reclaiming times lost.” – Hiroshi Unno

Yoshitaka Amano is a Japanese illustrator, and has illustrated many works in the Japanese market.  Examples of his more famous works include Vampire Hunter D and The Tail of the Genji. You may have seen his work in the US graphic novel The Sandman: The Dream Hunters or Elektra & Wolverine.

Amano has also served as character designer for much of the Final Fantasy series, which is how I came to know of his work. I have fond memories of examining his unique style of illustration, when I was first was introduced to his work in the instruction manual for Final Fantasy VI,  back in 1994.

I remember thinking at first “this style looks rather sloppy,” like the drawings were incomplete, or not cleaned up for production. After studying the drawings and paintings for a bit long, I really liked the sense of character and depth captured by the style. Still very memorable for me.

Fast forward a few years, and I had a great opportunity to travel to Japan in 2000. While in Tokyo, I was able to visit a showing of his art.

The amazing detail and unique character of his work was even more impressive in person. The owner of the art gallery was surprised that I knew Amano’s works, and very kindly gave me several prints that I still have to this day. Before leaving the gallery, I purchased a beautiful (and somewhat expensive) art book, and I would like to share a few of my favorite pages below. (All images copyrights of the original owners – images are photos of select pages from the Japan only release of “a fantasia.”)

Here’s the next art book of his that I’d like to add to my collection.

Who is your favorite artist?