All video games are a piece of art. Each player takes away something different from them and interprets them in various ways. However, a game to a developer is pretty much their masterpiece. It is something they put time, effort, dedication, money, etc. into. This week's theme hosted by Lost_in_Translation is Video Game Art!
The challenge:
"What I'd like people to do this week, is blog about their favorite pieces of video game art ! We haven't really given artists their due yet on these blog themes. This week, I'd like to show them some love. I'd love to see the community put some blogs together on their favorite videogame art and artists. It could be a collection of drawings from one artist, a variety of art from one series/franchise, or just a collection of great pictures. In fact, if some of you want to get truly creative, I'd love to see some blogs with people's own persona drawings. Either way, let's celebrate art for art's sake!"
Some of my favorite video game art is level and character designs. Now, I typically like the final product, but I like to appreciate artwork in their concept stages. This is before the characters we seen on screen exist, and while concept art typically looks like the end result it is always different. I want to appreciate these early stages of an idea because from it stems the greatness we see on screen.
My favorite video game franchise is Pokémon. I like seeing a lot of people's fakemon or fan art of it, but the original drawings are just so great. I mean sure some of the Pokémon ideas are kind of like "are you kidding me", but they work, so really no complaints. One great concept art I absolutely love by Ken Sugimori, the illustrator of the original artwork of Pokemon games, is the Pokéball design.
Ken Sugimori's original Pokéball design
We are so used to now the Pokéball being a capsule that opens on a hinge, not a slid open design. We're so used to the bottom lying on the seem where red meets white and opening like a clam. Can you image if the Pokéball's went with this design? We would obviously be accustomed to it, but now it's official design is so different. However, the current idea may have never became if this original idea never surfaced. Hence, why I love concept arts, because great things come from them!
All the current Pokéball designs!
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The Pokéball is just an item, a very central item. Moving onto larger designs now such as landscape. Video games are pretty much drawings brought to life. They are giving depth and texture, and with today's technology, pretty much makes them life life. Pacing up to recent news, a few months ago (I think) some Dragon Age: Inquisition concept art arose and it was stunning. The artwork was gorgeous and we as consumers were able to image what it would look like in a game engine. Most, if not all, of the concept art is created by Matt Rhodes, the Lead Concept Artist of Dragon Age: Inquisition at Bioware.
Dragon Age: Inquisition Concept Art
Dragon Age: Inquisition
I actually haven't played either of the Dragon Ages, but graphically Inquisition looks gorgeous. Just looking at the original concept of whatever this area is and seeing the 3D creation of it is like magic. Literally bring one picture to life. That is something video games and movies/TV shows do well (storyboards and all). Development teams take an inanimate painting and adds more life to it. The original artist's work is already moving, just look at it, all the feels. Time, practice and skill is needed to make something that maginficent.
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Now moving away from level design, one of the most, if not the most, important design aspect is character. Character art is ideal. It is not just about looking cool, it is about giving the character depth and meaning. A character will typically go through many different stages. While most artist have an idea in their head, it may take a while to find that perfect character design that will sit just perfectly in the game. I love looking at early concept art of characters because sometimes they are so different than the final product. While generally they will share similarities, it's nice to see that the character had options.
Midna's concept art featured in Hyrule Historia
Midna's Final Concept
Midna was illustrated by the talented Yusuke Nakano. Just look how many different Midna, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, designs there were. While they all wore a mask and had long pointy ears, they were all vastly different. However, I couldn't imagine Midna in any other design than the one she is finalized in. It fit perfectly for the dark tone Twilight Princess had. Character concept art is so critical, because we don't want to be playing with a character that looks or feels out of place. I like appreciating the different styles characters might have been and all the hard work the designs put into the characters. It's a reminder that illustrators and designers have to make hard choices in finalizing a character, and we shouldn't just instantly criticize what we think is a poor design. A lot of effort goes into these characters and they pick the one they feels is just right.
While it may be harder to come across concept art, I find it's something nice to look up. Sometime developers will post them otherwise they will pop up randomly. Either way it is nice to appreciate pre-designs before they are finalized. These are the core ideas in which what we see stems from. Hence, why I always say game's are art. Even if a game seems crappy so much effort goes into them and developers do what they think is best for their idea. It's sad to constantly read comments like "this game looks like crap" etc. because those people probably have trouble drawing a straight line. Everyone should just appreciate games!! Be happy, appreciate art! 
So tell me,
What are some of your favorite video game concept artworks?