The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy Slipcased Edition Hardcover Author: Visit Amazon's Yoshitaka Amano Page | Language: English | ISBN:
1616551607 | Format: PDF, EPUB
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- Age Range: 3 and up
- Hardcover: 576 pages
- Publisher: Dark Horse; Box edition (July 23, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1616551607
- ISBN-13: 978-1616551605
- Product Dimensions: 12 x 11 x 3 inches
- Shipping Weight: 11.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
In 2012, Dark Horse released the first edition of The Sky limited to 1000 copies. Many who pre-ordered were left sorely disappointed when their books did not ship when the shipping date went by. 1000 limited copies for fans of Final Fantasy, a game series that has over millions of fans. Now that's truly limited.
Well, it's all good now. Dark Horse has released, this time, a non-limited edition of The Sky that is more easily available. Although there are no additional goodies with this release.
This is a slipcase set with three hardcover books. The cardboard slipcase is covered with some silky fabric with a beautiful print across and to the back. It's very sturdy cardboard and even has a cover for the opening. The presentation is very nice.
Inside the book there are the three large format artbooks. Volume 1 collects works for FF I-III, Volume 2 for FF IV-VI and 3 for FF VII-X. This is a collection of artworks from 1987 to 2001. Altogether, there are 576 pages.
This box set might not be what you're expecting depending on the type of FF fan you are.
I suspect there might be a group of fans or designers looking for art that is closer to the games. You know, like those art-of books typically released alongside games? The Sky is not like those artbooks. There's no full list of characters or enemies, environment art (I'm still looking for these), weapons, vehicles or promotional art.
The focus in on character designer Yoshitaka Amano and his character designs. There are over hundreds of drawings of characters and enemies in the unique Amano style of art.
It really interesting to see, for the first few games, how those dot matrix game sprites are translated into or from the concept art.
For the series' 25th anniversary, Square-Enix released a flurry of Final Fantasy merchandise ranging from arrangement albums to perfumes. One of the centerpieces of the celebration was a reprint of Yoshitaka Amano's artbook set, "The Sky". This lavish boxset was quickly sold out in Japan back in 2001, and fans worldwide would have to resort to paying steep import prices to get their hands on it. Ironically, the first worldwide release of this set was limited to 1000 copies, leaving many without a copy. Amano signed each set, so even this second printing is quite expensive. Third time's a charm, however, and the 2013 edition has finally reached patiently waiting fans.
The wait was well worth it. "Slipcased edition" is a misnomer; the box is actually covered with a nice cloth fabric and has embossed lettering. There's no easily damaged cardboard junk here. A small ribbon is attached to a magnetic opening, revealing the goodies inside. They have that "chemical smell" common to new Chinese printed books, but it's easy enough to let them air out a bit.
As for the books themselves, I couldn't be happier to say they are nothing short of wonderful. The first book (FFI-FFIII) feels like a humble beginning, displaying Amano's skill at creating monsters and iconic heroes. He takes it up a notch with book two (FFIV-FFVI), with page after page featuring delightful watercolor paintings and character art. I assume Square was paying him well in the early 90s, because this is the thickest book of the lot. Book three (FFVII-X) features much less artwork, mostly because he was relegated to the status of promotional illustrator and no longer main designer, in addition to being busy with his solo exhibition in New York at the time. However, the third book is definitely intriguing.
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