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The Art of Overwatch Hardcover – October 24, 2017
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· Never-before-seen artwork!
· Essential companion to the international best-selling game Overwatch!
· Introduction and commentary provided by the game’s development team!
· Overwatch is a global phenomenon with 30 million players!
· Produced in close partnership with Blizzard Entertainment!
· Behind-the-scenes look at your favorite characters!
· Overwatch creation revealed!
- Print length368 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDark Horse Books
- Publication dateOctober 24, 2017
- Dimensions9.25 x 1.4 x 12.4 inches
- ISBN-101506703674
- ISBN-13978-1506703671
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About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Dark Horse Books; Illustrated edition (October 24, 2017)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1506703674
- ISBN-13 : 978-1506703671
- Item Weight : 0.176 ounces
- Dimensions : 9.25 x 1.4 x 12.4 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #66,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #66 in Video Game Art (Books)
- #137 in Dark Horse Comics & Graphic Novels
- #171 in Pop Culture Art
- Customer Reviews:
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Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2017
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The printing in glossy paper makes the drawings look gorgeous and the book itself came in perfect condition. I study animation and I love Overwatch so this was definitely one hell of a good birthday present, 10/10
As a collector despite this being the thickest art book I now own, it lacks more than any of my other books in details. I understand most people buy art books for visuals over exposition, but I find that to be a lackluster excuse for such empty content in this particular case. Especially when you consider the $50.00 USD asking price.
Very little is explained as to the thought process behind the visual designs, and what is there is so short or so trivial in detail it belongs more on a twitter feed than a book. Also, even for the most basic overwatch fan you've probably already seen a good chunk of the concept character art included here. So there's very little new content or a majority of engaged fans, the very fans who are mostly likely to BUY this book. If you happen to be a proactively engaged fan, outside of the 2D drawings of already in-game environments, there's very little here as far as new or unseen content goes. There's no info on rejected heroes that didn't make the cut, the holidays and events are featured barely at all, and there's no inclusion or better visuals of already shown NPC ex-overwatch heroes. (Youtube "Overwatch Recall" and skip to the ending if you haven't seen them already.)
So how does it fare as far the the art alone? Well, what it lacks in thoughtful layouts, new context, raw concept art (lacking that corporate polish), page to page images, and awe inspiring scenery; it makes up for in pure quantity. That's about all the good I can say. What the Art of Overwatch fails in giving you lore-wise and behind the scenes depth, it compensates by throwing as much content at you as possible. Of the massive repetitive content being shown, a majority is pasted on a stark white backgrounds.
Even for the most hardcore Overwtach fan, either borrow it from a friend or wait for it to drop in price. Your money is better spent on other game merch. The concept art pictures that were leaked are the only new content you'll get outside of some unused environment posters.
(Read on for more personal criticisms.)
At the most basic, any artbook should cover the behind the scenes of the work involved. What were the employees thinking during process, what breakthroughs lead to final concepts, where did the artists look to for big inspiration? SOME of that is touched on, but not very much, and what little there is not very deep.
The Overwatch game itself has a problem of making big promises; sweeping lore with grand backstories that have barely been touched on since the game's release. After a year of little progression in the main story or character stories (most released so far being minor details that don't actually further the plot), I wasn't so hopefully as to believe this book would tap into story progression. But at the very least I had hoped this book would offer new details about the characters that at least explained where they were in the current lore, like more insight to their personalities and their motivations. Which can be done through visuals alone! After a year of waiting on plot details (the most we've gotten is Doomfist's involvement with Talon) this book at the very least should have teased future feature animations, comics, or possible new heroes. Especially out of respect for its harcore audiance who has already seen 90% or more of what this entire book has to offer.
As an artist myself with many artist friends, it's easy to get lost in explaining your creations with overly enthusiastic and lengthy descriptions. Usually our biggest challenge is forcing ourselves to pull back and NOT overwhelm people. This just feels so void of passion, or as if people involved were kept under oath not to say too much. I lucked out and had $10 left on a gift card. Had I paid more than $20.00 usd I would have returned it. In fact I'm still considering it if I have the time to deal with shipping.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 2, 2017
As a collector despite this being the thickest art book I now own, it lacks more than any of my other books in details. I understand most people buy art books for visuals over exposition, but I find that to be a lackluster excuse for such empty content in this particular case. Especially when you consider the $50.00 USD asking price.
Very little is explained as to the thought process behind the visual designs, and what is there is so short or so trivial in detail it belongs more on a twitter feed than a book. Also, even for the most basic overwatch fan you've probably already seen a good chunk of the concept character art included here. So there's very little new content or a majority of engaged fans, the very fans who are mostly likely to BUY this book. If you happen to be a proactively engaged fan, outside of the 2D drawings of already in-game environments, there's very little here as far as new or unseen content goes. There's no info on rejected heroes that didn't make the cut, the holidays and events are featured barely at all, and there's no inclusion or better visuals of already shown NPC ex-overwatch heroes. (Youtube "Overwatch Recall" and skip to the ending if you haven't seen them already.)
So how does it fare as far the the art alone? Well, what it lacks in thoughtful layouts, new context, raw concept art (lacking that corporate polish), page to page images, and awe inspiring scenery; it makes up for in pure quantity. That's about all the good I can say. What the Art of Overwatch fails in giving you lore-wise and behind the scenes depth, it compensates by throwing as much content at you as possible. Of the massive repetitive content being shown, a majority is pasted on a stark white backgrounds.
Even for the most hardcore Overwtach fan, either borrow it from a friend or wait for it to drop in price. Your money is better spent on other game merch. The concept art pictures that were leaked are the only new content you'll get outside of some unused environment posters.
(Read on for more personal criticisms.)
At the most basic, any artbook should cover the behind the scenes of the work involved. What were the employees thinking during process, what breakthroughs lead to final concepts, where did the artists look to for big inspiration? SOME of that is touched on, but not very much, and what little there is not very deep.
The Overwatch game itself has a problem of making big promises; sweeping lore with grand backstories that have barely been touched on since the game's release. After a year of little progression in the main story or character stories (most released so far being minor details that don't actually further the plot), I wasn't so hopefully as to believe this book would tap into story progression. But at the very least I had hoped this book would offer new details about the characters that at least explained where they were in the current lore, like more insight to their personalities and their motivations. Which can be done through visuals alone! After a year of waiting on plot details (the most we've gotten is Doomfist's involvement with Talon) this book at the very least should have teased future feature animations, comics, or possible new heroes. Especially out of respect for its harcore audiance who has already seen 90% or more of what this entire book has to offer.
As an artist myself with many artist friends, it's easy to get lost in explaining your creations with overly enthusiastic and lengthy descriptions. Usually our biggest challenge is forcing ourselves to pull back and NOT overwhelm people. This just feels so void of passion, or as if people involved were kept under oath not to say too much. I lucked out and had $10 left on a gift card. Had I paid more than $20.00 usd I would have returned it. In fact I'm still considering it if I have the time to deal with shipping.



This book takes the hard work of the OverWatch team and expands on all that we have learned plus adds in aspects some of us may have not seen published as of yet. I feel the character drawings are inspirational and show a lot of evolution through of how the team has grown and adds to the history and storylines to almost all the characters.
If you are looking for a coffee book table, a book for inspiration on drawing game art or character modeling this dives pretty deep not into the mechanics of it but the actual though process expressed through art. I could easily see even if you are not an OverWatch fan how this could be enjoyed over and over again and possibly do like I have and start framing some of the pages.
The book it self is constructed well, its sturdy, the pages are thick and glossy but not to the point you will go blind reading it under a light. I would highly recommend this book as a gift to yourself or others who are involved in Overwatch as you will not be disappointed.
It's a high quality 12"x9" hardcover with about 60lb thick paper. Matte paper with slightly glossy prints. I have a reference (marked display book) book and if all you want is the art and are not concerned the collectible value, it's worth it to experience the book. At about 3 pounds it's pretty heavy too.
There are about 120 pages of hero art, anywhere from 2-6 or so pages each; ~60 pages of environments; ~50 pages of skins; 40 pages of sprays; and the rest a combo of the shorts and promotional material. Pages vary with white and black backgrounds.
If your a collector, you might notice the smells of most printed books. This has that American textbook smell, which is quite alright in my book.
Top reviews from other countries

A must have for artists looking for character design inspiration.


Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 17, 2018
A must have for artists looking for character design inspiration.









The book is very thick and heavy. It's extremely solid and the pages are of high quality paper, ensuring all the artwork looks stunning. With over 300 pages, the book is not shy of two inches thick. You definitely get your money's worth here. Book size is A4.
Quick note for those wondering, as Overwatch is a game constantly being updated with new characters, maps etc, this book has content up to Sombra's release, meaning nothing on the newer heroes like Doomfist and Moira.

I’ve gotten this book for someone who is aspiring to become an animator/illustrator and also loves overwatch, and this book goes through scene and character design from the basic initial drawings to the fully detailed end product. (To be honest even their initial idea drawings are pretty detailed).
This is just a great gift for anyone who loves overwatch and appreciates the work that goes into creating the game 😊

This book is large and heavy (2kg at least) and filled with so much content that any Overwatch fan will love. Each page is filled with amazingly detailed drawing from the early concept idea through to the final cut.
A must for any fan of the game for sure.
