The Art of Blizzard Entertainment: Carpenter, Nick, Didier, Samwise, Metzen, Chris: 8601200670738: Amazon.com: Books

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The Art of Blizzard Entertainment Hardcover – February 12, 2013

by Nick Carpenter (Author), Samwise Didier (Author), Chris Metzen (Author)

220 ratings

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Over the past two decades, Blizzard Entertainment has had a tremendous impact on the world of games and global pop culture. From its humble beginnings as a three-person console-game development studio in 1991 to the creation of the blockbuster Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® series, Blizzard has a history of crafting stunning worlds of science fiction and fantasy. The company’s distinctive gameplay and storytelling styles have captivated an international audience numbering in the tens of millions whose passion cannot be quelled.

Twenty years after Blizzard opened its doors, the company’s World of Warcraft® boasts the title of the world’s most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, and the studio is widely recognized as one of the leaders in creatively driven game development.

An epic volume of art and behind-the-scenes insights, The Art of Blizzard® celebrates the studio’s genesis by examining the creative forces behind these games and showcasing their artistry through more than 700 pieces of concept art, paintings, and sketches. Commentary on the art is provided by Blizzard Entertainment’s own Nick Carpenter, Sam Didier, and Chris Metzen, who’ve each played important roles in shaping Blizzard’s game universes over the years.

Print length

376 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Insight Editions
Publication date

February 12, 2013
Dimensions

9.25 x 1.6 x 12.75 inches
ISBN-10

1608870278
ISBN-13

978-1608870271
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nick Carpenter is vice president of art and cinematic development at Blizzard Entertainment; Sam Didier is senior art director at Blizzard Entertainment; Chris Metzen is senior vice president of story and franchise development at Blizzard Entertainment. They live in Southern California.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Insight Editions; 1.8.2013 edition (February 12, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 376 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1608870278
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1608870271
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.25 x 1.6 x 12.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #875,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #347 in Digital Art
- #448 in Video Game Art (Books)
- #2,372 in Fantasy Gaming

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Top reviews from the United States

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Absolutely Beautiful

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2013

Verified Purchase

The first thing I noticed about The Art of Blizzard was it's weight. This is one big, hefty tome.

Chock full of full color art from front to back, this book is amazing. It covers the Warcraft, World of Warcraft, Diablo and Starcraft series. I have been taking my time going through it, because a lot of the artwork has notes on the background from the artists or other Blizzard staff that oftentimes sheds an interesting or amusing tidbit that you may never have known...like the Pit Lord's teeth were based on Gary Busey's teeth.

I own a number of art books for anime and video games, and I have to say the quality of the book is top notch. Quality heavyweight paper, sewn binding, many full or double page portraits in vibrant color.

I have spent about 3 hours reading it tonight after opening it for the first time. Looking at the beautiful details in everything and at times the evolution of things and reading all the little side comments, has certainly captured my attention.

If you are a fan of any of Blizzard's games or enjoy good fantasy art, I cannot recommend this book high enough. I look forward to reading more tomorrow. Absolutely beautiful, and worth every penny.

19 people found this helpful

History is written by the users and the takers.

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2019

Verified Purchase

Love this book, brought back tons of memories for me. I am biased as I worked at Blizzard many years ago during the making of a lot of artwork featured in this book. From what I've seen this book is missing tons of artwork, there's soo many people that made art used in these games that left Blizzard along the way and didn't get included this. It's sad to see such little consideration for the rest of us but also not really a surprise. Beyond that I absolutely loved seeing all this old work again, seeing it evolve from crude sketches to full rendered gorgeous work is super inspiring. Reminds me to always keep drawing! BFD!

One person found this helpful

AParkRTop Contributor: DC Comics

Love it as a fan and an artist!!!!

Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2014

Verified Purchase

I was always peripherally aware of Warcraft, Diablo, and Starcraft since the 1990s, but I'd never really delved into them until after purchasing this book. Man, did I miss out on some great characters and awesome art. Well, since I got this thick, beautifully illustrated tome for under $50, I've been searching online for the backstories to the characters and their universes. If I were pressed, I would have to say that Starcraft is my absolute favorite of the three. All of the art, from the pencil drawings, pen & ink, and fully painted illustrations are breathtaking, many of them in the style of the heroic illustrations of Earl Norem and Joe Jusko. This is the kind of art that inspires me to keep on creating. This book is worth every dollar I paid for it and I greatly recommend to anyone who loves great fantasy and science-fiction/space opera artwork. Whether you're an artist, a gamer, or a fan, this magnificent book should definitely be added to your collection while it's still in print and available at less than cover price.

One person found this helpful

Great Book, Some Old Art, some New Art

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is my first review for anything, so that alone should say something...

Let me start off by saying I own all of the blizzard art books that are available. From The Art of Warcraft to the Art of Pandaria, art of the TCG, Diablo3, SC2, Behind the cinematic process, and now this one.

Quality: This book is great quality, better than any of the previous publishings. Its big. Like text book big. Except instead of math, or biology, its full of badassery from the minds of the artists that shape the worlds made at blizzard. Although its only 375 pages, it still feels like a mighty tome. The pages are nice and thick. The binding is tight and feels like it can take some abuse. The dust jacket fits perfect and doesnt slip as im looking through the book, which annoys me about a lot of art books. The pages are full of vibrant glossy pictures, most of the paintings are nice and big and really show off the detail.

Content: I was pretty hesitant to order this book originally. I think 45 bucks is a great deal since the base price is 75, but since i own all of the other art books i was concerned i was going to spend that 45 bucks on a shiny new book with all the old artwork. Which it essentially is. However, Im glad i ended up purchasing it because there is actually a lot of previously unreleased art along with a some additions of old art i had seen before but had not been previously published. For example, there is some old artwork i have seen on box coveres, or free trial disks, or free trial flyers, that ive never seen published in another book. The majority of those pieces are actually blown up to a nice size you can take the time to appreciate. There is old artwork that i recognize from the original game play instruction books, especailly from star craft and diablo. Which is awesome because those instructions are long gone and forgotten, but the art is now available in this book. I read some of the other reviews and people were complaining about how there was no new art and screw blizz for not adding anything new. They clearly didnt even take the time to look at the book. Besides the stuff i just mentioned, there is a section entitled, Fallen Games, which includes 17 pages full of concept art for games that never went into production. 17 pages of Metzen and Samwise sketches. Amazing. Theres also a chunky section of art that was done for company holiday cards. Ive seen some before, but most are new to me and are pretty hilarious. These pieces are some of the best because you really see the character and personality of the artist coming through the paintings. Additionally, there is a handful of random sketches and paintings added to each of the other sections. Layout is pretty good with most pages. I also enjoyed that there are some comments from the artists on a good majority of the pages. Its cool to read their thoughts about the artwork and the company, especially reading stories about their experiences through the early days of Blizzard. There is a chapter in here for all the major blizzard franchises, so for someone who doesnt own any of the other art books, you get a broad range of the best art work.

Overview: This is an awesome book. Its big, Vibrant, and Detailed. It includes a decent amount of unreleased and unpublished artwork, at least enough to satisfy a customer like myself who already has the previous art books. The commentary is great, and gives good insight on the creative minds that forged Blizzard. Books like this always make me appreciate the thought and effot that went into making these games. its also very inspiring for an aspiring artist. I have no complaints, and am very happy with the purchase.

3 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2018

Verified Purchase

This book is in great condition showed up earlier then I expected and the artwork inside is beautiful! I got this as a gift for my boyfriend but I know he will love it all the art is so cool to go through and see how they were done! The seller of the book is great they emailed me just to make sure I got it and was happy with it:) It is worth every penny its good and thick full of different blizzard art!

A blizzard of awesome art

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2013

Verified Purchase

This book is awesome if your a fan of Blizzard's games your gonna love this book.
It goes through art work of early Warcraft up into WOW and Starcraft along with Diablo. From really nice
finished renders to beautiful concept sketches and all roughs included.

If your an artists this is a great book for reference as well, lots of art from a variety of characters and races.
This is a book that cant be missed.

3 people found this helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Ellen L

It's a well structured book with just enough writing to inform but not to impede the awesome pictures. Has a bit of something fr

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

This was a Christmas present for my boyfriend last year, but I was as excited as he was to look inside (I still do sometimes)! It's a well structured book with just enough writing to inform but not to impede the awesome pictures. Has a bit of something from their three franchises at the time, adequate for all-round Blizzard fans but the most focus was obviously on WoW (the Lich King pages...phoar!!). The creator commentary was often pretty funny which gave all the more personality to this book. Last but not least, the art is incredible and unique - really motivates you to up your artistic prowess if you're into that.

Set me back about £35 but I don't regret it one bit, both for the quality hardback I received and the way my boyfriend's face lit up in response.

One person found this helpful

Emily McGorman-Bruce

BIG book of awesome art!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2015

Verified Purchase

I treated myself to this last year as I'm a big fan of the Blizzard artwork!

The first thing I'll say about this book is it's BIG and heavy! It's larger than A4 but not quite A3!
It is heavily Warcraft based (no surprises there) but there are also sections on Diabolo, Starcraft and some concept art for games never released.
The artists comments are worth a read as these guys have a sense of humour!!!

I personally enjoyed seeing all of the early concepts and (especially in the warcraft section) watching the art grow and improve over time.

Personally, I don't regret buying this at all! It's quickly become my favourite Art book. Full of inspiration and gorgeous art! It won't disappoint! :)

One person found this helpful

A. P. Bartlett

Big Book of Art

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

Make no mistake this is a big book in every sense. At 400 pages there is something of interest for those that like fantasy, Sci Fi, concept and gaming art. It follows the development of characters, creatures and environments from all of Blizzards fantastic worlds with comment from the Artists who developed the visual feast that is associated with the games. Images both colour and black and white are clear and well presented with lots of alternative character, weaponry and armour designs that were developed as part of the creative process.

The book will appeal to artists particularly those with an interest in computer generated imagery although many of the images are of traditional type pencil sketches. There is not much in the way of how the images are created or the processes that the artists use but then it's not that sort of book. Instructional books can be found elsewhere.

Enjoy it for what it is. A fantastic book that celebrates amazing artwork from a talented and successful team .

Yes it is expensive but you get what you pay for.

I bought mine through Amazon but not for £50. It can be bought cheaper through some of the alternative sellers that it advertises so I am not sure why it is charging a lot more, however for those that want it I don't think the price will deter them.

Enjoy..... Make sure that you have a strong bookshelf though!!

One person found this helpful

NE64

Blizzard at its best.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is great book, big heavy and great for flattening curly cut film strips. It covers a wide range of the Blizzard products but as Warcraft is their main big product, it is this game that dominates the book. I like the way it included sketchs, ideas and input from others including art created by their fan base.
If you like Blizzard then this is good book for you, plus it could be used as inspiration for fantasy/figure painters plus digital artists.

Anita L.

True love

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2014

Verified Purchase

If you are interested in Blizzard or simply in how a company built itself up improving it's art along with technology then this is the book for you.
First of all it's a huge book, around 3kgs. The arts are high quality and the whole thing is just perfect, I have been looking through it for 4 days now and it's truly an endless source of insipration. They also have interviews with the head artist of Blizzard and most of the pictures are accompanied by some personal opinions, or stories from the members of the company.
The only problem I had with the book is that some of it's pages are stick together at the inside. Luckily I was able to seperate them without causing any harm but be careful not to just slam open it and tear the pages.
All in all I'm very and The Art of Blizzard Entertainment is definietly is worth it's price.

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