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Personally, I dont like it. They all look creepy, and they look NOTHING likke the field sprites. I mean, he could at least try to make a resemblance. Gogos scary, Gau looks like a woman, And Celes looks like she put on too much makeup.

This post has been edited by Kimahri on 28th August 2005 00:16

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eh?

He can interpret the characters anyway he likes and, as far as I'm concerned, he came close enough to the sprites. Also, are ye sure the sprite designs came before Amano's artworks? Cuz I'm certainly not. I was always under the impression that the visual parts of a game were based off of concept art from actual artists, buuut I've said it before and I'll say it again: I could be wrong...

Amano is actually one of me favorite artists; his style is so dinstincive and original .

Edit

fixed a few typos

This post has been edited by Galsic on 28th August 2005 00:42

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Console RPG Cliches

The sprites ARE based off his artwork, not the other way around.

The main reason why a few sprites don't match up well is due to sprite/palette issues and limitations, not 'cause the developers felt compelled to change things for no reason. That accounts for such things as Terra's hair being green instead of blonde (so I've heard; I don't think her palette would allow the correct color anyway), why Locke's hair isn't blonde, why some characters' outfits don't match the style or color of the artwork, etc.

But in response to the question at hand, I absolutely adore his artwork. I hear he holds conventions occasionally in New York (where he's lived for a while now), and I'd give anything short of a few limbs to go to one. That man's genius with watercolors is simply awesome!

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Words of Wisdom:

If something can go wrong, it will.

If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. - Murphy’s Law

Boing! Zoom! - Mr. Saturn

Amano is an actual artist, not just an illustrator like Nomura. His work is dreamlike and rich; it doesn't necessarily translate well to 16-bit sprites, but as artwork, yeah, I find it amazing. You just have to learn to appreciate it on its own terms rather than on preconcieved notions of what video game artwork should look like, because it's definitely a world unto itself.

I hated it when I was ten, but now I adore it, especially the costumes. Everything's so lush.

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Some ghost of me might greet my son
the day he is delivered.


Eternal Sleep, Track 1-1: The Blue Planet

I can't stand Amano's work. Is it rich and detailed? Yes. Vivid? Sure. Do the people look deformed? Absolutely.

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

Depends on what you perceive as "deformed" or an "artistic style". Personally, I view the whole manga style as horrible deformities of the characters, which is why I despise such works nine times outta ten. Then again, I draw in what could be considered a deformed way by some people, but who doesn't? Unless they do true-to-life portraits.

But to each their own...

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Words of Wisdom:

If something can go wrong, it will.

If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. - Murphy’s Law

Boing! Zoom! - Mr. Saturn

I personally admire the man's art. I mean, at first, I found it very wonky because, well, it is. But once one looks at it more and more, you see the greatness of it.
All of his pieces are so alive with energy. His style of art gives pretty much all of his pieces a sense of motion - they all seem alive. Furthermore, what's great about his style is it's HIS style. I've seen no one else emulate what Amano does in his works. And it's great watching how he percieves a piece over others. I liked his versions of the various bits of FFVII just as much as I love the original character art. I also agree with L. Cully that Amano's art is very dreamlike and that no, it doesn't necessesarily translate into sprites. But it's for that reason that most of Amano's works for FF are concept art of scenes and such, because he can dream up the stuff of fantasy. The more 'realist' artists then take what he's begun and refine it into something more palatable for the gaming design teams. This doesn't make him, or them, a bad artist, it just means he does it the only way he knows how, and clearly Squaresoft appreciates him for that.
Then there's his whole mastery of watercolour. He is uber talented with watercolour at a level I only wish I could be at. Plus, he puts so much colour into his work that it just adds to that sense of life I mentioned.
Amano's a greatly talented man who's done a lot to define the Final Fantasy style. Honestly, who else could've designed Kefka? Personally, I could think only Amano's style could truly capture the insanity of that man. It'll be a sad day when Amano passes on indeed.

This post has been edited by Perigryn on 28th August 2005 21:33

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Games on the Go
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy: Four Warriors of Light
Baldur's Gate

Too much to play, so little time!

Greg

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Amano's a greatly talented man who's done a lot to define the Final Fantasy style.

He's done alot to define Locke as a homosexual..



I'm sorry, but I think Amano's artwork is nothing but pure crap.. Sure, there were good drawings he made.. But that isn't more than the ones that suck.

In my honest opinion, I believe his drawings were very, very good until Final Fantasy IV. Final Fantasy I was his BEST work. Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III were sort of slipping off. I'm not saying he is the worst artist, but I just think he could have taken more time to make Locke look straighter and Bartz to lose his lipstick..

If I were him, I would've re-made them and restored their looks to its max. I mean, look at the field sprite of Locke.. Do you see him look like a transexual? No.. He looks more muscular than that scrawny drawing version.

And look at Bartz, why would he wear armor if he was an adventurer with Boco in the drawing? In the sprites, he looks like a man dressed with a long shirt and white pants and sleeves.. THAT'S what defines a true adventurer, not some "safety-first" dumbass who ventures out into the world to fight monsters. That's not him..

And also, the orange Celes is a major insult to all knights. I see no armor. So how can she be titled a Runic Knight? Even though the swimming suit was weird in the sprites, atleast she had armor and cape.. Not some sexy-cowgirl outfit to offend female knights..

Personally I think Amano's a so-so artist. Call me weird, but the drawings are very rushed. I see "lines" out of nowhere in his drawing.. Why wouldn't he white-out it or erase it?

I would PREFERABLY choose Tetsuya Nomura, the designer of FFV's Job sprites, to draw the characters instead.. How wonderful that would be.

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I would PREFERABLY choose Tetsuya Nomura, the designer of FFV's Job sprites, to draw the characters instead.. How wonderful that would be.

Not so wonderful, atleast in my opinion. I like his artstyle, but all his characters look incredibly redundant to me. How many Tifa clones have we had now? And all the blond surfer males, with no shirts and rainbow armor? Seriously, man, stop that. Give the people some half-normal clothes. The same could probably be said about Amano's, but his art is never directly transfered to game, so it doesn't bother me at all.

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I mean, look at the field sprite of Locke.. Do you see him look like a transexual? No.. He looks more muscular than that scrawny drawing version.

Well, in Amano's defense, Locke is scrawny. With his height and weight, he's considered a small framed man. But if I had to pick between the field sprites and Amano's, I'd pick Amano's. Amano's work is a little eccentric for my tastes, but really I hate the vest-and-green-sash combo, along with all the other sprite costumes. But each to their own.

I agree with Celes' yellow spandex thing though. It wouldn't bother me at all, but she's wearing that in the FMV movies. Argh, wtf. Very military, Cel. Though I think the green bathing suit is no better. But I'm confused; you complain about Celes' having no armor, then claim that those who wear it are safety-first dumbasses. Could you possibily elaborate on that?

As for my opinion? I used to hate it, but have grown to appreciate his art. I actually really like his non-FF art, it's quite pretty.

EDIT: Ahhh, never mind about the armor thing. I forgot about the job system in FFV, so I thought you basically meant that anyone who wore armor was a pussy.

This post has been edited by Radia on 28th August 2005 23:12

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Wilson: "That smugness of yours really is an attractive quality."
House: "Thank you. It was either that or get my hair highlighted. Smugness is easier to maintain."

Well, I think he meant that Celes is supposed to wear armor because she IS a Runic Knight after all. This? Doesn't look very knighty to me. And Bartz is an ADVENTURER, not a Knight, so it would be kind of hard to travel on Boco with a heavy suit of armor or something.

Edit

Unless his Job at the time is a Knight. But I dont think Amano did art for every job.

This post has been edited by Kimahri on 28th August 2005 23:04

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eh?

Not a big fan of Amano personally, but the man is good at what he does. I guess you could say I'd prefer a more conventional artist to take his role, but I do admire some of his work, and the rest is adequate. I guess his style is an acquired taste, and it never really clicked for me. Despite this, I can't say I totally dislike his stuff. I guess I'm just not too hot on the pale, androgynous male thing.

This post has been edited by Super Moogle on 29th August 2005 00:56

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"I always have a quotation for everything - it saves original thinking."
~Dorothy L. Sayers

"The truly remarkable thing about television is that it allows several million people to laugh at the same joke and still feel lonely."
~T.S. Eliot

"Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as reality - in your own mind!"
~ Bruce Lee

I think his art is superb. Anyone who says it's "deformed" should take a closer look at the SD field sprites. But i'm sure who ever doesn't like it has there reasons. I voted "I LOVE IT" . I have to admit i like Terra's hair better green. But when it's orignal artwork before the sprites it's just so awesome.

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"You know that feeling you get when you're on a merry go 'round, and you want to jump off to make the spinning stop, but you know it'll suck when you land? I feel like that all the time"- Keno

"I stab my girl until I fall down"
-Yukari
Do you like Horny Bunnies?

I love Amano's work, both within the Final Fantasy series and outside of it. My favorite work by him is in Sandman: the Dream Hunters, a collobarative effort with Neil Gaiman. The color scheme is vivid, even pyschedellic. Very fitting for the dreamlike story. It's also cool to notice similarities between it and his FF work, for instance, this picture of the Sandman and this picture of Locke.

Quote (NeoEx-Death @ 28th August 2005 18:06)

He's done alot to define Locke as a homosexual..

Quote (Super Moogle @ 28th August 2005 20:53)

I guess I'm just not too hot on the pale, androgynous male thing.

I think androgynous is a better description than homosexual. Either way, it doesn't bother me, and it's certainly not his only style. Shadow and Terra overlooking Vector are two of my favorites from FFVI, and good examples of works that don't have androgynous men. Likewise, he has some beautiful heterosexual images, such as the beautiful scenes in Dream Hunters depicting the love affair between the monk and the fox.

Quote (karasuman @ 27th August 2005 23:39)

I can't stand Amano's work. Is it rich and detailed? Yes. Vivid? Sure. Do the people look deformed? Absolutely.

Oh my god, that was hilarious!

anyways, i don't like the Amano arts at all they are just wayyyyy to funky looking

especially the artwork for ffiv

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OBEY YOUR THIRST
"Aww...They're SOOO CUUTE!! BUT WHO CARES!!!!?"
-Excel Excel, Excel Saga

I personally prefer the sprites, which look much more realistic/believable/convincing (in FFIV and FFVI) than Amano's artwork.

Okay, one exception. Gau's hair should be green.

But I prefer Terra's hair green, and Sabin clean-shaven, and Celes in a green swimsuit.

Similarly, I prefer to be able to make sense of FuSoYa's appearance, and that Rydia doesn't look like this oh-so-sexy near-slut.

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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

Quote (NeoEx-Death @ 28th August 2005 17:06)

Personally I think Amano's a so-so artist. Call me weird, but the drawings are very rushed. I see "lines" out of nowhere in his drawing.. Why wouldn't he white-out it or erase it?

Well, I'm not going to call you crazy because well, to each their own. You're entitled not to like it *shrugs* I can very easily see how it wouldn't be to everyone's tastes.

However, as for the lines thing and not cleaning it up, it's a part of his style. He has a very sketchy style (which I happen to like) and it's what gives his art that 'movement' and 'energy' I was talking about.

Oh, and the Locke sprite thing. Considering sprites in the SNES games were pixel arted, then of course they're going to appear more boxy and muscular. It's rather hard to make things overtly detailed and scrawny without sacrificing colour. And as I said, Amano was more the concept artist. The sprite artists and such basically took what they liked about the general design and applied it to the game more tangibly. And obviously, the fact that that they didn't make all the sprites exactly to what Amano drew hasn't offended him else why would he continue working with Squaresoft?

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Games on the Go
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy: Four Warriors of Light
Baldur's Gate

Too much to play, so little time!

Greg

I thought I'd throw in my two cents as an artist, but find my brain not unwilling to co-operate, so bear with me.

Yoshitaka Amano's works are one of those things that you either think are brilliant or they're just not you're cup of tea. Stylistic issues aside, his works are wonderfully constructed.

NeoEx-Death: I'd have to disagree with you. Way back in FFII, Amano started doing bishounen-esque guys. Look at Firionel. And I can't quite see how Celes' outfit would offend me as a woman, since she is wearing more clothes than what they gave her in the game. (Not quite sure why you said 'cowgirl'). I have no doubt that's he's 'rushed' when doing his works. The lines plainly connotate rapid movement. Having moving line like that give pieces a sense of life and movement rather than having a static looking piece.

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kame, tortue, tortuga, schildkröte, tartaruga, turtle

"Arthur Dent?"
"Yes."
"Arthur Philip Dent?"
"Yes."
"You're a total knee biter."

Quote

I can't quite see how Celes' outfit would offend me as a woman, since she is wearing more clothes than what they gave her in the game. (Not quite sure why you said 'cowgirl').

You're missing the point. The reason why I stated that Celes's drawing costume was horrible for her occupation in the Empire was because she looked too light without any armor..

I HARDLY see any metal, stone, etc. on the drawing costume of Celes. That outfit is a serious joke and thank God they gave her armor. I don't give any hairy pork butts if she had a swimming suit or not. Just as long as she has armor on to be proven as a Runic Knight. Why I said cow girl? Because I was looking on the FF Anthology pictures of the movies and I zoomed in and saw "sexiness" in her pants which shows a small bit of her butt without any underwear on..

Celes looks like a damn retired warrior who still uses a sword.. But she never retires in the game.

And anyways, Yoshitaka Amano regained his pride in my honest opinion when FFIX came out. His Garnet was the only problem because she looked 99% like his Celes. But otherwise, Zidane, Steiner, and Amarant look bad-ass. But between FFIV-FFVIII, he sucked alot especially in FFVIII and second FFIV.

I have to agree with the illustrator/artist comment. Amano's an artist of the highest calibur. Whether you're into his style or not doesn't really matter, you can't say he's not a damb good artist. I for one love his work and everything I've seen from him. Frankly, his designs beat out anything that other dude ever did.

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Arts

Farts

Twarts

Quote (NeoEx-Death @ 29th August 2005 13:44)

I HARDLY see any metal, stone, etc. on the drawing costume of Celes. That outfit is a serious joke and thank God they gave her armor. I don't give any hairy pork butts if she had a swimming suit or not. Just as long as she has armor on to be proven as a Runic Knight. Why I said cow girl? Because I was looking on the FF Anthology pictures of the movies and I zoomed in and saw "sexiness" in her pants which shows a small bit of her butt without any underwear on..

Celes looks like a damn retired warrior who still uses a sword.. But she never retires in the game.

Why in the world is armor a MUST for being an Imperial general? Only Leo's really decked out 'n' it, Kefka wears only one piece, and wearing absolutely none at all in combat isn't even historically inaccurate. Lack of armor makes for more speed, and who the heck could get close to her without succumbing to an icy death? I dunno, I guess it's just similar to me as asking why Shadow doesn't wear armor...

Keep in mind, too, that the roles of the characters aren't always completely set in stone by the time the conceptual artwork is done. I can't prove it, but it coulda been that, at the time, Amano had no idea of Celes' occupation.

Course, I prefer her original outfit over the sprite one any day. It doesn't reek of the whole "ZOMG WE GOTTA SHO SUM LEGGSS!!1" sentiment that a lotta poor female video game souls have to suffer.

This post has been edited by SilverFork on 29th August 2005 20:03

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Words of Wisdom:

If something can go wrong, it will.

If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. - Murphy’s Law

Boing! Zoom! - Mr. Saturn

Quote (NeoEx-Death @ 29th August 2005 10:44)

Why I said cow girl? Because I was looking on the FF Anthology pictures of the movies and I zoomed in and saw "sexiness" in her pants which shows a small bit of her butt without any underwear on..

... and the Anthology movies were totally done by Amano, right?

Oh wait, they were just based off of his works and not actually done by him.

Nice butt shot here courtesy of Amano (oh, wait, no it's not!)

Getting back to the subject on hand...

I heartly agree with Mr. Narratorway

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Frankly, his designs beat out anything that other dude ever did.

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kame, tortue, tortuga, schildkröte, tartaruga, turtle

"Arthur Dent?"
"Yes."
"Arthur Philip Dent?"
"Yes."
"You're a total knee biter."

I don't have a extreme opinion either way. I like most of his art regarding the Magitek armour, and city scapes. It's vaugely reminiscent of Miyazaki's style when it comes to those. I'm not so thrilled with his charecter designs, however. The charecters often seem too willowy and their clothes are too over detailed, to the point where it's just hard to get a good feel of the picture because you're so distracted by Locke's busy head scarf, his necklace, etc. I do like Celes's costume design better in Amano's art rather than the game sprites. It seems more natural and far less outragous, (It would be hard to take someone serious who fights in a lime green leotard.)

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TURKEY! - (The only way not to get blocked for using Fowl Language)

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Only Leo's really decked out 'n' it, Kefka wears only one piece, and wearing absolutely none at all in combat isn't even historically inaccurate.

Actually, it doesn't even look like Leo's wearing armor. To me it looks like a ninteenth century military frock coat, which really, couldn't be more appropriate. And it seems Kefka has a green variant with a matching cloak. Well, in the sprite versions atleast.

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Wilson: "That smugness of yours really is an attractive quality."
House: "Thank you. It was either that or get my hair highlighted. Smugness is easier to maintain."

He's a really cool artist and I like his work. I remeber watching G4's Icons about Final Fantasy and Icons was showing some of his artwork and I was impress that an actual artist would do game art. His non-game art works are really great.

Some of his FF6 art, are likeable but some, even though the are well done and very nice, I didn't like. What's up with Amano having Tina's hair blone instead of blonde. Well...it's was his choice.

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Life....Hopes...Dreams. Where did they came from and where are the headed? These Things...I am going to destory!
-Kefka

A friend of mine went to Japan a couple years ago and said that while he was walking about a random art gallery he took notice of some of Amano's work that was up on display and sale. Said the cost was equivalent to $30,000 US. He's gotta be good for his art to be so expensive.

Quote (Radia @ 29th August 2005 22:06)

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Only Leo's really decked out 'n' it, Kefka wears only one piece, and wearing absolutely none at all in combat isn't even historically inaccurate.

Actually, it doesn't even look like Leo's wearing armor. To me it looks like a ninteenth century military frock coat, which really, couldn't be more appropriate. And it seems Kefka has a green variant with a matching cloak. Well, in the sprite versions atleast.

I agree; they do appear that way. But I wasn't describing the sprite versions.

--------------------

Words of Wisdom:

If something can go wrong, it will.

If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. - Murphy’s Law

Boing! Zoom! - Mr. Saturn

Quote

I agree; they do appear that way. But I wasn't describing the sprite versions.

I'm looking at the Amano version, and I still don't see any armor on Leo. But no matter. ::shrugs::

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Wilson: "That smugness of yours really is an attractive quality."
House: "Thank you. It was either that or get my hair highlighted. Smugness is easier to maintain."

Quote (bad andy @ 30th August 2005 13:01)

A friend of mine went to Japan a couple years ago and said that while he was walking about a random art gallery he took notice of some of Amano's work that was up on display and sale. Said the cost was equivalent to $30,000 US. He's gotta be good for his art to be so expensive.

maybe that was because he did the artwork of FF's

i mean it is a popular video game series

This post has been edited by Smackthedog on 31st August 2005 03:19

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OBEY YOUR THIRST
"Aww...They're SOOO CUUTE!! BUT WHO CARES!!!!?"
-Excel Excel, Excel Saga

No, he's an internationally renowned artist. For real, I wasn't kidding. In fact, he's probably the most famous Japanese artist in the Western world and has had all sorts of shows here.

Actual artist, mind. Like, I dunno... Dali, because he was overrated and Amano's not that popular. That kind of artist.

Edit

Although: "He's gotta be good for his art to be so expensive."
Nope. Not true. It happens to be true in this case, but that's it.

This post has been edited by L. Cully on 31st August 2005 03:57

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Some ghost of me might greet my son
the day he is delivered.


Eternal Sleep, Track 1-1: The Blue Planet

Quote (L. Cully @ 27th August 2005 22:09)

Amano is an actual artist, not just an illustrator like Nomura.

I didn't know this meself until I saw a showcase of some of his work on TV a while back. Realizing that he did work beyond FF, I admired him as an artist that much more.

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