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aliyah_d 's review for:
L'art et la création de Arcane
by Elisabeth Vincentelli
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
As an artist that used to dream of working on an animated series or film, this art book was a great source of renewed inspiration, curiosity and resolve. Unwrapping Fortiche and Riot’s uncompromising creative vision and dedication to creating a never seen before piece of art, understanding their motivations, what inspired them and how they gave themselves the means to achieve their goal felt stimulating, magical. This book is an unapologetic explosion of art and passion!
I took my time to absorb all those story boards, color scripts, unused character designs, backgrounds (this is what I live for), and I took a copious number of notes that I will revisit as needed.
I do have a few grips with the book, mainly that it didn’t dive into how each character came to be lore and personality wise. Jinx gets two spread sheets since she is, per admission in this very book, the character the writers are the proudest of. Everyone else gets a paragraph at worst (Jayce, Viktor, Caitlyn) or two pages at best (Vi). The villains, Silco, Singed and Ambessa, get nothing at all, which is plain odd with how much they impacted the story. Likewise, I would have appreciated more insight into the thought process behind Piltover’s enforcers, Shimmer’s, the birth of Zaun and Piltover ; an exploration of the lore I thought lacking in the show but was hoping the art book would shed light on. There was a lot of self-congratulations spread in every chapter, which was earned if not repetitive (a tad like Jinx's scribbles), but could have left more room for artists to talk about their choices of framing, of color, their schedule, the way they had to collaborate with one another.
Instead, the value of this artbook resides in how the team behind Arcane are deconstructing their way of working, both from a technical, logistical point (explored in chapter 6, where they explained the uniqueness of their production) and an artistic one, in a language adapted for casuals and satisfying for the initiated. If you are a fan of the show, you will get more of what you love, if you are studying 2D or 3D animation, you will find something that you will need to enrich your perspectives and work. Enjoy!