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| Thread: ARTBOOKS - do you collect them? |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 · NEXT» |
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted May 03, 2018 03:08 PM |
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Edited by blob2 at 15:11, 03 May 2018.
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ARTBOOKS - do you collect them?
ARTBOOKS.
Do you Guys collect artbooks? Do you buy a Collector Edition of a game only because it comes with an artbook? What about artbooks that are released as "stand-alone" products? Do you buy those?
I myself am a collector of fantasy themed artbooks (with some exceptions), especially from lore/settings that I really like. Not a big collection, but I have a few. What I like most about some of these is that aside from art they come with written text with insights on the piece of work (usually a game  ) I really enjoy. These are pricey, and you might want to ask if it's worth the investment as it will mostly sit on your shelf, but at the same time I love the feeling of browsing through the book and simply contemplate the art.
What are you prized possesions? Maybe you have some artbooks that you would recommend? What do you think about collecting them?
Artbooks are a way to "celebrate" the work of so many talented people, that's for sure...
Here are some of mine favourites:
- Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim CE Artbook
Probably one of the most beautiful artbooks to ever come with a game (and on of the best Collector Editions I've ever seen, also comes with a statue of a dragon), it's stylized as an old book with leather-like cover, and is chock-full of art from one of my favourite RPG's of all-time. I just couldn't miss it!
- World of Warcraft: Chronicle series
3 tomes so far. While these are less artbooks, but more lore books, each on of them is a must-buy for me. You don't need to be a fan of Warcraft franchise to enjoy them. Maybe it's not the most high-end read, but it certainly is very fun, and I think you might come to a conclusion that Blizzard has crafted one hell of an interesting setting.
- Stacraft II: Legacy of the Void "Field Manual" (PS: yeah this is Sci-Fi )
Probably my favourite "lore" artbook of them all, it's the best example of an artbook that delivers tons of info if you're particulary interested in a franchise. This is how collector edition artbooks for games should be! I also have the one from Heart of the Swarm CE, but that one is a traditional artbook.
- The Art of Magic: The Gathering series
My newest "discovery", and knowing me I'll probably buy them all. Even if you didn't play Magic: the Gathering, the daddy of all CCG, you can't walk pass the art from some of the best artists out-there. I've stopped playing the game years ago, but I'm continiously awed by it's settings and flavors. The art books are my dream come true: not only these display the incredible art, but they're mostly a lore book, so I can have all information that I want in one place. So far I ordered 3, so this is still a fresh thing
PS: And yes! They already released an artbook from my favourite plane, Innistrad!
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Lord_Woock
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Daddy Cool with a $90 smile
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posted May 03, 2018 04:37 PM |
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I don't, but I probably should get the Magic ones. As soon as I figure out how to store all of my board games in a way that makes room for an art book. Which is probably when I move to a different apartment, actually.
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Yolk and God bless.
---
My buddy's doing a webcomic and would certainly appreciate it if you checked it out!
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted May 03, 2018 05:41 PM |
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Edited by blob2 at 17:42, 03 May 2018.
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Lord_Woock said:
I don't, but I probably should get the Magic ones. As soon as I figure out how to store all of my board games in a way that makes room for an art book. Which is probably when I move to a different apartment, actually.
I didn't read into it much, but it appears Dungeons & Dragons have this sort of crossover with MtG (http://comicbook.com/gaming/2018/02/28/dungeons-and-dragons-magic-the-gathering/). So maybe not board games per se, but another interesting use for the artbooks. I've read opinions that people are using them as inspirations for their gaming sessions at least 
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Kipshasz
Undefeatable Hero
Elvin's Darkside
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posted May 03, 2018 09:25 PM |
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While artbooks are great, those were not the main target when I considered buying a big box game, but rather the other goodies in them, namely the soundtrack CDs.
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"Kip is the Gavin McInnes of HC" - Salamandre
"Ashan to the Trashcan", "I got PTSD from H7. " - LizardWarrior
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tSar-Ivor
Promising
Legendary Hero
Scourge of God
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posted May 03, 2018 09:35 PM |
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I'm still proud of my younger self for cancelling my pre-order for heroes 6 collector's edition (I think I was really fond of the ring you get or some ****). Luckily I was touched by better judgement, which is odd, since the game looked promising at the time.
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"No laughs were had. There is only shame and sadness." Jenny
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Neraus
Promising
Legendary Hero
Pain relief cream seller
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posted May 04, 2018 08:33 AM |
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I have only two collector's edition games, Oblivion and Heroes V, only the latter came with an artbook included, and I'll admit it's cool. And now I get why Agrael had such a feminine pose.
Apart from that I don't have any game art books
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Noli offendere Patriam Agathae quia ultrix iniuriarum est.
ANTUDO
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted May 04, 2018 01:02 PM |
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Edited by blob2 at 09:48, 16 May 2018.
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I also have Heroes V CE. I think the game was worth of the investment, even though I bought it on account of the franchise coming back to life and hype generated from the fact. I was still optimistic then...
While the book itself is not your coffee-table size nor A4 of an artbook, it did contain some cool art (they employed a French artist who has a unique style). And the CE itself had a lot of additional goodies which they usually don't make anymore: faction/unit spreadsheets or foldaway game boxes (yep, why would they, we don't need X number of physical mediums for a game now) for instance.
Collector Editions were a big deal for me when I was younger, I've spent a lot of my gift money on them. Now, because I have an actual job, I can buy a lot more. But I don't . Alas, although I still have a soft spot for this stuff, I figured artbooks are the perfect form of collectible goodies. They don't take that much space, are easy to pick-up and put-off, and if made correctly, there are a form of medium that you won't find on internet, cause the lore is usually all over the place, take MtG for instance...
EDIT: The Art of MtG artbooks are in, and they're incredible. The art, the packaging. Reading the lore, which is written compactly but concisely (although they should add an index or vocabulary for the fictional terms they're using) does make my imagination work like crazy. I feel like I was a kid again. My only reservation is that sometimes the art they use for big spreadsheets obviously looks like it wasn't meant for bigger formats (but they're still relevant). I ought you to check the artbooks out if you have a chance, even if you're not a fan of the franchise.
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markmasters
Famous Hero
Dragon of justice
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posted May 16, 2018 02:08 PM |
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I only had the warcraft 2 and 3 battlebox that also gave some art....Wish I had this for more games (castlevania lords of shadow for instance).
Blob, can you show the H5 collectors edition contents?
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted May 16, 2018 03:18 PM |
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Edited by blob2 at 15:18, 16 May 2018.
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markmasters said:
Blob, can you show the H5 collectors edition contents?
Do you mean the whole content? Or the artbook? If you want the first option unfortunately I can only provide you with links, as finding all it's contents after my brother cleaned up his room would be very hard.
Here's an unboxing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgYK_GkpbWM (polish version)
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted March 20, 2019 07:15 PM |
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My newer acquisitions (still waiting for the order though):
Art of Hearthstone:
The Legend of Zelda: Encyclopedia (part three of Godess Collection Trilogy)
And here's something I'm considering:
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markkur
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Once upon a time
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posted March 21, 2019 01:19 PM |
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My first purchase of an Art-book was Roger Dean's "Views". At the time (1976) I was a fan of both YES and Uriah Heep and I knew Mr. Dean had done some of both band's LP-covers. He had some bizarre ideas and expressed them in the book. i.e. An elephant with a tank-turrent head and a diving bird that was a half/bodied fighter-jet etc. Btw, Dean is one of the guests in a 2001 interview (conceptual-art) for one of the first general documentaries about the impact of JRRT's books.
Fyi, LP-album covers were often interesting art (old and new) or new concepts which mostly involved the ideas at that time - chiefly the developing technical photography. For me, I far preferred the former (before Politics became trendy) and one of my personal favorites was the cover of Jimmy Spheeris' "Isle of View". If there is a negative about todays CDs (and smaller) this would be it; less space. I'm not impressed with big-boxes covering little products creating more possible and unnecessary land-fill fodder.
Another arena for more modern artwork that's been around for a while is Calendars...I have a few but today this idea has been saturated and I have zero interest.
Besides Dean's "Views", my only collectorish (doubtful) type books would be Alan Lee's LotR's sketchbook and Gary Russell's "The Art of the LotRs". I didn't buy either as a collectable because I have painted in oil and also pencil-sketch, so both were knowledge or inspiration purchases.
imo, if a person is seeking to master pencil, paint or both and not desiring to take the shortcut of digital-art, I highly recommend these three books in your personal library for reference as you progress. The first might not be available, it could actually be worth something.
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted March 21, 2019 02:01 PM |
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Edited by blob2 at 14:02, 21 Mar 2019.
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I'm more into game-lore related artbooks. When I like a setting in a game I want to learn more about it. Like I said I mostly enjoy artbooks with content: trivia, lore, history rather then simple "art showcase" artbooks. I think those are traditionally called artbooks but in truth are something more...
Recently there is a real boom when it comes to this kind of publications (my wallet is crying). I'm sometimes amazed how many games already did get an artbook. For instance each Final Fantasy game has it's dedicated artbook (not talking about those added to collector editions of said games), but also Okami, Metal Gear Solid or even Super Mario Odyssey to name a few. Or even board games.
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PandaTar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Celestial Heavens Mascot
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posted March 21, 2019 03:07 PM |
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I like them, but since getting them around here is kinda of expensive beyond reckoning or very difficult to find, I usually download them. I like those showing sketches, art design, sceneries, concept arts, bestiary, characters, weapons, maps, nudes; the best. If they have lore as additional content, then that's ok. But not interested on them, if they are restricted to lore.
____________
"Okay. Look. We both said a lot of things that you're going to regret. But I think we can put our differences behind us. For science. You monster."
GlaDOS – Portal 2
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted March 21, 2019 04:02 PM |
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Edited by blob2 at 11:21, 18 Apr 2019.
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It's my only collectible hobby so guess I can afford one from time to time Those don't come cheap when comparing to standard book prices here in PL (currency exchange, so differences between Zloty and Dollar rates, need to be accounted for), but are worth it... plus I order them via an internet shop here in PL which has good price rates.
EDIT: I never would have guessed I will buy Zelda series artbooks, but those made by Dark Horse Comics are so damn good. The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia is a great read (they really dissect the series to its smallest detail), and now I ordered this:
The book has 424 pages. It's pure madness! There are also special editions of this book with a map and other goodies, but the price is too steep.
EDIT 2: Oh yeah, that's a big chunk of paper. Will thoroughly enjoy reading/glancing it, the art is incredible and it's one of the best artbooks I've ever seen, gj DH Comics. You won't get this experience on a Monitor/TV screen
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Oddball13579
Supreme Hero
Grandmaster of the Hunt
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posted June 01, 2019 09:26 PM |
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I got the World of Warcraft Chronicles I and II, just need III now. Mainly because I love the lore. Really bummed out that they won't continue the series 
I never really thought about it till I was reading through this thread. I think my next purchases might be the Halo art books. I really wanted Dr. Halsey's Journal, very lore intensive item, both in the games and in real life. But they are all sold out, it was a limited time purchase.
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"Just slide her down a bit farther. I could wear her like a hat." - Gnomes
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted June 01, 2019 11:45 PM |
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Oddball13579 said:
I got the World of Warcraft Chronicles I and II, just need III now. Mainly because I love the lore. Really bummed out that they won't continue the series
Yeah, got all 3 but I think III was the least interesting for me (ancient Azeroth/Draenor history is far more captivating). And it felt, I don't know, rushed? I think there simply isn't enough material for the fourth book... but that doesn't mean they won't continue the series...
Oddball13579 said:
I never really thought about it till I was reading through this thread. I think my next purchases might be the Halo art books.[/img]
Ah yes, I got Halo Reach Legendary Edition for a bargain price (like 1/4th of the full price belive me or not), and imo it is one of the best CE that were ever created. It's worth it for the statue alone, but they really outdid themselves with the "artbook". It looks like an authentic hand-made journal, it's worth getting.
PS: I, on the other hand, am saddened by the lack of news on more The Art of MtG books. I even wrote to Viz Media, but they replied that they have "no news" at this point...
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Oddball13579
Supreme Hero
Grandmaster of the Hunt
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posted June 01, 2019 11:51 PM |
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blob2 said:
but they really outdid themselves with the "artbook". It looks like an authentic hand-made journal, it's worth getting.
That's because it's supposed to be a journal. It's literally Dr. Halsey's personal journal that can be seen in-game both in Halo Reach and Halo 5.
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"Just slide her down a bit farther. I could wear her like a hat." - Gnomes
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted June 02, 2019 12:03 PM |
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Oddball13579 said:
It's literally Dr. Halsey's personal journal that can be seen in-game both in Halo Reach and Halo 5.
Yeah yeah, that's what I meant, sorry for not being precise enough. But it is indeed very authentic, the paper texture, ink stains, various scribbles. On many occasions artbooks are simply game art collections, but on rare occasions they give you something like an actual book that you can read and get out a lot of trivia and flavor from.
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Oddball13579
Supreme Hero
Grandmaster of the Hunt
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posted June 02, 2019 08:23 PM |
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I gotchu man.
You are right though it looks amazing. I thought the coffee stains were a really nice touch. As well as the little notes and flavor text, little blurbs of lines that are like after thoughts or sudden moments of clarity. It makes it look like it really was someone's journal because it has that sort of "organic chaos" to it that can attributed to humans. 
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"Just slide her down a bit farther. I could wear her like a hat." - Gnomes
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted December 08, 2019 09:27 PM |
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Edited by blob2 at 21:27, 08 Dec 2019.
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