‘When I hear video games, I always think of Final Fantasy’
If you’re intoFinal Fantasyat all, you’ll likely be well acquainted with the ethereal artwork of Yoshitaka Amano.Final Fantasy VIwas my introduction to the series, and I was obsessed with the character sketches in the game’s manual, often flipping through just to look at them. Years later, I discovered theVampire Hunter Dbooks when their cover illustrations caught my eye. I recognized them right away as Amano’s distinct style.
Yoshitaka Amano is as much of a household name forFinal Fantasyfans as creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and composer Nobuo Uematsu. His beautiful illustrations helped lay the groundwork for a beloved series, and now it’s hard to imagineFinal Fantasywithout his conceptual imagery.
Japanese grouptoco tocohas created an eight-minute documentary called “Amano – his universe, on paper” offering a glimpse into the artist’s life and career, from his beginnings as a character designer in animation to his iconic role inFinal Fantasyand his current work as a freelancer. He discusses his inspirations, how he developed his style, and howFinal Fantasystill influences his art.
This video was created for French publisher Mana Books fortheir release of theFinal Fantasy Memorial Ultimaniaofficial encyclopedia.The toco toco team has previously released similar mini-docs on other visionary game designers, includingSWERYandYoko Taro.
