THE ART OF AKIHIKO YOSHIDA

Final Fantasy IV

Akihiko Yoshida has been a major player in the concept art and art direction field for some of the most notable RPG's to come out of Japan in the last decade or two. Yoshida's vision has shaped incredible games such as Vagrant Story, Ogre Tactics and of course, the latest installments of the Final Fantasy franchise, including Tactics. We also covered his absolutely looking game called Bravely Default: Flying Fairy recently.

Yoshida's work bears some resemblance to that of Yoshitaka Amano, even though the latter has a less stylized and more abstract gouache style of illustrating whereas Yoshida's feel is more along the line of watercolor. They both achieve some really cool compositions with areas of simplicity while at the same time rendering select areas in an incredibly detailed and intricate fashion, putting them both on the same artistic line in my book. After the break, a small selection of works displaying the amazing talent and dedication Mr. Yoshida puts in his work. Enjoy!