Review – Assassin’s Creed III Artbook

Assassin’s Creed has always been known for its breathtaking art, inside and out of the games, and the third game is no exception.  Released October 30^th, the hardcover Assassin’s Creed III artbook contains never-before-seen concept art from all stages of the game, past and present day.  The pages are artfully laid out with commentary inserted throughout the pages from artists working on the game from its early development stages, explaining their choices.

3D models are scattered throughout the book, but the majority of it is hand-drawn or painted, in the usual style prevalent in AC art, allowing the colors featured in the image to create shapes, features and silhouettes rather than hard lines.  The present-day images are a stark contrast to the past, substituting a much more organic, sketchy painting style for straight lines and cold colors to highlight the differences between the eras.

A foreward written by Alex Hutchinson, the game’s creative lead, starts off the book before the art is separated into different sections highlighting the different parts of the game.  Present Day kicks things off, followed by a rundown of all characters—the heroes, villains, and assisting characters in the Revolutionary Era—which then leads into a section for each city, the frontier, homestead, and the naval missions and coastlines.

The book is substantial at 144 pages, with a thick cover and sturdy, glossy paper that features the strong colors in the images well.  The only complaint I could even begin to have with this book is that there are so few images that get a full page to themselves, a sacrifice made by the choice to have the artist commentary, which is a nice touch.