The Art of Diablo

by Jake Gerli, Robert Brooks (Contributor)

For more than twenty years, the artists behind Diablo have conjured new visions of the heavens and the hells, built nightmarish corridors filled with monsters and demons, and unleashed swarms of malevolent creatures upon tens of millions of players worldwide. Featuring never before seen content, The Art of Diablo plunges into the concept, design, and environmental art that has defined the world of Sanctuary and the Eternal Conflict at the core of Blizzard Entertainment’s action-packed dungeon-crawling game. Features all new art from the upcoming Diablo 4!

Genres: Art, Reference, Video Games, Games

250 pages, Hardcover

Published November 3, 2019

Reviews

[Yaroslav Brahinets · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blizzard завжди славилась майстерністю художників, і цей артбук - черговий тому доказ.

Шикарний збірник концептів та робочих версій. Новий шанс поглянути на дизайн класів, ключових героїв, інвентар та навколишнє середовище серії Diablo, та ще й з коментарями самих авторів. Основна увага тут приурочена саме Diablo III. Що цікаво, на папері картинка виглядає не так мультяшно, як в самій відеогрі, і це добре. Є також згадки і про першу та другу частини, та натяки на четверту (оригінал артбуку випущений ще в далекому 2019).

Невеличкою ложкою дьогтю тут є українізовані назви міст, героїв та речей. Зазвичай RPG славляться цікавими назвами, та в українському перекладі вони трохи ріжуть око, благо такого не багато, хоча краще було б без них. Переклад, до речі, не лише тексту, перекладені й підписи та коментарі до картинок, зноски, що заслуговує окремої подяки.

Фанатам серії - must have в бібліотеку

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent art work for the world of Diablo. 🤘🤘

[Rusen Özoruç · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an art book, not a book that contains story or lore. Instead, it offers a behind-the-scenes look at the design of armor, monsters, environments, and architecture from the Diablo franchise, with a primary focus on Diablo III. Its purpose is not to expand the narrative, but to showcase how the visual identity of the world was created and refined.

The artwork in this book is genuinely amazing. It perfectly captures the dark, gothic, and grotesque tone that defines Diablo as a franchise. Demonic forms, angelic designs, ruined environments, and brutal armor concepts all come together to create a world that feels oppressive, hostile, and unmistakably Diablo. The visual language is consistent and instantly recognizable.

Like many other Blizzard art and lore books, this one is printed on glossy, shiny paper. While I understand the reasoning behind this choice, as it makes the book feel more premium and durable, it also makes reading more difficult under direct light due to reflections. Personally, I would have preferred matte paper, as it would have made the reading experience more comfortable without taking anything away from the artwork.

What I liked most about this book is that the designers frequently explain their decisions and talk about where they drew inspiration from when making artistic choices. Reading about their thought processes, influences, and problem-solving approaches adds a lot of value beyond just looking at beautiful images. It turns the book into something educational rather than purely decorative.

The art itself is, of course, brilliant. No matter how you feel about Blizzard as a company or about their franchises in recent years, one thing has remained consistently strong: their art department. Blizzard’s artists have always delivered high-quality, cohesive, and memorable visual design, and this book is a strong example of that consistency.

Overall, this is an excellent source of inspiration and a great example of visual storytelling and worldbuilding through art direction. If you are interested in worldbuilding, visual design, or dark fantasy aesthetics, this book is absolutely worth your time.

My rating for this book is 5 out of 5.

I am also genuinely excited to read Volume 2, which focuses on Diablo IV. If it carries the same level of artistic care and insight, it could easily be just as inspiring, if not more.

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TURKISH REVIEW
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Bu kitap bir hikâye ya da lore kitabı değil. Bunun yerine, Diablo serisinin zırh, yaratık, çevre ve mimari tasarımlarına dair perde arkasını sunan bir sanat kitabı. Ağırlıklı olarak Diablo III’e odaklanıyor. Amacı anlatıyı genişletmek değil, dünyanın görsel kimliğinin nasıl yaratıldığını ve zamanla nasıl rafine edildiğini göstermek.

Kitaptaki sanat çalışmaları gerçekten etkileyici. Diablo’yu tanımlayan karanlık, gotik ve grotesk ton kusursuz şekilde yansıtılmış. İblis tasarımları, melek figürleri, harap mekânlar ve acımasız zırh konseptleri bir araya gelerek baskıcı, tekinsiz ve unmistakably Diablo bir dünya oluşturuyor. Görsel dil son derece tutarlı ve ilk bakışta tanınabilir.

Blizzard’ın diğer sanat ve lore kitaplarında olduğu gibi, bu kitap da parlak ve kuşe kâğıda basılmış. Bunun kitabı daha premium ve dayanıklı hissettirdiğini anlıyorum; ancak ışık yansımaları nedeniyle bazı ortamlarda okumayı zorlaştırıyor. Kişisel olarak, mat kâğıt tercih edilseydi okuma deneyiminin daha rahat olacağını düşünüyorum; bu, görsellerin kalitesinden de bir şey götürmezdi.

Bu kitapta en sevdiğim şeylerden biri, tasarımcıların aldıkları kararları ve ilham kaynaklarını açıkça anlatmaları. Sanatsal tercihlerinin arkasındaki düşünce süreçlerini, etkilendikleri kaynakları ve karşılaştıkları problemleri nasıl çözdüklerini okumak, kitaba yalnızca görsel değil, öğretici bir değer de katıyor.

Sanatın kendisi ise tartışmasız biçimde çok güçlü. Blizzard’a ya da son yıllardaki işlerine dair kişisel görüşleriniz ne olursa olsun, bir konuda neredeyse herkes hemfikirdir: Blizzard’ın sanat departmanı hayal kırıklığı yaratmaz. Bu kitap da bu tutarlılığın çok güçlü bir örneği.

Genel olarak, bu eser görsel hikâye anlatımı ve sanat yönü üzerinden dünya inşasının ne kadar etkili yapılabileceğine dair mükemmel bir örnek. Dünya inşası, görsel tasarım ya da karanlık fantezi estetiğiyle ilgileniyorsanız, bu kitap kesinlikle zamanınıza değer.

Bu kitap için puanım 5 üzerinden 5.

Ayrıca Diablo IV’e odaklanan Volume 2’yi okumak için gerçekten sabırsızlanıyorum. Eğer aynı özen ve sanatsal kaliteyi koruyorsa, en az bu kitap kadar ilham verici olabilir.

[Daniel Lopera · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Art Of Diablo es un libro de arte fantástico, esta lleno de imágenes que perfectamente podrían estar en exhibición en un museo de arte gótico, y si a las exquisitas ilustraciones se agrega la impresiones que tiene de los diseñadores sobre como fue su línea de pensamiento para la creación de los diseños en los videojuegos de diablo, como se inspiraron o que pretende mostrar, como por ejemplo que cuando crearon la armadura del arcángel Tyrael, para esta además del diseño el cual querían que fuera algo imponente, pero edemas de la obsesión por detalle del diseño en sí también hubo un gran énfasis en el esquema de colores, tanto que si esta fuera pintada de negro fácilmente se entendería que él un enemigo implacable.

Este libro de arte es definitivamente un objeto de colección porque además del contenido impresionante la calidad del libro es excelente un papel grueso, imágenes a todo color y bocetos en carboncillo, todas identificadas con su autor.

El libro está organizado en personajes (héroes, angeles y demonios), objetos de bootin, armaduras, otros objetos, bestias, no muertos, demonios, lugares o excenario y el ultimo pedazo está dedicado enteramente a Diablo IV, donde se nos da un sneak peak de lo que se viene con el nuevo juego de Blizzard.

Revisión de la edición de este libro en el canal de YouTube de El Dragón de Papel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3fky...

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great artbook, mostly showcasing Diablo III art. That may be unfortunate for gaming fans. Since I'm more interestet in the purely conceptual side of things, I don't care as much, although I would have liked to have seen more of the DII art. Anyway, what's presented here is, of course, of the highest caliber and very well commented, at least compared to the majority of so called artbooks floating around nowadays. It could always be more insightful, but Blizzard sets, at least here, a pretty good example of how it is done.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The artwork is absolutely stunning, exactly what you’d expect, but what really surprised me was the commentary from the artists themselves. As a hobby artist, I found their reflections inspiring, and as someone who grew up with these games, their words hit me on a much more personal level. I was borderline obsessed with Diablo because my dad played it, and reading through this book brought up some memories for me. It’s not just an art book it’s a reminder of why this series has meant so much to me over the years. And if it meant a lot to you I suggest getting a copy to look at.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

In comparison to the other behind-the-scenes style art book I’ve read (“Art of Path of Exile”), this one was more enjoyable because the text felt more meaningful, and less like an afterthought. Instead of full interviews, which would result in some filler questions with filler answers, high-quality, insightful quotes are sprinkled among the pieces of art. That allows the main textual content to be more polished. Of course, the art was fantastic.

[Rachel England · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible art.

The dichotomy of male to female character/monster designs is actually kind of laughable, but what can you expect when there's not a single woman credited in all of the art in this book and the games were made for male gamers in the early 2000's. 😮‍💨 Blizzard says, "If it's female, MAKE SURE I SEE BREASTS! No breasts??? No woman !!!" Lmao.

Victor Lee and Igor Sidorenko, some of the most inspiring art you will ever see.

[Smighty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave 3 because, personally, i am not a big fan of art books. Otherwise, extremely good art with explanations which bring the world of Diablo to another level. I may say that some sick (in a positive way) minds were/are in their teams of artists :D
If you are into art books, this would be my recommendation.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

For anyone hoping to see new content of Diablo 4 you won't find anything past the materials shown at Blizzcon 2019. Past that, this is a pretty unremarkable art book and I say that a 20 year diehard Diablo fan.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly biased extremely heavily in favor of III, the worst game in the series, with almost nothing by one and less than needed for II. That being said, the Brom art is always great to see and the preview of concept work for IV was extremely strong.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic artwork. I was a little disappointed that the back promised art from the entire series but 90% of it was from D3. But looking here on Goodreads there was already a book called 'The Art of Diablo 3', so I guess that could confuse the marketplace

[Jonathan Miela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Belongs on my coffee table.

[Richard Shank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read! Lovely detailed high quality pages. Insights from the artists and a lot of tid bits to enjoy.

[Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly just bought this for the Brom art, and it didn't disappoint. It also features some Diablo IV concept art, and should it become vaporware at this point (since we all know what's been happening at Blizzard), it's the only tangible thing we have of its art style.