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The Art of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
The Crash Bandicoot™ series has remained a beloved staple of platform gaming ever since the first game's release in 1996.
The Art of Crash Bandicoot™4: It's About Time™is a rich repository overflowing with interviews, quotes, observations and anecdotes, accompanied by a treasure trove of concept art detailing the characters and environments of the game. Gamers of every type will cherish this all-encompassing look into the zany, wild and unpredictable world of Crash Bandicoot™ .
The Art of Crash Bandicoot™4: It's About Time™is a rich repository overflowing with interviews, quotes, observations and anecdotes, accompanied by a treasure trove of concept art detailing the characters and environments of the game. Gamers of every type will cherish this all-encompassing look into the zany, wild and unpredictable world of Crash Bandicoot™ .
312 pages, Hardcover
First published December 8, 2020
3 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Micky Neilson
63 books59 followersMicky Neilson is a two-time New York Times best-selling author whose graphic novels, Ashbringer (#2 on the list) and Pearl of Pandaria (#3) have both been published in six languages. As one of the first writers at Blizzard Entertainment, he has more than two decades of experience in the cutting edge of the gaming industry. He has self-published three horror novels in his original series The Turning, on Amazon. In 2017 Micky was tapped to write The Howling: Revenge Of The Werewolf Queen, a comic book continuation of the beloved 1981 Joe Dante horror film The Howling. In 2018 Micky completed his first original sci-fi novel, Ridgerunners, and co-wrote the graphic novel The Invisible Empire: Madge Oberholtzer And The Unmasking Of The KKK, as well as the illustrated novel Strange Highways. Most recently Micky wrote the bestselling book The Art Of Spyro: Reignited Trilogy and completed his sci-fi trilogy Skiptracer. Micky lives in beautiful Washington State with his wife and daughter where he enjoys life's essentials: movies, comic books, chocolate and sushi.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 19, 2024
Being a Crash Bandicoot fan hasn’t always been easy. In the decades since the series’ PS1 heyday, I’ve suffered through the uninspired (The Wrath of Cortex), the horribly rushed (Twinsanity), and the truly baffling (Crash of the Titans), all in the hope that something could spark that same feeling. But then, in the darkest days of the pandemic, something incredible happened. Buoyed by a pair of successful remakes and a surge of 90s nostalgia, Crash returned in a new game that captured everything I loved about his classic escapades. In that shining moment, being a Crash Bandicoot fan .... still wasn’t easy, actually. It’s one of the most difficult games I’ve played in my adult life!
Fortunately, The Art of Crash Bandicoot 4 gives me a way to appreciate its stunning art direction and zany charm without tearing my hair out in frustration!
It’s hard to imagine what more one could want from an art book for a ridiculous marsupial-themed platformer. Every single level is accounted for, with loads of gorgeous landscapes, concept art for nearly every enemy (and many who didn’t make the cut), and plenty of insightful commentary. It’s fascinating to learn about the artists’ process, about the sheer amount of thought put into color theory and subtle visual cues to guide the player, and how seemingly minor details in throwaway art can inspire entire levels all on their own. Even with my increasingly cynical attitude on the gaming industry at large, I get every impression that Crash 4 was a labor of love for Toys for Bob, and that comes through loud and clear here.
If I could give the teensiest of minor complaints, I do sometimes wish they’d gone with a more legible font for the commentary blurbs. But it wouldn’t be right to knock off any stars for something as silly as that, now would it? Crash Bandicoot isn’t about legibility, maaan. He can’t even read!
Fortunately, The Art of Crash Bandicoot 4 gives me a way to appreciate its stunning art direction and zany charm without tearing my hair out in frustration!
It’s hard to imagine what more one could want from an art book for a ridiculous marsupial-themed platformer. Every single level is accounted for, with loads of gorgeous landscapes, concept art for nearly every enemy (and many who didn’t make the cut), and plenty of insightful commentary. It’s fascinating to learn about the artists’ process, about the sheer amount of thought put into color theory and subtle visual cues to guide the player, and how seemingly minor details in throwaway art can inspire entire levels all on their own. Even with my increasingly cynical attitude on the gaming industry at large, I get every impression that Crash 4 was a labor of love for Toys for Bob, and that comes through loud and clear here.
If I could give the teensiest of minor complaints, I do sometimes wish they’d gone with a more legible font for the commentary blurbs. But it wouldn’t be right to knock off any stars for something as silly as that, now would it? Crash Bandicoot isn’t about legibility, maaan. He can’t even read!
January 20, 2025
As a fan of Crash Bandicoot and a hobby artist, I got this book to study the art style as well as learn about the process that went into making It’s About Time.
It was fascinating to learn how much work goes into designing a game. For Crash Bandicoot alone, they went through hundreds of sketches just to ask who he is and what his design for this new game ought to be. Now add on top of that all the exploration they did for the rest of the cast, new enemies and allies, the different environments and levels…that’s a lot of drawing! Before, I assumed that game design was way more focused on all the technical aspects; I didn’t realize that the artists have such a huge role to play with its direction, too.
I think getting to see even a glimpse of the thousands of ideas the artists brought to this game allows me to appreciate it more. If you haven’t played the game yet and want to avoid all spoilers, this book does cover the major story beats, so keep that in mind before taking a look.
I also find it hilarious that
Time to go play some Crash Bandicoot!
It was fascinating to learn how much work goes into designing a game. For Crash Bandicoot alone, they went through hundreds of sketches just to ask who he is and what his design for this new game ought to be. Now add on top of that all the exploration they did for the rest of the cast, new enemies and allies, the different environments and levels…that’s a lot of drawing! Before, I assumed that game design was way more focused on all the technical aspects; I didn’t realize that the artists have such a huge role to play with its direction, too.
I think getting to see even a glimpse of the thousands of ideas the artists brought to this game allows me to appreciate it more. If you haven’t played the game yet and want to avoid all spoilers, this book does cover the major story beats, so keep that in mind before taking a look.
I also find it hilarious that
Time to go play some Crash Bandicoot!
December 27, 2021
It is hard not to feel inspired after taking a look through this lovely book. The pages are glossy and bright and perfect for any Crash Bandicoot lover's book collection. I love that they included art from every single level of the game. I do wish a few more pages were dedicated to character design, though the pages of Crash design were fantastic. It is so cool to see different artists' takes on each area, and then play the game and see how it all came together in a unified and polished way. Amazing art book!
July 14, 2022
The art direction of Crash 4 is simply amazing and this artbook does a really great job of showcasing it. It’s lengthy and the quality of the book is great. What I really love, is that there are a lot of comments and backstories about the workflow, challenges and ideas the art team had during development. It covers both character and environmental design. Definitely a top tier of video games artbooks and a must have for Crash fans.
August 12, 2023
Absolute gold standard for an art book, wonderful commentary and insight into the whole process. Excellent curating as well. This and the Spyro art book are some of the best around.
December 28, 2025
The most beautiful book ever! If could live inside of it, I would.
January 11, 2021
This is basically essential for any superfans of the new Crash Bandicoot game. With huge, beautiful pieces of art accompanied by interesting explanations of how they reached new designs, and with a breakdown of every world, The Art of Crash Bandicoot 4 must surely be one of the best video game artbooks I've ever read. Very very pleased to have this on my shelf.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews