Yoshitaka Amano

One of the things that really got me interested in video games at a young age was the artwork that went into them. As a kid, I remember spending hours looking at the illustrations and concept art that were spread throughout the booklets that came with the games--particularly those of Final Fantasy games. Anyone who knows anything about Final Fantasy knows that the games' visual designs and graphics are some of the best out there. One of the people largely responsible for the series' prestigious aesthetic is Yoshitaka Amano who has been contributing artwork to the games since Square Enix very first started making them.

While Tetsuya Nomura has more or less taken over the art scene since Final Fantasy VII was made back in the mid-90's, Amano is still involved and is still the series' "title logo designer", among other things. With every new FF title that comes out, there's usually at least half-a-dozen new illustrations of his to go with it.

Amano is by far one of my favorite artists of all time. I fell in love with his work when I was just a kid and as I've gotten older, I've only grown more and more impressed by it. While he has lots of amazing stuff that has nothing to do with Final Fantasy, the series has no doubt helped him spread his wings as an artist. Well, enough of me talking about it...have a look for yourself:

All images were found on GiantBomb.com and are the property of Yoshitaka Amano/Square Enix.