Book Review: Massive Black Volume 1

February 3, 2009 by Parka

The first thing I noticed about the Massive Black art book is that it's titled Volume 1. It's safe to guess that there's going to be other volumes in the future. That is great because this book is very good.

If you have no idea who or what is Massive Black, here's a short history I found on Ballistic Publishing page:

Founded in 2002 by a group of passionate developers, Massive Black has grown to become a powerhouse of the entertainment industry—particularly in the areas of concept art, illustration, 3D, animation and intellectual property development. During its six-year history, the company has worked on 210 projects, generating a staggering 30,000 pieces of concept art for games, film, television, graphic novels, toys, and advertising.

The book is a paperback edition housed inside a slipcase. There are 192 pages and they are relatively glossy. The binding is great too. This book is a fingerprint magnet, and I left a few when I first held it.

Right at the start is an inspiring company's history. You'll get to read about how they started the company with $6000 to build it to a world class art studio where their art workshops look no different from rock concerts.

Inside the pages contain an impressive portfolio of illustrations and concept art created for too many clients. There are character designs (mainly), environment paintings (few) and 3D modelings (few). The level of technical quality is top notch, of course.

Because the clients are mainly from the movie and gaming industry, most of the art pieces relate to the fantasy and sci-fi genre, oftentimes dark. It's like entering a different world just by looking at the paintings, the characters.

Massive Black Volume 1 has managed to put a smile of art lust and fascination on my face. It's recommended for concept artists, art directors, video game art lovers and people who just like good art.

Do check out the Massive Black homepage as well, for more illustrations in their art galleries.

Special thanks to Kelvin Chan for providing the book for this short review.

Massive Black Vol 1

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If you buy from any links on the blog, I get a little commission that helps me get more art books to feature.

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Comments

Nice monsters and thanks for

November 17th (not verified)
June 12, 2009,
1 year 11 weeks ago
Comment id: 303

Nice monsters and thanks for the review.

Hi, this book is definetely

George (not verified)
January 4, 2010,
34 weeks 3 days ago
Comment id: 1200

Hi, this book is definetely worth buying, but it dosent ship to singapore. May I ask how do I get my hands on this book? thanks.

@George You can try the other

Parka
January 4, 2010,
34 weeks 3 days ago
Comment id: 1201

@George
You can try the other Amazon branches, especially Amazon UK.

Or you can try placing an order at Basheer bookshop at Bras Basah. I saw the books on shelves there before.

If not, you can join my order as I'm ordering from Amazon UK at the end of Jan 2010. That book is about SGD$96. Just email me.

I loved the whole experience

Anonymous (not verified)
June 13, 2010,
11 weeks 4 days ago
Comment id: 2301

I loved the whole experience with this book to pieces - but you might want to emphasize the "dark" aspect - I wouldn't recommend it to younger teens. (Almost Silent Hill-ish in some of the monster artwork?) Full nudity also; I think I counted 3-4 pictures.