Concept Art Proves Skyrim Was a Looker from the Very Start

[TheRightToArmBears]

This seems like proof that, unlike Oblivion, every single town won't look like a rearranged version of the last one. That would be nice.

Not entirely; the concept art for Leyawiin was very, very different to how it was in game.

Spoiler

But yeah, this looks awesome, expecially Solitude. The bottom left picture would make a great wallpaper.

 

[evilartist]

It's just too damn expensive for mostly useless objects, with the exception of the actual game and the art book. I do, however, REALLY want that art book. As an animation major with a knack and passion for layouts and concept design, that 200-page book would be crack for me.

 

[Yokai]

This seems like proof that, unlike Oblivion, every single town won't look like a rearranged version of the last one. That would be nice.

Not entirely; the concept art for Leyawiin was very, very different to how it was in game.

Spoiler

But yeah, this looks awesome, expecially Solitude. The bottom left picture would make a great wallpaper.

It still bothers be that they didn't go with that design for Leyawiin, and instead opted to have it sit square in the middle of the river, completely blocking all water passage. Kind of makes you wonder how the Bloated Float got out to sea, doesn't it?

But returning to the original topic, this looks great, especially those ruins. They're far more interesting than any of the large structures in the previous games. I absolutely adore concept art, so while I can't afford the collector's edition, I'll definitely be looking for the book on Ebay or Amazon. It's too awesome not to have.

 

[Signa]

So.... ~$100 for an art book then? Just how highly does Bethesda think of themselves now?

 

[SirCannonFodder]

Is anyone really surprised that an Elder Scrolls game was a "looker" from conception? In 2006, Oblivion was the best looking game on the 360 and possibly the PC. In 2002, it was probably true of Morrowind too.

Must be a slow news day or the news for Skyrim is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

It definitely was true for Morrowind, especially for the then-unprecedented pixel-shader water effects. Heck, even the first TES game, Arena, was pretty cutting-edge for the time, with all kinds of fancy system-crippling lighting effects. Only ones that were kind of a dud graphics-wise were the xEngine games (ie, Daggerfall, Battlespire, Redguard).