Chapter 3: Showcasing the Artists

April 2, 2018

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant kingdom is finally here, complete with delightful narrative, vibrant visuals and addictive gameplay.

The nature of this Ni no Kuni II artist collaboration: celebrate the game’s creativity with some original masterpieces from a multitude of artistic professionals. In the last episode of this playanime.com series, we featured the higgledy-centric works of Andrea Mejia, Jiny He and Ben Seto, bringing life to the elemental sprites who add a new and fun feature to this second Ni no Kuni tale. 

So what’s next? In Chapter 3 of Showcasing the artists we are introducing Joey Spiotto, Sam Heidinger, and Jerrod Maruyama, three artists with very different styles and compositions, each putting their own cute and delightful take on Ni no Kuni II.

Joey SpiottoThe first artist on the agenda is Joey Spiotto, an illustrator and concept artist known for his ongoing print series titled “Storytime,” where he takes characters and other icons from pop-culture and incorporates them into a mock children’s book cover inspired by the beloved “Little Golden Books.” Growing up, Spiotto loved video games and drawing and always knew that he wanted to be a professional artist. After receiving his degree in Illustration, he worked in the entertainment industry and later as an independent free-lance artist, gaining experience and lending his creativity to all of his favorite forms of entertainment including video games, movies, toys and comics. Like many of the artists in this collaboration, Spiotto is inspired by the beautiful art direction, character design and world building that Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom has to offer. 

As part of his “Storytime” series, Spiotto took the Ni no Kuni II characters and distilled them down to their cutest form in “The Little Revenant Kingdom.” There is great attention to detail, a distressing around the edges that make this graphic look worn and vintage, like an authentic Little Golden Book from our childhoods. Inspired by the illustrator Mary Blair, Spiotto captured the childlike whimsy of Ni no Kuni II’s Evan, Roland and Tani with his care-free rosy cheeked portrayals of the pack.

Jerrod Maruyama is an IllustratJerrod Maruyama or and dedicated perfectionist. He grew up expressing his love for favorite characters by drawing them over and over again. Whether it was Star Wars, The Muppets or Hello Kitty, Maruyama’s passion for illustration never ceased and it became clear that he wanted to be a professional artist from a young age. He decided to study Illustration at San Jose State University and has since become a free-lance artist with a very refined style influenced by Japanese culture and “kawaii” or cute characters. Maruyama found Ni no Kuni II’s character design to be excellently executed and reminiscent of Studio Ghibli, which has always been a source of inspiration for him.  With the intention of making his fans and viewers smile, Maruyama continues to illustrate characters in a precise, yet adorable way.

Many of Maruyama’s pieces are suggestive of mandalas, and this one is no exception. A perfectly adorable representation of the Ni no Kuni II universe, Higgledies and all, are encased by a delicate leaf like boarder. If you look closely, there are little gold symbols surrounding the characters in the shapes of Higgledies, paw prints, stars, suns and other forms, serving as reminders of the games visual splendor. The characters and the layout of this illustration are very carefully planned in true Maruyama fashion; with great symmetry and strong Japanese influenced chibi style.

Sam HeidingerSam Heidinger’s journey into paper cutting began back in 2012 after she decided to create an artistic gift for her boyfriend. Since Heidinger and her boyfriend enjoy watching Japanese Kaiju movies together, she wanted to make a paper cut out of their favorite monster called Gamera. After designing a template from a movie still, she grabbed a pen knife, cut it out and was immediately hooked to the beautiful art form. She considers her artistic style to be a happy mix of anime and illustration, with a dash of realism and plenty of whimsy. The pieces usually start as pencil sketches, which are then cut out using a swiveling blade and ultimately transformed into a detailed and elegant cutout. Heidinger enjoyed pouring over the environments and character designs for Ni no Kuni II and was inspired by the way they fit together. As a big fan of Joe Hisaishi, she is also excited to hear more of the soundtrack that will accompany the game. 

This paper cutout piece is a display of intricate beauty. Heidinger’s use of blade and paper has resulted in a work of art with Ding Dong Dell inspired cat ears, a delicate floral design and the game’s most popular players – Evan, Roland and Tani. With a lace like quality and circular framework, this work exhibits a variety of different patterns and natural elements that attract the eye. When it comes to playing with characters and how they fit within their environments, Heidinger is skilled and takes the historical paper cutting tradition to the next level by adding a modern twist. Check out this time-lapse video of Heidinger’s work:

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is available now. Visit the Bandai Namco Entertainment America Store to purchase the Collector’s Edition and receive an exclusive replica map while supplies last! 

Next time we will be featuring the last three artists in the Ni no Kuni II Artist Collaboration Project here at playanime.com. Tune in for more original art works from the artists who are making this beautiful game come to life in a whole new way. If you want to honor Ni no Kuni II’s art with your own style, use hashtag #nnk2fanart on Facebook, Instagram or twitter, to tag your pieces on social media. You might just see your own artistic creations on playanime.com!
 

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