[Artbook] TLoK Book Four: Balance - The Art of the Animated Series

[Icy_Ashford]

The Book 4 artbook is available for pre-order on Amazon and is set to be released on September 15 2015.

Hmm, I wonder why there's such a long period between the Book 3 and Book 4 release.



Edit: Latest cover from Dark Horse.

[Avatar Epsilon]

The wait period isn't any longer then the one between the art books for 2 and 3. They are still probably finishing up the Book 3 artbook and major work on the book 4 one won't start until that is done.

That is probably my favorite cover though of the bunch.

[TallBoy]

I bet Bryke are making the book very nice for us. I bet there will be some nice Thank yous in it

[Loopy]

I wonder if it will be full of Korrasami fanart.

[Saturius]

That is probably my favorite cover though of the bunch.

Really? I kinda think it's the blandest of all the covers.  I thought it was a placeholder promo piece when I first saw it.  Wish it was a little more striking. Oh well. Still a day 1 buy.

[Avatar Epsilon]

That is probably my favorite cover though of the bunch.

Really? I kinda think it's the blandest of all the covers.  I thought it was a placeholder promo piece when I first saw it.  Wish it was a little more striking. Oh well. Still a day 1 buy.

I like the art style of the the Avatar series. The covers of the other three Books used a different art style. This cover is more in line with how the actual show looks (though Book 2 art cover was close as well).

[Saturius]

I like the art style of the the Avatar series. The covers of the other three Books used a different art style. This cover is more in line with how the actual show looks (though Book 2 art cover was close as well).

Lol. That's actually why I don't like the book 4 cover. Breaks consistency of the style used by the first 3 books.  That was my second thought when I saw the book 4 cover, that it looked a lot like the show art.

[K o r r a]

I wonder if it will be full of Korrasami fanart.

Why would there be any fanart at all?

[Loopy]

Because the Mike and the Bryan are the biggest Korrasami fans I've yet to see on tumblr, and that's saying something.

[Icy_Ashford]

Latest cover from Dark Horse.

Some preview images from tumblr too.

[luvavatar]

I like the concept art Wu way more than the one that was put on the show. I bet we'd get a lot more shipping as well, lol.

[Clowngoon]

Still waiting on some Fire Nation designs. Can't let that hope die.

[Icy_Ashford]

Asami's designs reminds me of an anime schoolgirl for some reason...

[Clowngoon]

^Designated Fanservice Station attendant.

[DoTheDwah]

Asami's designs reminds me of an anime schoolgirl for some reason...

That's what she amounted to in Bryke's eyes, so why not go all the way and look the part? :|

[KatrinaKadabra]

Still waiting on some Fire Nation designs. Can't let that hope die.

I'm hoping right with you.

...and also terrified that the book is going to officially state that Firelord Izumi is a firebender, on account of that would completely ruin my fanfic concept. ^_^;;

[Clowngoon]

Still waiting on some Fire Nation designs. Can't let that hope die.

I'm hoping right with you.

...and also terrified that the book is going to officially state that Firelord Izumi is a firebender, on account of that would completely ruin my fanfic concept. ^_^;;

It reminds me of how Senna and Tu are water and earthbenders. Too bad we don't see this in series.

[KatrinaKadabra]

Still waiting on some Fire Nation designs. Can't let that hope die.

I'm hoping right with you.

...and also terrified that the book is going to officially state that Firelord Izumi is a firebender, on account of that would completely ruin my fanfic concept. ^_^;;

It reminds me of how Senna and Tu are water and earthbenders. Too bad we don't see this in series.

Wow... I didn't know this about either of them. That would have been cool to see Senna waterbending, for sure.

[Weege the Airbender]

I have to admit that I preferred the original cover for this book. Regardless, it is a must-buy. These art books are always terrific.

[Spiritwhisperer]

Honestly, I like all of Asami's alternate outfits better than the one they chose in the show. Same with Wu's design. Those other Wu designs also seem the type that is easier to hate for Wu being a dandy who doesn't take his responsibility seriously, rather than hating him in the show because he's obnoxious and annoying.

[AtoMaki]

Honestly, I like all of Asami's alternate outfits better than the one they chose in the show.

+1. I like the second from the left in the bottom a lot.

[RhoughRhinoAlternate]

Huh, I think I prefer those alternate Wu designs, especially the one with the pompadour.

Have to disagree with everyone else about Asami.  None of the other designs really look professional enough imo.

[FireNationPhoenix]

if the book will be about the season and the story, not just shipping, of course i'll be buying it, but if this thing is going to be one of those attempts to shove a ship down my throat, not spending a dime, yes i ship korrasami, but i don't like any ship being aggressively shoved down the throat.

ok, enough about shipping, i really liked korra's hair in this season, she should keep it like that more. also, varrick was hilarious yet again, it was cool to finally meet izumi(i've been waiting a while for that) and i thought that korma going to zaheer for help of all people was interesting. to be honest, i do think korma did lack the heart of the original, but it was still a great show overall, it was sad for me to see it go. but at least we have the books to remember it by

[luvavatar]

I kind of wish that they gave Asami a nice pantsuit that was modeled after some of the ones women wore in the 30s and 40s. If her company can make futuristic technology for the era her fashion can be ahead as well.

[Nausicaa]

I just posted this in the Social Media thread, but it fits here too. Amazon have put some new preview pages up. The complete preview shows some new stuff, and some stuff we've already seen. You have to log in to see all of it (and some of it seems to keep disappearing?), so I'll list the main contents for anybody who can't log in to Amazon:

• The front and back covers (the back shows a Kuvira quote, the Bayan-grove tree, plus a picture of Asami in her main Book 4 outfit)
• The title pages (with some sketches of spirits, Opal, Wing, Wei, and Wu
• An introduction written by Mike, Bryan, and Joaquim Dos Santos
• Kuvira concept art/ character model
• A storyboard of Kuvira's fight with the bandits
• Prince Wu concept art
• Asami concept art/ character model (plus Mako and Tonraq)
• Background art for the village
• A look at Kuvira's train
• Concept art for the air nomad suits
• Republic City background art
• Korra's Earth Kingdom outfits + some EK character designs
• Korra and Katara designs from Episode 2, plus Korra's boat
• New designs for Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo
• A bunch of Earth Kingdom background art
• Designs for Varrick, Zhu Li, Huan, Wing, and Wei
• Storyboards for the scene where Varrick saves Zhu Li's life on the train
• Designs for Kuvira's army, including the female officers who seem to be absent from the final animation
• Kuvira's tanks and flags
• Mechasuit designs
• Flight suit designs for Asami, Hiroshi, Varrick, and Zhu Li, plus some BG art of the ruined factory
• Republic City BG art from Episode 11
• Wedding-style art of Zhu Li carrying Varrick (on the final page?)

Have to disagree with everyone else about Asami.  None of the other designs really look professional enough imo.

While I'm not a fan of the outfit they settled on, I agree that the alternative ones look too casual. That said, her alternative ones would have been good for casualwear in Books 1 and 3, when she's not involved with her company.

if the book will be about the season and the story, not just shipping, of course i'll be buying it, but if this thing is going to be one of those attempts to shove a ship down my throat, not spending a dime, yes i ship korrasami, but i don't like any ship being aggressively shoved down the throat.

I don't think there's going to be that much shipping stuff. The introduction paragraphs don't mention that aspect of the show at all. I expect most shipping stuff will be limited to the chapters on the relevant episodes, and mostly through commentary. The ancillary artwork looks like the only section that'd allow for more shipping-related art (and even that section will probably have a fair bit of 'congrats to the crew' stuff etc.)

The only shippy stuff I've seen in the previews is the picture of Varrick and Zhu Li on the last (?) page, and the storyboard of them on the train. You could argue that putting Asami on the back cover (rather than a new character like they did with Books 2 and 3) is vaguely connected to her role in the finale, but it's not shippy in itself.

So my guess would be that most of the shipping-related stuff in the book will be the odd comment from Mike or Bryan, plus artwork where appropriate. (eg. they'll probably reprint the finale storyboards of Korra and Asami walking into the portal, and include stuff like Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding outfits). The ancillary art might include something like the turtleduck painting. I'd also guess that the only shipping stuff discussed will be about Zhurrick, Bopal, and Korrasami (plus maybe a reference to the Mako romance that never happened).

Honestly, I like all of Asami's alternate outfits better than the one they chose in the show. Same with Wu's design. Those other Wu designs also seem the type that is easier to hate for Wu being a dandy who doesn't take his responsibility seriously, rather than hating him in the show because he's obnoxious and annoying.

I like the other Wu designs too. The notes mentioned that they wanted to make him look more feeble, but I think they arguably went too far with it (though, I do like the fact that Wu looks fairly distinctive). Plus I think there'd be something kinda funny about him trying to dress like a tough Republic City guy.