When you stop to think about artists that helped define videogames, the name Yoshitaka Amano probably pops in your mind, right? Or at least his works if you don't know the name right away. His contributions to the Final Fantasy series dates back to 1985 and ever since then, Amano's paintings have been synonymous with then Square and now SquareEnix's flagship franchise.
Goombd had the chance to meet the master last weekend, when Amano-san touched down in São Paulo in order to show a few pieces of his portfolio during the Gameworld 2012 expo. The shy artist doesn't usually have direct contact with the public, so his press conference event was a rare chance for the local press and videogame enthusiasts to pick his brains a bit on a variety of subjects.
While it's difficult to credit an entire game concept to just one person, in many people's minds, Final Fantasy was pretty much a child of Amano-san's creativity, in the form of his drawings. According to him, though, its creation was far from being that. His collaboration with the team at the time was only as successful as it was due to the combining of creative forces and not just his drawings.Not only that, but his art was frowned upon at the time due to how conservative the general public used to be back in the 80s in regards to videogames. Amano-san reminded everyone of how shy the overall population is and that games were a closed off hobby at the time, something that has completely changed since then. From his early days as an animator over at the famous Tatsunoko Productions on to his work at SquareEnix, formerly Squaresoft, Amano has seen the growth of videogame popularity in its entirety, from a shied away hobby to the common place "play anywhere" fever that the Japanese are obsessed with nowadays.
When asked about how his work is usually received in different cultures outside of Japan, he was sure to mention that very little of that actually influences how the public sees his art - in fact, different cultures are even more in love with it, which he has come to admire and appreciate over the years. According to Amano-san, the fans' support is more valuable than anything and in that regard, he considers himself a very rich man.
"Art is a broad subject and I try to treat it as such. I cannot cut corners and make generalizations in my work." - Amano-san added as one of the journalists commented on how Japanese art had influence Amano's work. He was quick to add that local art has certainly played a part in his development as an artist, but he didn't stop there. There's something of everything in his work and according to him, that's much needed and is probably why people from all over the world have claimed to be able to identify themselves with some of Amano's characters. By looking outside for inspiration, Amano ended up coming back to the East, due to how some of his own influences were once inspired by Eastern culture. In a way, Amano considers himself influenced by Japanese art but from the outside set of mind, diluted and focused by previous artists from the West.
His family played a part in his art development, from the earliest memories, Amano-san shared that his father was a lacque artist and his work always fascinated him, its use of black and gold paint, the strokes of his father's brush is something he keeps in mind every time he starts a new painting. Colors are another reason behind his visit to Brazil, so he can absorb some of the local culture and possibly apply it to future projects. According to him, Brazil's fauna and flora are incredibly inspiring, not to mention uniquely colorful. At the time of the press conference, Amano-san had been in town for only a day and was already enamored with São Paulo's sprawling architecture and graffiti art.
Amano's work extended to other mediums outside of games. His most notable non-gaming work was probably his collaboration with Neil Gaiman in the book Sandman: The Dream Hunters, where he contributed with most of the art. He mentioned that the creative process was a conjunction of Gaiman's script and his own drawings, a mutual brain storm of ideas that resulted in a lot of unused art which Amano-san laughed off. Not all of his ideas were that good, according to him. "We beg to disagree, Amano-san", the audience clearly cried.
Amano's shyness quickly gave away to his humor. Quick to break out in laughter, when asked about the difference in his work over the years, about the creative process changing from 1985 to now, he simply said "I forgot!" and laughed it away. In all seriousness, he responded that in his mind, art is a tool to disseminate culture and to help show how rich a world can be to those outside of it.The base of his early work is still seen these days in games like Final Fantasy XIII, where core characters that make repeat appearances throughout the series are still modeled in designs from back then, even though their looks might be slightly or even radically different. "The more modern the technology", Amano-san said, "the closer the fidelity with my original work". The pixel art of early Final Fantasy games could only bring out the unique visuals of his paintings so far.
"I hate cell phones..." Amano-san drops in between questions about fan feedback. "I have very little interest in keeping up with social media". Very little of the fan reactions actually makes it into his ears and even less actually influences his work, Amano admits. That's the main reason he likes to keep it to himself and not give many interviews.
Music plays a huge part in Amano's work. Much of his work, according to him, is also influenced of the pop art record covers of the 70s and 80s. Also worth mentioning is his involvement in a partnership with a music magazine, where he would publish a couple of paintings every month. That went on for a few years. Since then, however, he was forced to stop due to the amount of work needed, in order to focus on his main line of designs. While disappointed about having to stop working on that magazine, he still keeps very active just listening to music, he laughed.
Whether they are monsters, heroes or even beautiful princesses, Aman-san can't identify himself in any of his creations nor really admit to having a real person as a mold to any of his designs. Again, the master kids around and mentions how he wouldn't want to identify himself with any of his monsters, they are too ugly!
As for more recent work, Amano-san mentioned his current work in Devasan, an animation that combines traditional Japanese folklore, like samurai and demons, with some more Western stories. Due to last year's earthquake catastrophe, Amano's contributions had to be halted and were only picked back up recently, with some of the production having been shifted to offshore in order to see conclusion anywhere near their estimated 2013 release for this series. He hopes to put together a collection of his art from Devasan soon in the form of a book too.
In regards to the recent controversy about the lack of creativity of Japanese games, Amano-san didn't mince words. They are indeed lacking, but due to many reasons, not only creativity-wise. In earlier days, sales were much stronger and he also pushes some of the blame to weaker profits in this generation and the overall lack of investment in the development of games. He pinned some of the blame to less than enthusiast developers too, which according to him have been on the rise recently.
When asked about keeping in touch with former company mates Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu, Amano said that he is in constant contact with both and pointed out that he is indeed working with Uematsu on an unannounced game which he shrugged it off as something he forgot the name too. Fellow attendees to the conference whispered "Final Fantasy VII remake!!!". I kept my mouth shut.
It was surprising to see such a candid figure in Yoshitaka Amano. Not only in his sincere answers, but in his humor and presence. I also had the chance to meet him in person during his sit down at the space where his works were on display. Shaking the man's hand was the least I could do as a fan and for that I'm thankful for his visit.
Photo credits: Fabricio Vianna, Tambor Digital
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