Embedded Files
Name: Akihiko Yoshida
Notable creations and work:
Ogre Battle (1993) (SNES): Character, tarot card design
Tactics Ogre (1995) (SNES): Character design, background art direction
Final Fantasy Tactics (1997) (PS): Character design
Vagrant Story (2000) (PS): Character design, background art direction
Final Fantasy XII (2006) (PS2): Main Character design and background design supervisor
Final Fantasy III (Remake) (2006) (DS): Character design
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (2007) (PSP): Character design
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (2007) (DS): Artistic supervisor, illustrations
Born: 1967-Present
Biographical Summary
Biographical Summary
Akihik
o Yoshida is most known for his use of highly detailed drawings and use of soft, low light hues of color. Equally proficient in character and enemy/monster design, as well as fantastical creature works, Yoshida started designing for video games at the age of 23. However, it was not until his job at Quest that his career began to flourish. While at Quest, Yoshida designed the character classes and tarot cards used in the SNES game, Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen. The popularity of his art style led to him being rehired by Ogre Battle creator Yasumi Matsuno, to work on the continuation series, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. When Matsuno left Quest to join Squaresoft, Yoshida left as well. While at Squaresoft, Matsuno created Final Fantasy Tactics, a game that sold tremendously well. With Yoshida’s art plastered all over the game, so too did his career skyrocket, with Final Fantasy XII becoming his largest project yet. In Final Fantasy XII, not only did Yoshida work on character designs, he was also the background designer working on the cities, dungeons, and field levels. Work
o Yoshida is most known for his use of highly detailed drawings and use of soft, low light hues of color. Equally proficient in character and enemy/monster design, as well as fantastical creature works, Yoshida started designing for video games at the age of 23. However, it was not until his job at Quest that his career began to flourish. While at Quest, Yoshida designed the character classes and tarot cards used in the SNES game, Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen. The popularity of his art style led to him being rehired by Ogre Battle creator Yasumi Matsuno, to work on the continuation series, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. When Matsuno left Quest to join Squaresoft, Yoshida left as well. While at Squaresoft, Matsuno created Final Fantasy Tactics, a game that sold tremendously well. With Yoshida’s art plastered all over the game, so too did his career skyrocket, with Final Fantasy XII becoming his largest project yet. In Final Fantasy XII, not only did Yoshida work on character designs, he was also the background designer working on the cities, dungeons, and field levels. Work
While his artwork is probably easily recognized, with such works as Ogre Battle, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Final Fantasy XII to just name a few, the face behind the characters is no other than Akihiko Yoshida. Born in 1967, Akihiko Yoshida is a Japanese character designer, working for renowned companies such as Quest (maker of the Ogre Battle series) and Square Enix (current employer – joined in 1995). Yoshida’s trademarks are his highly detailed drawings paired with subdued, organic colors. The use of organic colors gives his work a medieval, tapered feel, a consistently unique style that sets his work apart from others. Almost as if looking through an artist’s sketchbook from long ago, the washed watercolor look of Yoshida’s designs seem not of this time. Although, starting with the remake of Final Fantasy III, Yoshida has been using splashes of brighter colors, even turning to some digital works, in a way to appeal to a wider variety of fans, and to appropriately match the theme/tone of the game.
Project
Project
Ogre Battle (1993) (SNES): Released in 1993, Ogre Battle marked the beginning of young Akihiko Yoshida’s career. Yoshida worked on the character and tarot card designs for the game.
Tactics Ogre (1995) (SNES): Released in 1995, Tactics Ogre for the SNES was the second installation of the popular Ogre Battle series. Yoshida worked on character design and the background art.
Final Fantasy Tactics (1997) (PS): Released in 1997, Final Fantasy Tactics was the project that jumpstarted Yoshida’s road to fame. Character designs were his main assignment in this game.
Vagrant Story (2000) (PS): Shortly after it’s release, Vagrant Story became the fifth best-selling PlayStation title in May. 100,000 units were sold in the first 20 days of the game's release, and Vagrant Story is the only game on the Playstation that received a perfect score of 40 from Famitsu magazine. Yoshida worked on character design and background art design.
Final Fantasy XII (2006) (PS2): Winning numerous awards, critical reception and critique, Final Fantasy XII was Yoshida’s largest production yet. He worked on the main character designs and background designs. Moving away towards his usual color palette, Yoshida incorporated brighter hues such as pink in his works.
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (2007) (DS): Geared towards a younger audience, Yoshida used mainly bright primary colors and a comic (manga) style to match the style of the storybook story. He worked as an artistic supervisor and created several illustrations for the games.
References
References
“Game Artist Profile: Akihiko Yoshida.” creativeuncut.com. creativeuncut, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2010.
Reference site
http://www.rpgfan.com/pics/ogrebattle/art.html
Several concept artworks for Ogre Battle
http://www.rpgfan.com/pics/tactics-ogre/art.html
Several concept artworks for Tactics Ogre
http://www.rpgfan.com/pics/fft/art.html
Several concept artworks for Final Fantasy Tactics
Several concepts artworks for Final Fantasy XII
Several concept artworks for Vagrant Story
Several concept artworks for Final Fantasy Tactics A2
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