Editor’s Note

Prime showcases the pinnacle of digital artistic achievement from around the globe in a definitive collection of 21st century CG artwork.

This unique set of five books is housed in a single slipcase, with each book devoted to a classic gallery theme – sci-fi, character, cartoon, fantasy or scenes – and featuring stunning, world-class work that comes courtesy of some of the greatest artists in the industry.

Never before has a collection of this magnitude been released. Prime brings together over 400 top-quality pieces in one easily accessible set of books, for your immediate viewing pleasure. Whatever your artistic tastes, the tantalizing mix of fantastical creatures, humorous caricatures, sweeping landscapes and fascinating characters on offer in Prime is guaranteed to capture your imagination and leave you with a timeless source of inspiration that you can return to again and again.

The Book Review

First of all, I must note the substantial presentation of Prime. Five perfect-bound books snugly protected by a rather hefty glossy slipcase. Each book’s cover is adorned with a spot UV illustration, and the interiors are vibrantly printed on large glossy paper.

Prime, as well as being a very attractive coffee table piece works very well as an introduction to world of digital illustration. It showcases illustrators from a broad range of styles and techniques. For the most part each artist only has one page, with the occasional few having two to three pages. Which is why I say it works well as an introduction, with so few images per illustrator, it definitely encourages you to seek out more about individual illustrators.

Each image is titled, credited and names the software used. The predominant technique showcased across all five books is, unsurprisingly, digital painting. However, the editors do a good job of breaking this up with varying styles, including some breathtaking examples 3D rendering—mostly found in the Scenes book. There are also good examples of less rendered illustrations, almost completely flat colours, as well as more experimental and expressive painting techniques. On the whole I would say it caters better for those wanting to see great examples of realistic digital painting, but there are enough gems showcasing other techniques to keep any eclectic Lounger happy.

If I had to choose a volume, I would say Cartoons is my probably my favourite. It is the one with the most varied styles, and the most light-hearted. A few of the illustrators that stood out (some in the slideshow above) were Reynan Sanchez, Yukari Masuike, Mateusz Lenart, Guillermo Soria, Morteza Najafi, Valentina Remenar, Sergio Diaz, Guillaume Ospital as well a couple illustrator’s we have previously featured on the Lounge Peter Oedekoven, and Max Kostenko. All illustrators featured across the books are top-notch; these are just some of the ones that appealed to my personal tastes.

To find out more about Prime – The Definitive Digital Art Collection, and perhaps discover a new favourite illustrator, head over go to the 3DTotal website.