Just what exactly are “Precision Background” art ? Also referred to in the Japanese animation industry as “Haikei Genzu” (背景原図), which roughly translates as “background/scenery original drawings”, precision background art are if you will, the base/foundation drawings that are the prerequisite before actual painting and/or creation of complex background art pieces can be done. This particular discipline is often overshadowed by the work of background artists, but is absolutely crucial in the animation pipeline and directly impacts the quality of background art that is painted over.

Takabatake Satoshi (高畠聡) is a veteran precision background artist, having honed his skills working on Katsuhiro Otomo’s anime masterpiece Akira, with an impressive portfolio that includes Metropolis, Freedom Project, Steamboy, Karas, Dorohedoro and many more. This expansive 256 pages art book collects many of the background art from the aforementioned titles.

(above & below) Background art pieces from Freedom Project, which I worked on from 2006-2007. Takabatake-san was probably also at the Sunrise Animation 2007 year end party without me realizing it !

This book is a fascinating and illuminating look and study of the meticulous and painstaking work of precision background artists, with reproductions of some of the best animated films ever created. Highly recommended.

“Takabatake Satoshi Precision Background 高畠聡アニメーション精密背景原図集” art book details :

Dimensions – 30 x 18 x 5 cm
Full color, In Japanese & English

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