This one has been sitting on my pile of “yet to be reviewed” art books for a while now; I had picked it up last spring while I was in Tokyo, a most lucky find at the Mandarake store in Akihabara for just a couple of bucks. The book is out of print and hard to get hold on, so it has been somewhat relegated in terms of my review priority, but the fact is that the art is so good and I really want to share it.

Katoh Naoyuki (加藤直之) is a veteran Japanese artist/mecha designer who has contributed to many science fiction illustrations since the 1970s, notably cover art for the Japanese editions of sci-fi novels like Starship Troopers and Frank Herbert’s Dune.

This book ( published way back in 1981 ) is a collection of his sci-fi illustrations, the first in a series of 3 books, I believe. The aesthetics and visual style of the sci-fi elements are a product of its time, and for lack of a better description, has a certain “Ray Harryhausen stop-motion animation” charm to it.

Perhaps I am nostalgic for some of the design sense from that era, but it is a refreshing change from the overly sleek and rather clinical “Artstation” vibe that is common in sci-fi designs today.

Trends notwithstanding, Naoyuki Katoh’s renderings are spectacular and technically excellent, complete with eye-popping use of colors and compelling compositions.

PS : Youtube flip-through video – I am currently traveling and am unable to upload my flip-through video for this book due to technical difficulties. I will upload it once I return to Vancouver. Thank you for the understanding !

Highly recommended; because this publication is more than 40 years old ( first published in 1981 ) and completely out of print, it is very hard to track a copy down, although there are sellers on Amazon Marketplace that still carry it. Your next best bet is locating it at used bookstores like Mandarake, just as I did.

I also recommended checking out all the other Naoyuki Katoh art books that I have reviewed in the past.

“Naoyuki Katoh SF Illustrations 加藤直之画集” details :

Dimensions – 305 × 225mm x 10mm
Hardcover, 200 pages
Full color, In Japanese & limited English

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