Udon To Publish World of Warcraft Tribute Art Book

At the UDON Entertainment panel at New York Comic Con, UDON announced that it has teamed up with Blizzard Entertainment to produce the next epic installment in their ‘Tribute’ series of deluxe art books: WORLD OF WARCRAFT TRIBUTE! This massive collection will offer hundreds of professional and hobby artists the opportunity to show off their artistic chops and pay homage to their favorite characters, settings, and moments from Blizzard’s popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).

Beginning November 1, artists from around the world are invited to submit their original, World of Warcraft–inspired artwork for consideration to be included in this collection. UDON’s previous ‘Tribute’ books have served as a “Who’s Who” of international comic, concept, game, and fan artists, and WORLD OF WARCRAFT TRIBUTE will continue that tradition by collecting imaginative takes on Blizzard’s game world—from anime and western comic styles to cartoons, pixel-based art, sculptures, and more—whatever medium the artist chooses to express their unique vision of the Warcraft universe.

Blizzard and UDON will select the most epic and impressive submissions to be included in WORLD OF WARCRAFT TRIBUTE, which will premiere as a special limited-edition hardcover book at San Diego Comic-Con 2013. With thousands of entries expected, submitting artists are encouraged to bring their “A” game if they aspire to have their work included in the collection.

“We couldn’t be more excited about this project,” said Erik Ko, Editor In Chief of UDON. “We really respect the amazing universe Blizzard has created with the Warcraft series, and the games have been a major source of inspiration to the artistic community for years. This book will be our biggest Tribute undertaking ever, and we’re already anticipating all of the amazing illustrations that will soon be headed our way.”

“We’ve always been humbled by the fact that some amazing artists out there have drawn inspiration from our games over the years,” said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment. “Deciding which pieces to include in this book will be a huge challenge, but we’re looking forward to working with UDON to select the best of the best and put together an epic collection. And who knows — maybe in the process, we’ll discover some great new artists to invite to work with us on future Blizzard games.”

Since its launch in 2004, World of Warcraft has become the most popular subscription-based MMORPG in the world. The original game and its four expansions, including the recently released Mists of Pandaria™, have earned critical acclaim and captured the imaginations of millions of players around the globe.