Soul Arts, a kickstarter book project, features some of the best concept art for the most popular FromSoftware games, with art derived from the lore of the games and concepts that don’t quite exist yet. Michael “VaatiVidya” Samuels’ kickstarter project, Soul Arts, is a collaborative effort between various artists to design original artwork based off of games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring. After running a series of different art competitions, VaatiVidya featured a selection of artworks on his YouTube channel, with detailed discussions of each piece. Soul Arts, however, is a physical book featuring the overall most inspiring and exciting artworks from the competition.
The Dark Souls, Bloodborne (and more) fan art kickstarter was fully funded in just one hour. The Irish small press, Tune & Fairweather, partnered with the kickstarter to create the physical deluxe-edition, large-format art book, Soul Arts. Tune & Fairweather previously published the acclaimed Dark Souls book You Died, a companion book to the Dark Souls video game. The final product of Soul Arts contains 256 pages of full-color illustrations, a foreword, and detailed descriptions of the game concepts and art. Within the Soul Arts book, the passion, adoration, and innovation of FromSoftware fans is on full display.
Tune and Fairweather is also set to release another FromSoftware project: a massive Dark Souls project compiling lore in two books, called Abyssal Archive. The love and care for FromSoftware games such as Demon’s Souls and Elden Ring-which wasn’t even released yet when the art competition for its category took place-is evident in every page and artwork. Beyond simply paying homage, artists also envisioned their own concepts that would be perfect for potential sequels or DLC to certain games. In his foreword, VaatiVidya says of the art and the concepts, “the entries to follow aren’t ranked in any way - they’re simply a testament to the artists who created them, and fascinating love letters to the creations of FromSoftware.”
Demon's Souls Sixth Archstone: The Twisted City
Originally released in 2009, then later remastered for the Playstation 5 in 2020, Demon’s Souls was the first Souls game ever released. Demon's Souls' Boletaria, before the colorless fog, was an entirely different land than the five worlds to explore in the game. By defeating bosses, various Archstones become available which allow the return to the Nexus. Originally, FromSoftware had planned on having a total of six chief Archstones, but had to scrap the final one due to time restraints. The sixth Archstone appears in Demon’s Souls as a broken artifact that cannot be used. In Soul Arts, a section is dedicated to art that imagines what the world of the Northern Limit and sixth Archstone could look like-from different territories, creatures, and battles, and what their backstories might entail.
Though Demon’s Souls features director Miyakazi’s favorite boss fight, it is missing artist Timothy Kelly’s sixth Archstone concept of the Twisted City. Soul Arts describes the Twisted City as a place that is warped and bent, with snow and mist shimmering across the landscape. The Twisted City was woven from pre-existing fabric by The Weaver, whose presence is all around the city. Everything there was a twisted version of the City of Giants. In the Twisted City, shadows change everything about the city. Timothy Kelly’s art, as well as the written concept by VaatiVidya, make for a very intriguing storyline that is just the beginning of the “what-ifs” introduced in Soul Arts.
Dark Souls: The Unseen Lands Fans Crave
Ten years later, Dark Souls is still important as one of the most groundbreaking and influential video games in history. Soul Arts featured some of the best concept artworks focused on the unseen lands mentioned, but never visited within the lore and gameplay of Dark Souls. Artist Brent Lecluyse’s two conceptual artworks of the land of Carim, a land praying for the end of the Undead Curse, as undeath is treated quite harshly in the city. Throughout the gameplay of Dark Souls, one can encounter quite a few characters of Carim, yet never visit nor learn much more about the land for themselves. Brent Lecluyse’s imaginative rendering of what Carim could have been within Dark Souls is a powerful reminder of all the lore and secrets still kept within the three Dark Souls games.
Soul Arts Collections An Elden Ring Boss Art Competition
The many bosses of Elden Ring are one of the most unique features of Elden Ring, though their notorious difficulty levels is a classic FromSoftware approach. Initially revealed in 2019, the astounding silence that followed for any news of Elden Ring left many FromSoftware fans in a worried frenzy that the game might never come. Awaiting further news and updates for Elden Ring’s release, VaatiVidya hosted an art competition encouraging artists to conceptualize what different bosses and boss encounters might look like within the game. Many of the subsequent artworks would have fit beautifully within Elden Ring, while others could create a world of their own. The curated Elden Ring conceptual artworks in Soul Arts reveal the deep depths of imagination, creativity, and passion of FromSoftware fans across the globe.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Prosthetic Art Challenge
The bosses of Sekiro cast a long shadow on other FromSoftware games, as do many elements of the highly acclaimed Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Turning the focus away from complete character customization focusing instead on customizing the prosthetic of the main character. For Soul Arts, artists were invited to conceptualize a prosthetic and detail its combat mechanics for in-game use. Lucas Reiner conceptualized the sticky bomb prosthetic, which would utilize the hand as well as the arm. Reiner’s piece, and the entire Sekiro portion of Soul Arts, continues to show the endless possibilities of the admirers of FromSoftware games.
Bloodborne: Concept Arts Beg For Sequel
If the concepts for never before seen lands and creatures weren’t enough to make FromSoftware fans yearn for more, the art competitions for Bloodborne features inspired imaginings. Bloodborne and Sekiro evolved combat from Dark Souls, creating entirely new gameplay experiences that elevated FromSoftware into even higher territory. Bloodborne’s portion of Soul Arts is dedicated entirely to fan imaginings of settings, characters, and gameplay of a sequel to Bloodborne. Artist Istrandar imagined the fate of Caryll, a runesmith who is one of the most important, but never seen, figures of Byrgenwerth. Istrandar imagines Caryll’s thirst for knowledge, leaving Byrgenwerth, working tirelessly to communicate with the Great One. Through dangerous methods, Caryll transcends her human form to that of a giant, beastly owl, communicating forever with the Great One, and inspiring whispers of her dangerous descent.
Throughout the entirety of Soul Arts, there is no lack of vivid imagery, fierce dedication, and amazing storytelling for the major FromSoftware releases. Every contribution serves as a reminder of how important the games of FromSoftware are for players. FromSoftware confirmed multiple new projects, with one in final stages already, meaning that there will be more worlds, creatures, and storylines to become enamored with. Waiting for news of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Elden Ring was often daunting, as FromSoftware is notoriously tight-lipped during development. Many fans are currently hoping that one of these games could be a sequel for Elden Ring, but just as many are hoping that FromSoftware will revisit their groundbreaking worlds of Bloodborne and Sekiro first. Reading through the beautiful and terrifying art and lore of Soul Arts emphasizes how unbearable it is to not yet, if ever, have the opportunity to explore new aspects of these worlds. Soul Arts is the perfect companion piece to these FromSoftware games, prompting nostalgia for the first playthroughs of games, the agonizing waits for more, the creativity of the fan base, and still, the yearning for more and more, as these concept artworks are part of the most intriguing games never made (yet).
Sources: Kickstarter, Tune & Fairweather, VaatiVidya/YouTube