UDON Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment Announce World of Warcraft Tribute Art Book

Big weekend at NYCC. Great show for comics fans (actually living up to the "comic" part of the name). It was especially great for fans of World of Warcraft and UDON Entertainment, as the two announced a partnership that will lead to a book paying tribute to the art of the series. 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 MMORPG.

“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.”

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. The book will collect 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. The tribute will premiere as a special limited-edition hardcover book at San Diego Comic-Con 2013.

“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.”

For full artwork submission details, head to WarcraftTribute.com. Contest entries will be accepted beginning November 1, 2012 through noon PST on January 15, 2013.

Full press release below.

UDON Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment Announce World of Warcraft® Tribute Art Book Artists from around the world are invited to share their unique visions of Azeroth with the World of Warcraft community www.UdonEntertainment.com   OCTOBER 12, 2012: At the UDON Entertainment panel at New York Comic Con, UDON today 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. For full WORLD OF WARCRAFT® TRIBUTE artwork submission details, head toWarcraftTribute.com. Contest entries will be accepted beginning November 1, 2012 through noon PST on January 15, 2013. About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®,StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes fourteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players. About UDON Entertainment UDON Entertainment is a publisher of original art books, graphic novels, and manga. UDON’s best-known projects are those based on popular video game franchises including Street Fighter®, Okami®, Mega Man®, Darksiders®, Valkyria Chronicles, and more. The publisher’s ever-growing library also includes English editions of several Japanese manga titles, and the anthology art book series Apple. For more information visit www.UDONentertainment.com.