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GHOST OF TSUSHIMA
GoT: LEGENDS
GoT: DIRECTORS CUT

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2018 - 2021

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Production Artist
UI Artist

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Jin Sakai fights to liberate his home from the first Mongolian invasion of Japan, an open-world action-adventure game exclusive to Playstation.

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PROP CONCEPTS

Examples of concept art created for the game, including player & NPC weapons, gear, collectibles, and environment props.

It was important the weapons and props were respectful of their origins, so their real-world counterparts heavily inspired the design for these concepts to lend credibility to the designs. 

The origami are a little surprise that can be found in the game if  enough time is put in. 

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PRODUCTION ARTIST

During the production of Ghost of Tsushima, I aided the Art Director and Concept Team in a wide variety of art and marketing tasks.

Here are some of my favorite projects:

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ART OF GHOST OF TSUSHIMA

Celebrating the artwork of the game, Art of Ghost of Tsushima is a beautifully made 208-page tome of inspiration. Produced by Dark Horse in collaboration with Sucker Punch Productions, this art book references traditional Japanese design with its minimal layout and open spine binding.

To help make this book a reality, I worked as a main point of contact between stakeholders including the Art Director, Concept Team, Sony Legal Team, Producers, and Dark Horse.

This included collecting concept images, working with Sucker Punch's artists and Sony's legal department to clear each image in the book, tracking and organizing images into page layouts, providing feedback suggestions, coordinating with Sony Producers, and communicating with Dark Horse. I also contributed a few pieces to the book.

It was a large project, and I'm proud to have contributed to this beautiful book.

Preview images from Kindle version of Art of Ghost of Tsushima on Amazon.

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STYLE GUIDE, MERCHANDISE

This style guide was made to provide approved visual materials for official Ghost of Tsushima merchandise. My role involved creating design elements using screenshots, collecting artwork, organizing and delivering assets, suggesting feedback and communicating direction from the AD & Concept Lead. I was also the point of contact between SP, Sony producers, and Sony's Design team.

Below are a few designs that feature elements I prepared. There is some excellent official Ghost of Tsushima merchandise available online, check out the Sony Gear Store. 

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Ghost of Tsushima Collector's Edition

The Collector's Edition is a beautiful collection of items celebrating Ghost of Tsushima. 

I was a main point of contact between Sony producers, the Art Director, and external partners providing updates, facilitating feedback and communicating direction from the AD & Concept Lead. 

I also helped design the interior boxes, and made the art files for the Sashimono banner and Furoshiki.

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REFERENCE COLLECTION

One of my favorite responsibilities working on Ghost of Tsushima was finding and collecting period-accurate reference materials to support the Concept, Environment Art and Animation teams.

This involved lots of research on 12th-century Japan while searching through reference photos taken by the team, movies, books, museums, sites, and any other materials I could find.

Some of the reference collected included examples of duels, mannerisms, armor, props, weapons, graphic elements, and art from both Japanese and Mongolian cultures circa the 12th C.

Over time this became a valuble resource. Once an artist discribed a set of armor they'd seen in a Toshiro Mifune documentary over the weekend. From their description I was able to guess the movie and find the armor they'd mentioned. At this point I'd realized how much Samurai Cinema I'd researched!

Concept Team Credits

Ghost of Tsushima launched July 17, 2020.

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Full Team Credits (IMDB)

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To Jason Connell, Ryan McIntyre, Ryuhei Katami, Ian Jun Wei Chiew, Naomi Baker, Romain Jouandeau, Mitch Mohrhauser, John Powell for the consistent contact and feedback. To the entire SP team for making Ghost of Tsushima and working on it so wonderful.

©2021 Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Ghost of Tsushima is a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Developed by Sucker Punch Productions LLC.

© Mike Ackerman 2023

mikeackermanart@gmail . com