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Ballistic Publishing Announces EXOTIQUE 5–The World’s Most Beautiful CG Characters

In its fifth edition, EXOTIQUE 5 elevates digital character art to its rightful place as the most exciting medium for new artists pushing the boundaries of their creativity. Like preceding editions, EXOTIQUE 5 is a snapshot of the best character art produced in the previous year, and each page is full of inspirational work from a wide variety of genres. An updated layout style refreshes the series which incorporates a number of spreads containing higher concentrations of characters on white backgrounds. The new layouts are distributed through the book and increase the variety of illustration styles on show.

Featuring the work of artists from 44 countries, EXOTIQUE 5 is a uniquely international collection of work with successful entries coming from North America (29%), Europe (32%), and Asia (37%). Chinese artists are well-represented in the new edition (15%) showcasing a mix of traditional and contemporary styles, while a spike in the number of featured entries from Poland and Taiwan shows a diversity of styles and influences.

“With every Ballistic Publishing book there’s a moment when we see a new artist’s work, and we are floored by their creativity,” explains Publisher Daniel Wade. “For EXOTIQUE 5, that artist was Tu Hun from China. Four of Tu Hun’s pieces are featured in the book, and to do justice to his remarkable art we had to dedicate a full spread to his distinct illustration style. Each of Tu’s featured images portray powerful characters in motion, and his method of painting detail with wispy smoke tendrils makes his work completely unique and compelling.”

The EXOTIQUE series is the world’s best showcase of character artwork. The latest edition packs 20 more pieces of artwork than any previous edition making it the biggest and most beautiful EXOTIQUE collection to date. The work of 208 highly-talented artists fill EXOTIQUE 5 with 342 pieces of inspiring character art in genres ranging from science fiction, fantasy, and anime, to photorealism and stylized realism. The new edition also presents the work of 72 artists (more than a third of the artists featured) who are published for the first time in a Ballistic Publishing book. With almost 3,000 entries in total, roughly one in eight images entered for EXOTIQUE 5 were successful.

From the traditional to the new, there’s more inspiration per square inch in EXOTIQUE 5 than any other art book on character art. The sheer amount of art and its diversity makes EXOTIQUE 5 a must-have book for artists and appreciators of art alike, and the EXOTIQUE series will continue to document the development of character art and the world’s best examples of digital character art.

Exclusive offer A specially-commissioned Camtasia video walkthrough by EXOTIQUE 5 artist Steve Argyle is freely downloadable to all Special Edition customers and the first 300 customers who purchase the Softcover edition. The walkthrough provides an overview of Steve’s EXOTIQUE 5 back cover painting of fantasy character Naya Battlemage from Wizards of the Coast’s ‘Magic the Gathering’ role-playing game.

Pricing and Availability EXOTIQUE 5 is available in two editions: Softcover (USD$52); & Special Edition (USD$115). More details about the books and availability can be found on the Ballistic Publishing website including a Book Previewer that shows every page from EXOTIQUE 5.

Publication Details: ISBN: 978-1-921002-69-4 (Softcover), 978-1-921002-68-7 (Special Edition) Pages: 208 pages (Softcover & Special Edition) Dimensions: 220 x 297mm Editor: Daniel Wade Publishers: Daniel Wade, Mark Snoswell Shipping : 19 November 2009 More details about the books and availability can be found on the Ballistic Publishing website.

Praise for the EXOTIQUE series: “Now onto its fourth edition of CG character art from around the globe, this fine series shows no signs of letting the quality slip. Indeed, if anything the class of artist on show has been ramped up in the wow factor stakes. If you are a fan of character art for its own sake then you’ll lap up the riches this magnificent edition has to offer. 5/5” — ImagineFX

“EXOTQUE 4 is not only a feast for the hungry artist’s soul, it is also a learning tool. An art book to study, covet and…ultimately to drool over (drool towel not included).” — Renderosity

About The CGSociety and Ballistic Media Ballistic Media operates two major divisions–The CGSociety and Ballistic Publishing. The CGSociety is the world’s largest society of professional digital artists and provider of forums, portfolios, training, job and event services for the digital arts industry. Ballistic Publishing is the leading, independent publisher of books for the digital arts industry. Dedicated to publications of the highest quality celebrating the talents of digital artists worldwide, Ballistic has set the benchmark as a quality boutique publisher. Ballistic Media is based in Adelaide, South Australia, with offices in Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) and Tampa (Florida, USA).

Media Contact For more information, images and review copies please contact:

Daniel Wade Publisher Ballistic Publishing Ph: +61 3 9790 1759 www.ballisticpublishing.com www.cgsociety.org

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