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Dragon Age: The Veilguard art book pages, under a cut due to spoilers:

Top center: We designed a lot of Tevinter props to float, to make sure you were never far from some display of magic. Top right: A Shadow Dragon secret decoder ring. Center: Floating chairs may have a tendency to drift. Center right: Nothing helps you figure out a place like designing its food. Bottom left: It is much easier to light a room with floating lanterns. Bottom right: Candy tastes better out of a floating dish.

The Fade The Fade is the scrap heap Solas created when he made the wall of the Veil and threw all the magic in Thedas over it. It is inhabited by magical creatures, spirits, and demons. It is shaped by the dreams of people in Thedas. Some locations in the Fade seem coherent, resembling places from the other side of the Veil. Others are chaotic abstractions. Top right: The Crossroads are a separate dimension beyond the waking world and beyond the fade. It has been described as a tiny world between the eluvians. Center right: The Black City, once known as the Golden City and the heart of heaven, is a city in the Fade said to be the former seat of the Maker or the realm of the Old Gods, depending on the religious perspective. Bottom: Today the Black City is a place of darkness and nightmares with cold and twisted spires, "its towers forever stained, its gates forever shut". A floating island with the city atop it is the one constant geographical feature within the Fade. At any time, one can look up and see it in the sky, always in the distance. Actually traveling to the Black City from elsewhere in the Fade is impossible. Even the most powerful spirits and demons seem to avoid the place lest they become tainted.

Veil Jumpers Ancient magic awakens! Arcane powers are spinning out of control! Mysteries abound! A fabled lost kingdom now stirs with dreadful monsters and strange conjurations spawned by the dreams of mad elven gods! Who dares brave the uncharted depths of Arlathan Forest to confront the dangers that lie within? Top left: Some Veil Jumper gear is made from scraps they've found along the way. Every now and then they find fully intact gear from the ancient elven empire. Top right: A mix of mage-scholar and warriors, they launch expeditions to map the unknown reaches of the territory and search for relics. Center: The Veil Jumpers have integrated a lot of the magic technology they've scavenged in Arlathan. Annotation on illustration in top left of page reads "Alternate mask".

Top left: They wear gear that is best suited to detecting, surviving, and in some cases, collecting magical anomalies. Top right 1: Their gear is dyed to blend in with the perpetual autumn of Arlathan Forest. Top right 2: They have different specializations, ranging from daring explorers to mages who research the dangerous anomalies of the forest. Center left: A more ceremonial outfit. No telling what kind of gear is needed when dealing with unstable magic. Center right: A crack team of Veil Jumpers have long guarded the innermost regions of Arlathan, protecting its secrets from outsiders - but also containing the dangers that life within. Now they must mount an expedition into the heart of the unknown to battle the chaos and safeguard the legacy of their people. Their goal is reaching the never-before-glimpsed ruins of Arlathan City. Bottom: They've built heavy-duty magical protection suits to wear when they need to enter areas they know are highly dangerous.

Artifacts from that long-ago time have begun to activate. Infused with the powerful magic that saturates the very ground in the forest, they have made what was already a dangerous place far stranger and more deadly.

Arlathan Forest Arlathan Forest, once the seat of power for the ancient elven empire, is now a realm where magic runs wild and twists reality itself into new and terrifying shapes. Right: Images like this often start with simple block levels from designers. We try to push concepts pretty far. The final level sits somewhere in the middle.

Top left 1: Ominous remnant. Top left 2: The forest in agony. Center: Despite being abandoned for millennia, many of the ruins still hum with life. Bottom: The fallout from the ancient destruction of Arlathan City stirs once more. Magical eddies and vortices long dormant are coming to life, transforming the land into a dangerous territory few dare tread. Even now, after thousands of years, some regions of Arlathan Forest still remain uncharted. Tales of legend say the ruins of the ancient elven capital lie somewhere deep within its borders...

Top: Explore deep enough, and you'll find many of Arlathan's ruins are still in pristine condition. Center: Early exploration of Veil Jumper treehouses, campsites, and activities. Bottom: The remains of one of several ritual sites that can be found in Arlathan.

Top: The ruins of Arlathan are crumbling, but then they're not: now they're floating away like dandelion seeds; now they're upside down... Center: To differentiate it from previous forest and jungle locations in Dragon Age, we went with an autumnal color palette. It has the benefit of feeling ominously like the end. Bottom: Arlathan was once the capital of the elven empire in Thedas. Most of it has been drifting through the Fade for millennia, so what we see in Veilguard is a small overgrown remnant of its former glory.

Finding doors to both strange new lands and familiar old lands.

Top: An Archdemon awakes. Center left: We've seen elven ruins since the first Dragon Age game. Arlathan is what remains of the former capital of their Thedas-spanning empire, so we wanted to imply more grandeur than ever. Center right: The first view of Solas's ritual site from the opening of the game. Bottom: Solas's ritual starts to bend reality as the Veil is weakened.

Top: The Veil Jumpers are rarely comfortable setting up camp in the ruins. They'll often create smaller bases with their aravels. Bottom: This place may be deadly, but it can still be beautiful.

Using magical technology to full advantage.

In the early stages, this faction was a more archetypal elven faction - with some shapeshifting thrown in for good measure.

Top left: For the Veil Jumpers' salvaged technology, we wanted something simple and versatile that didn't look too futuristic. Center left: We went with triangular bronze plates that can be reshaped as needed. Center right: Veil Jumper symbolism. The "skull halla" implies their willingness to risk death. Bottom: Of the most primitive shapes, triangles have the strongest association with danger.

Top left: Artists thrive on limitations. Designing weapons made entirely from triangular pieces proved to be a ton of fun. Top right: Magically summoned arrows that manifest as the archer draws the "string". Center: We explored many ways Veil Jumpers could carry their technology. These early "gloves" eventually became Bellara's gauntlet. Bottom: Veil Jumper plates can be used offensively and defensively.

Top left: An examination table for discovering the secrets of Arlathan's magical artifacts. Top center: Containers for trapping and carrying the more mysterious anomalies. Top right: Some mysterious objects turn out to be benign enough for daily use, like these light sources. Center: Assorted salvage and some of the equipment used to study and record it. Annotations on illustrations near top of page read "1) Plug. Turn to align triangle in circle. Opens here", "2) All pieces stuck together when dead, expand when charged. Becomes unstable when overcharged. Dead. Charged. Overcharged. Collapses again in plug", "3) Wall plug", "4)". Annotation on illustration near bottom of page reads "magnifying lens bracelet".

Top right 1: Instruments and artwork help make a faction feel more grounded and believable. Top right 2: Diagrams of some of the more terrifying mysteries encountered in Arlathan Forest. Center 1: Veil Jumper props are all about field research. They carry simple camping equipment for the necessities, along with storage containers for all the technology and anomalies they're likely to find. Center 2: The Veil Jumper aravel is like a mobile base camp and laboratory on wheels. It can hover slightly above the ground, allowing it to enter locations a normal wagon couldn't. Center right: A classic southern aravel. Bottom right: The Veil Jumper aravel has been designed for their extreme circumstances.

Wardens The Grey Wardens defend civilization from what goes bump in the night. Heads high, eyes open, and swords drawn, they walk toward what most people would flee. From darkspawn lurking in the shadows to monstrosities beyond imagination, the Wardens vanquish our greatest nightmares - until the Calling pulls them into the very darkness they fight. Working with the Wardens means standing side-by-side in the face of overwhelming odds. They have a grim sense of duty, but one that's balanced by an exhilarating sense of adventure, unwavering determination, and a little gallows humor. Top left 1: Ultraheavy armor. Top left 2: A Warden executioner. Center left: With each faction, we explored a range of aspirational fantasies. For the Wardens, this ranged from knights in shining armor to brutal tanks to a Nietzsche quote: "Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster." Center: A dwarven Warden. Center right: For each faction, we designed their most expensive gear. In this case, the ultimate ceremonial heavy armor. Bottom: After being corrupted by Corypheus in Inquisition, the Wardens will once again play the role of heroes - if undeniably flawed ones, as so many Dragon Age heroes are.

Top right 1: Many people can become Wardens, and they can bring their own flavor, from the flashy Orlesian set to the freed gladiator to the legendary dragon hunter. Top right 2: Because most of the Anderfels is a desert wasteland, we mixed in more elements of desert survival. Top right 3: In previous games we saw southern Wardens. We thought it would be interesting to explore what made their northern cousins distinct. Bottom: Dragon theme on the left, griffon theme on the right.

Anderfels The Anderfels is a vast red desert that is often quite cold. It is also regularly attacked by roving hordes of darkspawn. Everything is built to withstand this harsh environment. Top: The war room at the heart of Weisshaupt Fortress. Center: Weisshaupt Fortress - the ancient and mysterious Grey Warden stronghold - rests in the southern Anderfels. A mere shadow of its former self with large portions left dark and unused, it still supplies and houses the Warden Order. A temporary haven in a harsh land... until the gods destroy it. Bottom: The home of the Wardens in Thedas. Weisshaupt is designed to be a mix of European and Middle Eastern castles.

Top right: A Warden outpost keeps watch over an Anderfels valley. Center: Early versions of Weisshaupt were based on classic castles. Bottom: There are Warden outposts built all across the Anderfels. They serve as refuges for civilians when darkspawn make their way to the surface.

Top: The Grey Wardens are a beloved faction who have been part of the Dragon Age universe since the beginning. The Wardens combine aspirational heroism with the Joining, the Calling, and the Blights - some of our eeriest lore. Bottom: For centuries the Wardens have had one mission: combat blight in all its forms. It's a mission that's carried the Wardens to the darkest corners of Thedas, and they've encountered no shortage of demons, monsters, and undead along the way. The Wardens know that evils besides darkspawn lurk in the shadows - and always will.

Top: An early image of a Warden stockade, still standing after an onslaught of darkspawn. Griffon riders fly through plumes of smoke as the fallen burn below. Center: Wardens are always the first to throw themselves into danger. Bottom: A heroic Warden makes his last stand.

Top left 1: A Warden wanted poster. Top left 2: Warden props were designed to reflect a care for craft and tradition mixed with a sturdiness to endure the centuries. Center right: To bring more life to the world, we thought about what industries would keep the Anderfels afloat. We took the prominent Warden blue color and envisioned an industry harvesting flowers, creating dye, and then weaving copious amounts of blue fabric. Bottom center: Darkspawn specimens. Bottom right: Warden murals depicting the glory days of griffon riders.

The ballista and trebuchet were designed with unusual standing "cockpits" to make interacting with them easy and fun.

The Hub The most important aspect of the player base was that it should be easy for the players to use. We wanted to create a very practical space and then wrap a fun narrative metaphor around it. We wanted it to be smaller than Skyhold, so that players spent less time running around to visit followers. The house idea survived through multiple iterations because it solved this problem well. Top left: The central room in the Lighthouse. Top right: Dragon Age: Inquisition had the war table with your three advisors. For Veilguard, we created a less formal table, surrounded by your followers. Bottom: The kitchen starts with Solas's sad single bowl of porridge and eventually becomes the warm heart of the Lighthouse.

Bottom: A room that was never built, full of Qunari artifacts and a sand garden.

Top: As the story developed, the idea solidified that Solas, now bound in the Fade, would give you access to his secret base of operations. This tied the base to a main character, giving us a chance to explore Solas as a character, like wandering around a friend's house for the first time. Center: The idea we worked with was that Solas, during his years rebelling against the evil gods, would have used his magic to "steal" the equivalent of a train station and hide it outside of the waking world. This hub of eluvians would have allowed the evil gods to get around their Thedas-spanning empire quickly. Solas used this to fight against the evil gods and, later, to accomplish his plans faster than most could keep up.

some other pages -

Some opening pages

Foreword

Google Books preview pages Part One

Google Books preview pages Part Two

Amazon preview pages

Page batch

Page batch 2

Page batch 3

Page batch 4

Page batch 5

Book art credits:

BioWare art: Matt Rhodes, Ramil Sunga, Albert Urmanov, Christopher Scoles, Nick Thornborrow, Steve Klit

Volta art: Gui Guimaraes, Stéphanie Bouchard, Akim Kaliberda, Alejandro Olmedo, Alexey Zaryuta, Julien Carrasco, Maksim Marenkov, Marianne Martin, Mariia Istomina, Marion Kivits, Matti Marttinen, Mélanie Bourgeois, Pablo Hurtado De Mendoza, Rael Lyra, Rodrigo Ramos, Thomas Schaffer, Tiago Sousa, Tristan Kang, Vladimir Mokry, Yintion J, Joseph Meehan, Stefan Atanasov, Julien Carrasco

Additional art: Marc Holmes, Thomas Scholes

#da4

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