The Art of Blade Runner: Black Lotus

The Art of Blade Runner: Black Lotus is a study and celebration of the artwork that went into making the first ever Blade Runner animated series.

The Art of Blade Runner: Black Lotus is a study and celebration of the artwork that went into making the first ever Blade Runner animated series. Concept art, sketchwork, pre-viz, animation tests, final frames and more, are paired alongside interviews with the masterminds behind the show to give fans the full story of Black Lotus.

Respected co-directors Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama provide an exclusive, in-depth interview that explores their relationship with the Blade Runner universe, and their intimate analyses of and inspiration behind the characters. Alcon producers describe the creative journey, that spans many years prior, behind what they envisioned for the story, how Black Lotus would fit in the wider Blade Runner narrative, and who they wanted the protagonist to be. The writers explain how they conceptualised the characters and the voice actors share their personal journeys and light-hearted anecdotes on how they brought those characters to life. The lighting and animation team also share how they captured Blade Runner’s cyberpunk visual and auditory palette in a new medium for the franchise: anime.

Written by Japanamerica author Roland Kelts, this book is illustrated to the brim with concept art that is beautifully vivid and presented in a gallery format throughout the book; organised chronologically by character, location, and event as they are introduced in the show. Readers will be able to breeze through this companion guide as they watch the show for a deeper, richer, and more personal viewing experience. At the back of the book, you’ll find never-before-seen sketches of the Black Out short films that accompanied Blade Runner 2049.

Roland Kelts is a Japanese-American writer, journalist, and author of the book Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the US. He has also written numerous articles for the Guardian, The New York Times, The Japan Times, The New Yorker, CNN, BBC, and NHK, among others, exploring how pop culture intersects with and influences society and politics. Kelts has taught at many leading universities such as The University of Tokyo, New York University, Columbia University, and Sophia University, and held talks at many embassies and pop culture conventions. He received a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism from Harvard University in 2017.