The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy

Stock photo for the English release of The Sky.

The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy, also known simply as The Sky, is a limited-edition 780-page boxed set published on September 14, 2001 in Japan by DigiCube. It was scheduled to be released in English on October 17, 2012 by Dark Horse Comics but was sold out prior to this date due to pre-orders. The boxed set contains a comprehensive collection of official Yoshitaka Amano artwork for the Final Fantasy series up to 2001, as well as several bonus items made specifically for the collection. Many pieces found in the collection are previously unpublished works never before seen.

Release history[]

The Sky was first published in Japan on September 14, 2001 by Digicube, and sold for a retail price of about $600. Production ceased when Digicube filed for bankruptcy on November 23, 2003. The original set is now very difficult to come by, and sells for as much as $1000 on sites such as eBay.

The Sky was set for an English release on March 2011 by publisher Dark Horse, but was repeatedly delayed, and then cancelled and taken down for undisclosed reasons. It was then set for an October 17, 2012 release date, but quickly sold out. The English version of The Sky originally sold for a much reduced retail price of $139.99 and contained everything that was in the Japanese edition, as well as a new card signed by Yoshitaka Amano himself.

The original English release was a limited edition and only 1000 copies were made, with it now being sold from $700 on Amazon Marketplace.

A new English edition containing only the 3 hardback artbooks in a slipcase was released in June 19th, 2013 for $89.99.

Box contents[]

Three 11.75"x10.5" hardcover art books containing hundreds of official Yoshitaka Amano artwork, spanning the entire Final Fantasy series as of 2001. The first book is 144 pages long and contains artwork from Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, and Final Fantasy III. The second book is 276 pages long and contains artwork from Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI. The third book is 156 pages long and contains artwork from Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, and Final Fantasy X.
A fourth softcover book 128 pages long, entitled All About Yoshitaka Amano, serves as the index book for the three hardcover volumes, with titles and dates for all artwork, as well as several pages of bonus sketches. It also contains several interviews with Yoshitaka Amano, a biography of his life, and a full bibliography of his works, both Final Fantasy and non-Final Fantasy, up to 2001.
A small 2.25"x4.75" "Premium Flipbook" that contains two sets of flipbook style artwork, a moogle and a woman, each 50 images long.
Two 5.75"x8.25" postcards featuring original Yoshitaka Amano artwork of Bartz Klauser and Terra Branford.
A 10.25"x11" acetate print in silver ink, featuring an unknown woman.
The collection is held inside a 12"x11"x3.5" box with a hinged lid and strap for easy access to each book. The box has original Yoshitaka Amano artwork on both the inside and outside. The art covering the box is the same as the two postcards of Terra and Bartz.
The 2013 English release also contained a signed 5.75"x8.25" card by Yoshitaka Amano.