An artist with a passion for Final Fantasy and a love of Harry Potter has found a novel way to combine his passions and create charming artwork in the process.
Landon Otis, a 30-year-old from Independence, Missouri, created title art for JK Rowling’s classic novel collection in the style of the Japanese video game series.
1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
The designs feature notable moments or characters from each of the books, such as Fluffy the three-headed dog and the Hogwarts Express for the first novel.
“I’ve spent so long drawing space and Star Wars stuff, I wanted to do something different,” Landon told the Press Association.
“I started making these pieces mainly because I found that this art style was very beautiful, but rarely used.”
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
“It’s a unique style done by an artist named Yoshitaka Amano,” said Landon, who lives with his wife Trisha and golden retriever Raiku. “He’s famous for creating the Final Fantasy title artwork.
“I can’t speak for his exact process in how he creates his artwork. But I have found a way I can create pieces that feel so much like it.”
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Landon made two versions for the third book in the series, as he felt the style was not close enough to the original Japanese art.
“Half way through I realised this felt like too much action to maintain the ‘Final Fantasy title’ I was trying to emulate,” he said. “If you look at the series the covers are really muted on action.
“So I switch gears and did Sirius. In the end I finished both because they looked good in their own rights.”
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
“In digital art you can work in Layers, so with these the very bottom layer of these images is a black screen,” explained Landon.
“I then make a second layer which is a completely white. Then I erase bit by bit the white layer.
“Each design takes a couple of days, mainly because they are drawn during my breaks at work and free time after work.”
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
“My wife has always pushed me to sell my artwork, she’s probably the biggest fan of my art,” said Landon. “But I have always been apprehensive to that idea.
“Ever since I was little I’ve always been creative and had natural artistic talent, but I’ve also always been shy about putting it out there.
“With these pieces, for some reason, I know or at least feel like these look good. So I’m trying to perfect this so that someday soon, I can start selling works in this style.”
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
“Most images go through a lot of changes in colour before I settle on the final that you see,” said Landon.
“For example I tried really hard to make The Half-Blood Prince, Silver and Green (Slytherin colors) but I could not get the two colours to blend well.
“So I ended up going with just Green, and I was happy with how it turned out.”
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
So, what now that the Harry Potter series is finished?
“I will do a few other ‘one offs’ of other fandoms, I finished one for Overwatch,” said Landon.
“Skyrim, Legend of Zelda, Full Metal Alchemist and Iron Man are on the list.”
“Ultimately once I have a decent catalogue built up I plan to look into selling my works,” said Landon.
“And if I do another full series, it will be Star Wars.”
If you’d like to know what Star Wars Final Fantasy title art might look like, follow Landon on Twitter.
