Centaurs - Guild Wars 2, artwork by ArenaNet

Centaurs is an original concept artwork for the video game Guild Wars 2 made by concept artist Kekai Kotaki for studio ArenaNet. This giclee print is part of the official Guild Wars 2 fine art print collection by Cook & Becker and ArenaNet. The art print comes with a certificate of authenticity that is hand-signed by ArenaNet studio art director Daniel Dociu.

An absolute top team of concept artists and illustrators worked on the visual development of Guild Wars 2 under the direction of art director Daniel Dociu. Known names and rising stars such as Kekai Kotaki, Richard Anderson, Theo Prins, Jamie Ro, Ruan Jia and of course Daniel Dociu himself helped design a beautiful and colorful fantasy world for this big MMO videogame.

Guild Wars 2 is an online videogame set in a sprawling virtual fantasy world that players from across the world can access and explore together. The game is both creatively and commercially a huge success. Guild Wars 2 sold millions of copies and the game was launched to critical acclaim. According to art director Daniel Dociu beautiful art and commercial success are not mutually exclusive. He says in an interview with 2p.com: "It doesn't mean that if you're result-driven, you have to compromise your standards and accept garbage. I say maintain your standards and fight for quality. Quality is important, but not at the expense of commercial success. Commercial success is a must, without commercial success, you cannot grow."

The fantastic concept artworks of Guild Wars 2 cover a broad range of styles and themes but still form a coherent whole when presented together. Dociu makes it a point to recruit people from all walks of life and backgrounds to his concept art team. Because of its nature as a dynamic online world, Guild Wars 2 continuously evolves. By having a group of artists with a wide range of backgrounds the game stays fresh and exciting. Style is not so important says Dociu: "I never tried to create a style. I can never think about a style. It’s more important to think about the content and a deeper desire to express feelings or emotions or thoughts. Style without solid substance is like a piece of beautiful wrapping paper with nothing in it. It is a lot more important to put thought into content, and for the content to drive style. The style should be just a natural development and should grow organically from the center outwards, from the content outwards."