The Art of Halo 3

The Art of Halo 3 is a collection of concept art used for the production of Halo 3. It also includes a collection of commentary by numerous Bungie staff, and is written by Fernando Bueno. The book also includes a foreword by Marcus R. Lehto.

Background
Like the previous art book, The Art of Halo 3 focuses on the artistic development aspects of Halo 3. The Art of Halo 3 provides an inside look behind ideas that changed over time. Like the previous Art of Halo, ideas are shown as they evolved, from a series of sketches to storyboards, to their eventual final look. The book includes a wide variety of art seen during the Halo 3 marketing campaign, along with an inside look at vehicles, characters, environments concepts and items cut from the final game.

Contents

 * The very first piece of art shown is a colored sketch of a redux MJOLNIR Mark V. However, comparing certain elements from the sketch to the final cover art of Halo: The Cole Protocol, it can be assumed that, for the most part, the sketch seen at the beginning is the general look of the MJOLNIR Mark IV.
 * The book reveals how a Halo is built and terraformed.
 * The ordinance for each UNSC weapon is shown.
 * It is revealed that the D77-TC Pelican troop bay is large enough to fit a modern day Abrams M1A1 Tank in it.
 * Several other Flood pure forms were designed, including a Stealth form, and a concept of a Flood transport vehicle/creature was also created.
 * The Guardian Sentinels are revealed and have a surprising resemblance to the Compilers from Marathon.
 * The Strato-Sentinel is revealed and explained.
 * A seaborne UNSC Navy is revealed as well, including a concept of a 26th century aircraft carrier.
 * Along with the cover art for Ghosts of Onyx, a full sketch of the SPI Armor is included.
 * The book reveals 7 armor permutations that didn't make it past the conceptual art stage. This includes a desert camo version, and what appears to be an Orbital Drop version, and a variation of the Scout, Rogue, and Hayabusa.
 * The book also includes a collection of environment concepts for the campaign and multiplayer levels of Halo 3.

Trivia

 * In late 2008 or 2009, The Art of Halo 3 unknowingly went out of print making it an extremely rare collector's item. Online stores have an average low price of just over $200 with prices known to go well over $1000.