Phalanx自2002年成立至今，已經邁入第六個年頭，過去曾以經營流行藝術畫廊概念店Pixie Gallery Store為主，在三年的時間內策劃了超過二十場國內外知名藝術與設計單位的展覽與藝術活動。透過不斷地累積與各國藝術家交流合作的成功經驗，Phalanx獲得許多藝術家與合作單位的信賴與肯定，成為台灣與全球互動溝通的重要角色。2008年四月，Phalanx主理人Mark集結來自台南HAM藝廊的Henry與上海adFunture美術總監Jukai三人，組成全新的Phalanx Studio，持續在這個領域深耕，本書即為PS與三采文化合作編制的第一本國際潮流插畫作品集。
在這本書裡，我們提出了一個新的名詞－－硬派插畫。 所謂「硬派插畫」的定義，泛指在視覺圖像創作上，透過大膽畫風、濃郁筆觸、鮮明色彩、特殊構圖、挑釁題材等綜合要素，呈現出強烈的畫面張力與視覺效果，進而達到提升視覺刺激感、加深觀賞印象、突顯主題訴求及強化娛樂性等目的。普遍來說，硬派插畫在商業應用上，較適用於針對年輕族群市場的品牌企業，此類目標族群對於感官刺激的需求度較高，而且在近年來當道的動漫產業裡，也充分體現了這樣的趨勢。
在年輕族群的次文化裡，電影、電子遊戲、漫畫與動畫的影響力非常巨大，即是因為這類音像作品裡充滿戲劇性的精彩內容，同時也常被用誇張化的表現方式來詮釋，這些充滿張力的視覺特色，與我們所提出的「硬派插畫」不謀而合！正因為如此，收錄於本書中的作者群們，大部分的作品已被廣泛應用在各種面向的產業當中，如電玩角色設定、商用廣告插畫、品牌形象代言、立體化玩具或周邊商品、潮流服飾產品開發等商業層面。本書所收錄的十八組硬插高手，將透過他們的圖像創作與插畫作品，進一步詮釋「硬派插畫」的具體意義。
也許這本書還是有許多不盡人意的地方，不過希望這本首次由國內出版單位所推出的國際級插畫作品集，能受到大家的支持與喜愛，更重要的是能將「硬派插畫」這一個有趣的概念帶給大家，並且大家真的能夠在閱讀此書後，大腦得到一陣酥麻快感！
Phalanx很榮幸可以與欣賞已久的業界前輩及好友，一起為大家帶來這麼多具有強烈視覺衝擊力的經典好作品。在每位創作者作品的中段，都會穿插一篇筆者以欣賞者的角度，提出一些觀察性的論點與解說，希望對各位在欣賞作品的同時，能夠提供些許參考價值及導覽作用。
今後我們期許自己能夠不斷地為這個文化層面努力，持續推出更好的系列書籍，藉此向全世界發出更響亮的聲音，把好的藝術與設計推向全世界的國際平台。
It has been the sixth year till now since the foundation of Phalanx in 2002. Phalanx used to focus on the business of the trendy“Pixie Gallery Store，”a gallery－concept store，and held more than twenty exhibitions and art events in three years with celebrated organizations in both the art and design scenes all over the world. From the experiences of successful collaborations with artists from different countries，Phalanx has been highly recognized and counted on by lots of artists as well as collaboration parties. Later in April 2008，Mark，the Phalanx organizer，convened both Henry from HAM gallery and Jukai，the Art Director from adFunture Shanghai，to establish with himself this whole new Phalanx Studio.These three artists persist in the exploration of art and graphics，where this portfolio is the first international collection of trendy illustration artworks by the co－production of PS and Sun Color Culture Publishing.
We present a new term called Power Illustration in this portfolio.Power Illustration artworks are visual graphics with intensity and effects displayed by bold tones，rich strokes，vivid colors and offensive subjects，which in turn enhance excitement， impression，motifs as well as entertainment.When applied commercially，Power Illustration is generally more related to brands targeting the young generation seeking basically for more sensory stimuli，which has also been a fully－reflected trend in comics and animations of high popularity for the past few years.
In the subculture of the youngsters，the influence of movies，video games，comics and animations is of great extent；it is because that in these audio and visual works the dramatic plots of immense exaggeration can be seen and felt together with intensified ingredients，which happens to be seen also in Power Illustration works！It is also the reason，certainly，why artists in this portfolio are actually having their artworks applied a lot in different industries and in different ways such as video－game characters，illustration for commercial advertisements，brand images，three－dimensional toys，theme products，and the fashion outfits as well.The eighteen pros introduced here，whether as individuals or as team players，will further interpret the specific essence of Power Illustration through their graphic creations as well as illustration artworks.
Perhaps there are still some imperfections in this portfolio， but it is of high expectation that this very first world－class collection of illustration artworks introduced by a domestic publisher earns recognition plus appreciation.More significant，however，is to present the public this interesting concept of “Power Illustration” together with a pleasant sensation after getting involved in it！
Phalanx is honored to give，with forerunners and friends that I have been admiring，so many classic pieces of work rich in visual vigor.In the middle of each and every one section for the specific artists，there presents also an essay written as observation and exposition from an audience perspective by the writer，hoping everyone can get some reference and guidance when appreciating these productions.
We are about to keep on fighting for this culture criterion in the future，putting on better series of publications in order to speak louder to the world so that artworks and designs will be displayed on an international interface.
Phalanx Studio