Courtesy of Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum, and thanks to the hard work of both him and the team at the Wing Commander CIC, the Ultima Codex is pleased to present 17 still images — some of which are 3D renderings, and some of which are storyboard concept sketches — from the original introductory sequence for Ultima Online. Most have to do with the Stranger from Another World (who, admittedly, looks like the Avatar from the Ultima 9 cinematic sequences) and/or Mondain and the Gem of Immortality, but they still offer an interesting glimpse at how concept art and sketches translate into rendered movies.

These drawings and renderings are principally the work of Denis Loubet, who should be known to most Ultima fans for the copious amount of artwork he produced for many different titles in the series. Many of the renderings, in particular, are at a very high resolution, far in excess of what was seen in the actual introductory sequence that shipped in the game.

To say that they would make for excellent desktop wallpapers would, I think, be an understatement.