The Pokémon Sun & Moon games have some of the legendary franchise's best art design, employing a more modern aesthetic standard than its predecessors while staying true to the series's "look." The designers planned out the characters and locations through "concept art," experimenting with different features and styles to help them create what would eventually become the final art.

If you've ever wondered what the design process was like for Sun & Moon, these 10 pieces of concept art might give you an idea.

10 Lusamine

Lusamine, the antagonistic and generally strange head of the Aether Foundation, as well as Gladion and Lillie's mother, has her character model sketched out here holding an encased Cosmog.

Included sketches help lay out the individual framework for Lusamine, the case, and the Cosmog (for instance, #8 takes the case apart, while #1 looks at the size of the Cosmog relative to the case).

9 Hau

Hau is one of Pokèmon Sun & Moon's main characters, both a friend and rival to the player. His character sheet includes front, back, and side views, as well as individual three-quarter and side views of his face.

Items #4 through #10 are part of handy directory which shows several different emotions and how they'd apply to Hau's unique characteristics, including a grinning expression, an upset expression, and a satisfied expression.

8 Professor Kukui

Professor Kukui is a Pokèmon fighting expert and the only trainer in the "Pro Wrestler" class; he's married to Professor Burnet. His character sheet shows his laid-back attitude (#7), basic sketches of his side and back views (#1 and #2), and his various expressions, ranging from excited to angry (#3).

His distinct glasses are shown in drawing #8, apparently so the designers could get a better feel for their size and how they fit on his face; he's also shown without his glasses in #6.

7 Lana

Lana, one of the game's most popular Trial Captains as well as a versatile fisherman and a Water-type specialist, has a unique character sheet filled with rough sketches and doodles. Some show design elements of her character, like her eyes (#2), her headband (#9), her badge (#13), or her sailor shirt and cape (#11). Others show her fishing (#6), walking along the beach (#14), or running (#4).

Her design certainly seems to have been very water-inspired - for good reason, as that's where she spends most of her time.

6 Litten

Fire-type Litten is one of the most adorable Pokèmon around, and a starter in the Sun & Moon games. This sheet experiments with a few different angles from which to show Litten, includes a rough design for the character's paw, and even finds time to see how the fire powers look (#4).

There's even a sleeping Litten in the upper right corner.

5 Guzzlord

The ginormous Ultra Beast Guzzlord is certainly no Pokèmon to be messed with. This piece of concept art maps out the complicated character cleanly and succinctly.

From detailed plots of Guzzlord's mouth interior (#1) and under jaw (#12), to sketches of the various basic shapes used to create the character, to final, ink-and-paint versions of the character's front and side views, this piece of concept art really has it all.

4 Aether Foundation Employees

The Aether Foundation employees are sporting some cool uniforms in this piece of concept art, which has everything from sketches of their team emblem (#3) to a basic design for the soles of their shoes (#7).

It also shines a light on some of their less noticeable design details, like the gold "U-shaped line on the pouches" (#6) and the "shine on the gloves and tights." (#5).

3 Aether Paradise

Here's a basic concept of Aether Paradise that looks absolutely amazing. The colors are done beautifully, especially with the water and clouds, and they paint a very distinct picture of how the art style for the games was formed.

From the angle it's shown at, a variety of the island's features can be seen, including (obviously) the Aether House and its surroundings, as well as Lusamine's Mansion. The care and attention to detail is amazing, and it really shows how much work and dedication the designers put into creating the best possible final product.

2 Nihilego

Nihilego is a kind-of-creepy Ultra Beast that resembles, according to the creators of this concept art, "a flexible glass jellyfish". It seems to be a sort of symbiotic parasite that influences its "host" through a powerful neurotoxin.

The concept art showcases several angles of the character, as well as a few of its more interesting design aspects, including its semi-transparent gradient and its various patterns.

1 Beast Ball

The Beast Ball is a special type of Pokè Ball that's much more useful than its counterparts when it comes to catching Ultra Beasts. This concept art gives the viewer a clear understanding of its mechanics and design characteristics, such as its color gradient (#9), how it looks from the inside (#7), and how different parts of it look from various angles (with rough sketches used in some places).

These pieces of Pokèmon Sun & Moon concept art were all pretty eye-opening, giving us a rare inside look at how the game's visuals came to be.

NEXT: Pokèmon: 10 Fun Things To Do In The Sun & Moon Postgame