In 2020 I reviewed 73 art books, a slight increase from the low of 62 I did last year. In general there has been a bigger flow of good quality art book releases I can tap from compared to 2019, and also because of the pandemic and the longer hours spent in-doors I’ve had more time to review a larger number of books.

I hope you’ll find something that will excite or interest you in the list, and if you do decide to make a purchase please consider doing it through my Amazon affiliate links; it will cost you nothing extra but will go a very long way in helping me to keep this blog sustainable. Have a Happy 2021 ! –

1) The Art Of Game Of Thrones

The Art Of Game of Thrones is a massive and very heavy 432 paged tome of an art book that extensively covers the sprawling behind the scenes concept art from HBO’s hit fantasy series Game Of Thrones Season 1 to 8.

The huge success and massive appeal of the series is in no small part thanks to the amazing visual universe of Westeros first dreamed up by the concept artists, and this book is a perfect way to appreciate them in a very comprehensive manner over the full duration of the series.

I would also highly recommend the 2 companion books that were released together with this one, namely the The Photography Of Game Of Thrones and Game Of Thrones : The Costumes.

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2) MFKZ Background Art Book

MFKZ (Mutafukaz/ムタフカズ) is a 2017 adult animated science fiction film based on the comic series and the short film of the same name. The film was a French-Japanese co-production between Ankama Animations and Studio 4°C and is directed by Shōjirō Nishimi and Guillaume “Run” Renard.

The main reason I was drawn to the film is because of the absolutely amazing background art work created for the movie by Japanese art director Kimura Shinji, who has before worked his magic for the background art in films like Tekkon Kinkreet and Children Of The Sea ( included as one of my fav books of 2019 ).

This hardcover volume showcases a huge collection of the background art featured in the film, with over 250 pages of Kimura Shinji’s stunning art work.

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3) PLUS – SLAMDUNK Illustrations 2

PLUS+ Slam Dunk illustrations 2 is the much awaited follow up volume to the first Takehiko Inoue Illustrations art book released 23 years ago. This 96 page hardcover art book includes the brand new cover illustrations that Inoue-san drew for the new edition of his Slam Dunk manga released last year, as well as brand new art work created specifically for this book.

This is a pretty big and heavy volume, in part due to the thick, high quality paper stock used for the prints, which look vibrantly crisp and fantastic.

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4) Takayuki Takeya Sculptures Collection Art Book

Takayuki Takeya is a renowned Japanese character/creature sculptor lending his superb sculpting and design skills to a wide gamut of media including feature film, video games, figures/toys and more.

The artist’s sketches and drawings have been released in print before, but not his huge portfolio of character model and sculpture work ( until this publication ).

This art book is a showcase of some of his latest creations for films like Hideaki Anno’s Shin Godzilla, the live-action Attack On Titan films, Seirei No Moribito, Nausicaa’s God Warrior Exhibition as well as other personal work.

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5) The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The concluding film to the Star Wars Skywalker Saga, The Rise of Skywalker is a spellbinding visual fest with spectacular VFX conjured up by the digital wizards at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). The story and narrative treatment is a departure from previous films, which left dedicated fans divided, but I was never a big enough follower of the franchise to be troubled, and instead spent my time just marveling at the beautiful world the filmmakers created.

Just like the previous two Art Of Star Wars books for The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, this volume features a dizzying collection of astounding concept art created by the amazing art team headed by Lucasfilm creative director Doug Chiang. Included are character designs and costume sketches, creature, environment and ship designs, storyboards and much more.

Even if you don’t care much for Star Wars, there is simply no denying that the visual design and concept art work done for the film is just superb; and this book is the perfect way to explore it.

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6) Hiroyuki Imaishi Anime Art Works

Hiroyuki Imaishi (今石洋之) is a Japanese key animator/animation director and one of the co-founders of Studio Trigger. His style is marked by fast and frantic animation combined with elaborate storyboarding and punchy direction. Prior to founding Trigger, he was an animator and director at Gainax.

This is his first published art book and features a big collection of his illustrations from anime series like Promare, Kill La Kill, Gurren Lagann, Evangelion, FLCL, DEAD LEAVES and many more. Besides illustrations, there are also select reproductions of his character design work and genga.

I find Imaishi’s illustrations to be full of chaotic, frenetic energy ready to burst out their drawings, a feeling I share with Sushio’s work, whose art book The Idol was on my favorite list of 2019.

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7) The Art of the Last of Us Part II

Winner of the Game Of The Year 2020 and universally acclaimed, The Last Of Us Part II is the highly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed Playstation 4 video game by Naughty Dog Studios, released back in 2013. Just like the original, The Last Of Us Part II is a veritable tour de force in high quality game creation, in particular the rich cinematic feel that the player get to experience.

One of the biggest praises for the game in addition to the immersive game-play and character development are the absolutely stunning visuals, and this official art book gives the reader the opportunity to dive deep into the amazing concept art developed by the creative team, with some 200 pages of content featuring a huge collection of environmental art, character designs and more.

The environmental concept art piece/s for every set that the player wanders through in the game is showcased, and I am both amazed and also impressed by how just close the final visual designs look in comparison to the original art work.

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8) Weathering With You Background Art Book

I’m just going to go ahead and say it – Weathering With You (天気の子) is Makoto Shinkai’s most visually stunning film he has made to date. This is certainly no easy feat to accomplish considering his fantastic track record in creating such beautiful worlds in all his movies, but he has managed to top them all with Weathering.

This sumptuous background art book for the film is a fantastic way to pore over many luscious sets painted by the amazingly talented artists from Comix Wave, with over 200 pages of art work. Just like the other background art books for Makoto Shinkai’s films like Your Name and Garden Of Words, the book comes in landscape format, which allow for each piece of art work to fill the entire page, showcasing the detailed reproductions to great effect.

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9) Houses With A Story – Yoshida Seiji Art Works

Houses With A Story (のがたりの家) is a charming collection of idyllic, almost fantasy like dwellings and homesteads illustrated by Japanese artist Yoshida Seiji (吉田誠治). Starting out as a doujinshi illustration project, Yoshida-san’s art work garnered so much praise and attention that Japanese art book publisher PIE Books picked it up for an official release. This hard cover volume features some 35 unique homestead illustrations, of which 15 are brand new pieces.

I’m a really big sucker for cross-sectional illustrations annotated with notes and trivia ( see my reviews for Tokyo Storefronts, Japanese Bathhouses Illustrated Guide and Star Wars The Last Jedi Incredible Cross-Sections ), so these meticulously drawn images of the dwelling’s interiors delight me to no end.

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10) The Making Of Aliens

The Making Of Aliens is a richly comprehensive and luscious hard cover volume covering in detail the film-making process of James Cameron’s highly acclaimed sequel to what must be one of the best sci-fi horror films ever made; Ridley Scott’s Alien. Presented in the same format as The Making Of Alien book ( which incidentally is also on my favorites list of 2019 ), this 256 paged tome is a huge depository of concept art, storyboards, high quality on set stills, posters/marketing materials and more.

I already own several excellent books on the making of the Alien films like Alien The Archive and Aliens – The Set Photography just to name a few, but flipping through this book I’m seeing plenty of new material for the first time, like detailed concept drawings of the APC ( armored personnel carrier ), the xenomorph and Alien Queen, storyboards of the dropship’s descent down onto Archeron ( LV426 ) as well as many of the on set photographs. This is one volume that is sure to delight and thrill fans of the Alien film franchise.

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11) Scent Of Hong Kong – Little Thunder Illustration Book

Little Thunder (門小雷 / リトルサンダー) is a Hong kong based illustrator who in recent years has gained immense popularity online, especially in Japan where her unique visual style and subject matter inspired by her hometown has culminated in the release of two art books as well as solo art exhibitions in major cities like Tokyo & Osaka.

As the title suggests, the theme of the book is dedicated to the artist’s hometown of Hong Kong, and the illustrations show off the unique sights of the bustling city, with its quaint streets and nostalgic signboards accentuated by the vibrant colors of the artist’s luscious watercolors. The illustrations featured in the book were also displayed at the exhibition of the same name that was held at Parco Shibuya’s Gallery X from 30.10.20 to 09.11.20, as well as Shisaibashi Parco in Osaka in late Nov / early Dec 2020.

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12) The Art of Star Wars : The Mandalorian

Even if you’re not a subscriber of Disney+, you would most likely have heard one way or another about The Mandalorian, a Star Wars spin-off series starring Pedro Pascal as the titular bounty hunter, aka The Mandalorian, and the baby “Yoda” that has been entrusted in his care. There are many good reasons to like the series; not just for the state of the art visual effects using real time game engine to generate an immersive digital backlot, but also for the superlative visual design dreamed up by the art team at Lucasfilm.

This oversized hardcover book explores in detail the stunning concept art work created for season 1 of the series, with over 250 pages of content including character and costume sketches, vehicle and creature designs as well as interviews with key cast, crew, and creatives, including executive producer/showrunner/writer Jon Favreau and executive producer/director Dave Filoni.

The amount of material covered is very substantial, certainly on par with any of the “Art Of Star Wars” books for the new feature films like The Last Jedi and Rise Of Skywalker.

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And that rounds up my favorite art book picks of 2020; there were many other notable mentions like The Art Of Eric Powell, Blade Runner 2049 – Interlinked, The Art Of Death Stranding, In This Corner Of The World Background Art Book, A Sketchy Past : The Art of Peter de Sève and more; here’s the full list of art books I in reviewed in 2020.

I also recommend my favorite art books of 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012.

If you need help with ordering on Amazon Japan, the FAQs below will guide you through, step by step.

Lastly, I’ll love you hear about your favorite art books this year too, if you have any to share. Happy New Year !

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