From Spider-Man To Junji Ito: 20 Art Books That’ll Make For Great Gift Ideas

From Spider-Man To Junji Ito: 20 Art Books That’ll Make For Great Gift Ideas
At Kotaku, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

When you fall in love with a new TV series, film or video game, sometimes you just want to learn as much about it as possible, especially its development process. What better way to indulge part of your obsession than by picking up a couple of art books?

If you’re currently on the hunt for an absolute killer gift idea and you know that the person you’re buying for is a big fan of a particular video game, movie or anime franchise, then an art book is a great pick.

From Dungeons & Dragons to Spider-Verse and One Piece, you can find a collection of our favourite art books, which will be sure to surprise and delight your lucky gift recipient.

This article has been updated since its original publication.

The best gaming art books to gift

The Art of the Last of Us: Part 2 Deluxe Edition

The Art of The Last of Us Part 2
Image: Dark Horse Books

If you know someone who is a big fan of The Last of Us, whether they’ve been playing since the first game was released or they’ve jumped on with the TV adaptation, you’ll definitely want to get their hands on this gritty and detailed Part II deluxe edition art book.

It comes with an exclusive cover, a unique slipcase and a gallery-quality lithograph. Inside, you can read creator commentary about its origin story, check out character insights and backgrounds, as well as artwork of the abandoned, dystopic world Ellie and Joel inhabit.

Where you can buy it:

The Art of Apex Legends

Image: Dark Horse Books

Love to grind Apex Legends all day, every day? Then don’t miss out on this oversized hardcover book dedicated to the globally renowned first-person shooter. Detailing legendary skins, dynamic weapons and battle-scarred arenas, it’s difficult to resist scrutinising every page no matter which stripe you fall under.

Where you can buy it:

The Art of Horizon Forbidden West

The Art of Horizon Forbidden West
Image: Dark Horse Comics

Inside this stunning hardcover, you’ll be able to enjoy the vibrant and rich art from Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Forbidden West. The art book is filled aplenty with concept art and illustrations from the game’s creators so you can get an inside look at how this beautiful but dangerous world came to be.

Where you can buy it:

The Art of DOOM: Eternal

The Art of Doom
Image: Dark Horse Books

Playing Doom: Eternal is one of those experiences that stay with you forever. The award-winning game is known as “one of the best first-person shooters ever made” where you play as the Doom Slayer who embarks on a single-player campaign to vanquish demons and stop the destruction of humanity.

In this oversized, full-colour art book, you’ll be able to revisit Doom: Eternal‘s gloriously dark concept art, illustrations and commentary in flesh-rending detail. Prepare to admire various designs of the Slayer’s armour as well as visit unknown and otherworldly locations new to the Doom universe.

Where you can buy it:

Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Art of the Game

The art behind Marvel's Spider-Man
Image: Titan Books

We all can’t help but love him. If you want to see how the creators brought Peter Parker and Spider-Man to life, you definitely need to check out Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Art of the Game. You’ll get to see full-colour illustrations of Spider-Man’s suit and equipment as well as incredibly detailed concept art.

There’s also an art book for Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales if you want to complete the set.

Where you can buy it:

The Art of Immortals Fenyx Rising

Zeus in Immortals: Fenyx Rising
Image: Ubisoft

This fanciful and full-coloured hardcover edition chronicles the design process and development of Ubisoft’s Immortals: Fenyx Rising.

Inside, you’ll find stunning illustrations of key moments from the game as well as an array of detailed artwork on mythical creatures from Fenyx‘s world. If you’re a big fan of Greek mythology, you’ll deeply appreciate the way the artists have brought creatures from myth and legend to life not only in the game but in this art book.

Where you can buy it:

The Legend of Zelda: Art and Artifacts

Image: Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse’s trilogy of The Legend of Zelda hardcovers are some of the best video game companion books ever, but we want to give a specific shoutout to Art and Artifacts.

This collection covers everything from the original The Legend of Zelda, all the way up to 2015’s Tri Force Heroes, and is chock full of artwork, including character designs and promo piecesIt even has sprite turnarounds and those super detailed art pieces that would appear in instruction booklets (remember those?).

Art and Artifacts is a fascinating overview of how the aesthetics of The Legend of Zelda have evolved over time. It’s the perfect gift for the diehard Legend of Zelda fan in your life.

Where you can buy it:

The Art of Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Odyssey
Image: Nintendo

Can’t get enough of Mario? Keep the journey going by picking up Nintendo’s The Art of Super Mario Odyssey. This art book has 358 pages full of fun illustrations, concept art and comments from the designers. A huge bonus is that it contains insights into early ideas that didn’t make it into the game!

Where you can buy it:

Dungeons and Dragons: Art and Arcana

art book
Image: Ten Speed Press

If you’re a Dungeons and Dragons fan, this art book is essential. Dungeons and Dragons: Art and Arcana is a comprehensive visual history of the iconic tabletop game, and is overflowing with art and photographs from its almost 50-year life. No stone has been left unturned in this book, and it includes the art from core books, adventure modules and rare concept sketches.

It even reprints merchandise packaging, foreign promotional material and those print ads you’d see in the back of old comic books.

This mighty tome also includes a stack of interviews with various designers and artists, and it’s so interesting to see them discuss how the aesthetics of Dungeons and Dragons have evolved over time.

Where you can buy it:

The best movie, TV and anime art books to gift

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie

Image: Abrams

If there’s an animated movie from this year that looks better than Across the Spider-Verse, then we haven’t seen it (The Boy and the Heron hasn’t come out here yet, so it doesn’t count). If you thought the movie was a visual feast, wait until you crack open this behind-the-scenes art book.

This art book goes hard in collecting everything you’d want to see from Across the Spider-Verse, from gorgeous backgrounds, storyboards for various sequences and a heap of character designs. It also includes commentary from the production team that explains so many of the film’s great design choices. Just like Spidey, this book is amazing, spectacular, and sensational.

Where you can buy it:

Anime Architecture: Imagined Worlds and Endless Megacities

Image: Thames & Hudson

Anime Architecture isn’t your standard anime art book. Instead of focusing on a single film or series, this hefty tome collects various background paintings from some of the all-time greatest animes – like Ghost in the Shell, Akira and Tekkonkinkreet, to name a few.

Not only is this art book great to look at, but author Stefan Riekeles also takes a deep dive into the production process behind these backgrounds, detailing the craft that goes into creating these anime environments.

Where you can buy it:

Castlevania: The Art of the Animated Series

Carmilla's Castle
Image: Frederator Studios

Inspired by the original video games, the Castlevania series was a smash hit on Netflix. Now fans can enjoy a beautifully rendered hardcover art book containing expertly designed concept art and commentary from its four seasons.

While you’re waiting for the spin-off series to release, take a behind-the-scenes look at these never-before-seen illustrations of its monsters, characters and locations.

Where you can buy it:

Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Art of the Animated Series

Image: Dark Horse Books

If you’re a die-hard fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, you definitely can’t miss this bestselling art book.

Avatar: The Airbender The Art of the Animated Series was compiled by the show’s creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. You can discover how their initial sketches transformed into a worldwide phenomenon inside this exquisitely detailed concept book. Within, you’ll find a number of illustrations of the Avatar world’s adorable hybrid animals as well as real-life martial arts sketches that informed the TV show‘s various bending styles.

In this special second edition, you’ll also get a chance to read an exclusive foreword by the sequel comic series’ writer, Gene Luen Yang.

Where you can buy it:

The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season One)

Image: Abrams

When you finish an episode of The Mandalorian, do you ever think to yourself, “Gee, I sure wish there was a way for me to look at this great concept art without the end credits superimposed over the top of them?” Firstly, what a weirdly specific thing to think. Secondly, the Art of The Mandalorian is the solution to your problem.

This collection also includes commentary from Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, which gives a good insight into a lot of the show’s design choices. Unsurprisingly, Filoni has plenty of interesting things to say.

This art book only covers the first season of the show, so don’t expect to see anything for Ahsoka Tano or Old Man Fett. You’ll need to grab the season two Mando art book for that.

Where you can buy it:

The Art of Spirited Away

art book
Image: Viz Media

Hayao Miyazaki‘s movies are already overflowing with rich visuals, so this art book is a no-brainer. The Art of Spirited Away collects various character sketches, storyboards, and watercolour illustrations for the Academy Award-winning anime. It’s flat-out gorgeous from cover to cover.

Where you can buy it:

Batman: The Animated Series – The Phantom City Creative Collection

Image: Insight Editions

Batman: The Animated Series? Very good. Phantom City Creative’s B:TAS-inspired posters for Mondo? Extremely good. A big art book that collects all of PCC’s Batman work, including long out-of-print pieces? Absolute chef’s kiss.

Where you can buy it:

The best comics and manga art books to gift

Twisted Visions: The Art of Junji Ito

Image: Viz Media

Junji Ito‘s name has become synonymous with horror manga, and Twisted Visions is a fantastic art book that captures how amazingly grotesque and unnerving his work can be. The book features over 130 pieces of art from Ito’s career, including his more iconic works like Tomie and Uzumaki, which range from manga pages to colour spreads and paintings. There’s even an interview with Ito where he discusses his approach to drawing manga and art, while also providing commentary throughout the book.

Where you can buy it:

One Piece Colour Walk Compendium, Vol. 1

Image: Viz Media

The One Piece art book is REAL. This first compendium collects all the colour art from the East Blue to Skypiea arcs of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga (released in Japan as Colour Walk 1 to 3). These include the volume covers, chapter covers and select manga pages, along with some of Oda’s earliest design ideas for the series. The end of the compendium also includes three interviews Odea did with Akira Toriyama, Fujiko A. Fujio and Yoshitaka Amano.

Where you can buy it:

Dragon Ball: A Visual History

art book
Image: Viz Media

Hot take: everybody likes Dragon Ball, and anyone who says otherwise is just being contrarian. This visual history covers everything Dragon Ball-related that creator Akira Toriyama worked on, from the original manga up until Super (although the actual Super content is quite small). This art book also includes some interviews with Toriyama himself, where he reflects on the impact of Dragon Ball.

Just by flicking through this, you get a real feel for how Toriyama’s sense of style and design evolved over almost four decades. As big Dragon Ball fans, we were surprised by how much art we’d never seen before.

Where you can buy it:

Daredevil: Born Again (Artisan Edition)

art book
Image: IDW

IDW’s long-running series of Artist Editions, which reprint the original art pages from various comics, are truly great. However, they’re both super expensive and the size of a small coffee table, so your purchase may be hard to validate.

Thankfully, IDW has been releasing a series of Artisan Editions, which reprint these collections of original comic art at a more manageable price and size.

Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil: Born Again is one of the best things that Marvel has ever published and stands as one of the high watermark moments of the company’s long history. This Artisan Edition collects every one of Mazzucchelli’s pages for the series, so not only do you get to see all the detail that goes into his pages, but you can also read the story from start to finish.

Where you can buy it:

Image: Dark Horse/Abrams/Viz Media


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At Kotaku, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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