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Spider-Verse: The Art of the Movies #2
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: The Art of the Movie
The official behind-the-scenes tie-in book to Sony Pictures Animation’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar®-winning Spider-Verse saga, an epic adventure that will transport Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man across the Multiverse to join forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-People to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: The Art of the Movie takes readers behind the scenes to showcase the art and artistry of Sony Pictures Animation’s highly-anticipated sequel to 2018’s Academy Award–winning animated feature, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The ultimate deep dive into the on-screen return of the Spider-Man multiverse, the book features exclusive concept art, sketches, character designs, and storyboards from the visually innovative film, as well as interviews with key creators such as writers/producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who offer insights into their creative process.
Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar®-winning Spider-Verse saga, an epic adventure that will transport Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man across the Multiverse to join forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-People to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: The Art of the Movie takes readers behind the scenes to showcase the art and artistry of Sony Pictures Animation’s highly-anticipated sequel to 2018’s Academy Award–winning animated feature, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The ultimate deep dive into the on-screen return of the Spider-Man multiverse, the book features exclusive concept art, sketches, character designs, and storyboards from the visually innovative film, as well as interviews with key creators such as writers/producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who offer insights into their creative process.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published July 3, 2023
52 people are currently reading
911 people want to read
About the author
Ramin Zahed
37 books36 followersRamin Zahed is the Editor-in-Chief of the Los Angeles-based monthly publication, Animation magazine. He has been covering the animation and visual effects world for over 15 years. Before joining Animag, he was a senior editor at Daily variety. His articles have also appeared in Variety, Hollywood reporter, The Los Angeles times and The Christian science monitor.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
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July 18, 2023I would give ANYTHING to read a 1000+ page “anatomy of a scene” style breakdown of every scene in this movie.
August 27, 2023
Help, I wanna watch it again.
July 8, 2023
Like its predecessor, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a work of art, not only for its fresh and subversive way of playing with the tropes of the superhero genre – especially the Spider-Man mythos – but also a groundbreaking combination of 2D and 3D animation. Expanding upon the aesthetics of Into the Spider-Verse, the sequel is one that requires multiple viewings to notice every single detail and no doubt when it comes out on home video, people will be freeze-framing the whole film to analyse every single shot.
Whilst I look forward to checking out the special features once the film arrives on home video, Ramin Zahed’s art-book goes into great detail about how the filmmakers achieve in creating so many layers behind the look of the film, such as the multiple dimensions and the many, many characters that inhabit them.
Considering that both Spider-Verse instalments have acknowledged the influence of comic books, in terms of character designs and methods of visual storytelling, it is nice seeing numerous comic book artists getting involved in Across the Spider-Verse. With artists including Kris Anka, Brian Stelfreeze and even Spider-Man 2099 co-creator Rick Leonardi, as much as the makers are embracing the iconography of these characters, they also put their own spin on these characters, whether it is the various Spider-People or the many villains that sprinkle throughout as brief glimpses.
Whilst there are pages that go into great length about the different variations they played with the animation, such as the surreal and scribbled sensibilities of The Spot, there are pages devoted to the regular folk, whether it is the Latin-Americans living in Brooklyn, or Rio and Jeff Morales whose presence are just as important to the story as all the super-powered figures. The Spider-Verse movies have always progressive, in terms of showing a positive depiction of multiple cultures, even when approached through the outlandish nature of jumping through dimensions such as Mumbattan of Earth-50101, a cross between New York and Mumbai.
One of the treats from this book are showcasing sequences that were cut out of the film, such as The Bar with No Name – originated from the pages of Marvel Comics – where Spot supposedly interacts with Hammerhead and other villains. It sucks that they cut it, but as we are expected Beyond the Spider-Verse to be released this year, a trip to The Bar with No Name would be nice to see. As is always the case with these art-books, it always feels like there is never enough to go through everything the film offers as there is one long dissection over one sequence from Across the Spider-Verse, which is actually the most striking scene where Miles and Gwen are reunited and have a touching moment on the clock tower.
Despite the highly critical and box office reception, the film’s production has faced accusations over difficult working conditions caused by the constant revisions caused many artists to leave the project before its completion. No doubt this is a recurring problem that has plagued multiple animation studios, and no matter how much you love an artist’s work, it is not as the expense of their health. Putting all those issues aside, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse remains an astonishing achievement as this art-book serves as a great companion piece that explores the film’s groundbreaking animation process.
Whilst I look forward to checking out the special features once the film arrives on home video, Ramin Zahed’s art-book goes into great detail about how the filmmakers achieve in creating so many layers behind the look of the film, such as the multiple dimensions and the many, many characters that inhabit them.
Considering that both Spider-Verse instalments have acknowledged the influence of comic books, in terms of character designs and methods of visual storytelling, it is nice seeing numerous comic book artists getting involved in Across the Spider-Verse. With artists including Kris Anka, Brian Stelfreeze and even Spider-Man 2099 co-creator Rick Leonardi, as much as the makers are embracing the iconography of these characters, they also put their own spin on these characters, whether it is the various Spider-People or the many villains that sprinkle throughout as brief glimpses.
Whilst there are pages that go into great length about the different variations they played with the animation, such as the surreal and scribbled sensibilities of The Spot, there are pages devoted to the regular folk, whether it is the Latin-Americans living in Brooklyn, or Rio and Jeff Morales whose presence are just as important to the story as all the super-powered figures. The Spider-Verse movies have always progressive, in terms of showing a positive depiction of multiple cultures, even when approached through the outlandish nature of jumping through dimensions such as Mumbattan of Earth-50101, a cross between New York and Mumbai.
One of the treats from this book are showcasing sequences that were cut out of the film, such as The Bar with No Name – originated from the pages of Marvel Comics – where Spot supposedly interacts with Hammerhead and other villains. It sucks that they cut it, but as we are expected Beyond the Spider-Verse to be released this year, a trip to The Bar with No Name would be nice to see. As is always the case with these art-books, it always feels like there is never enough to go through everything the film offers as there is one long dissection over one sequence from Across the Spider-Verse, which is actually the most striking scene where Miles and Gwen are reunited and have a touching moment on the clock tower.
Despite the highly critical and box office reception, the film’s production has faced accusations over difficult working conditions caused by the constant revisions caused many artists to leave the project before its completion. No doubt this is a recurring problem that has plagued multiple animation studios, and no matter how much you love an artist’s work, it is not as the expense of their health. Putting all those issues aside, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse remains an astonishing achievement as this art-book serves as a great companion piece that explores the film’s groundbreaking animation process.
July 18, 2023
It was a great book, filled with a lot of beautiful artworks but I was disappointed after reading into the spiderverse art book recently, because I felt it was much better. I was hoping for more concept art and more emphasis on all of those amazing characters I saw during the movie, there's no spider dinosaur or spider car or many of the different spidermans in the movie or talks on including real live characters into the movie. It felt like it was missing something.
July 7, 2023
This is my Bible
July 13, 2023
Book 42 of 2023 (v fitting) is the Across The Spiderverse: Art of the Movie book. This one is better than the first concept art book by default due to how overwhelmingly creative the sequel is. The concept art and thought put into this movie is incredible and I found the design breakdowns more fascinating. The book could honestly be double the length. I liked how they broke down one of the scenes at the end of this. The concept art for this movie is absolutely insane and I could pour over it for days. 5 stars OBVIOUSLY
March 27, 2024
3.5☆ tykkäsin kovasti. rakastan kuulla mitä kaikenlaisia ideoita ja juttuja leffojen takaa aina löytyy!! kattokaa Spider-verset.
August 28, 2025
Jeg kunne sidde og stirre på de tegninger i en evigheeeeed. Det er faktisk en af verdens bedste film, og det virker også til at de selv har en idé om hvor genial filmen er ud fra deres interviews, hvilket jeg respekterer, fordi de har ret 💅🕷️🕸️
November 16, 2025
i wish i could eat this movie frame by frame
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November 24, 2024thank u pien <33
July 24, 2024
J’ai oublié de le review :(
C’est tout simplement incroyable !!! J’ai pas les mots tellement c’est beau et enrichissant en termes de concepts, de palettes et d’explications artistiques🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
Gros cœur sur Laure et Kea pour le cadeau 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶
C’est tout simplement incroyable !!! J’ai pas les mots tellement c’est beau et enrichissant en termes de concepts, de palettes et d’explications artistiques🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
Gros cœur sur Laure et Kea pour le cadeau 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶
July 5, 2023
MY BELOVED!!!!!! So in love with them all of them
August 24, 2023
Honestly, probably one of the worst edited books. SO hard to keep track of what’s being said, there are plenty of unfinished sentences that goes for pages incomplete. I’m not talking about how Zac Retz name was written wrong and how bad the crediting was made.
Not enough artwork from the movie. There is a huge world , dimension, whatever, it isn’t enough to showcase 5-6 pieces of visdev. I follow all of the people worked on that movie, and luckily was able to see most of the work done but damn , it is not a good art of book. First book was so much better. Artist’s comment section is much more informative than this book.
Not enough artwork from the movie. There is a huge world , dimension, whatever, it isn’t enough to showcase 5-6 pieces of visdev. I follow all of the people worked on that movie, and luckily was able to see most of the work done but damn , it is not a good art of book. First book was so much better. Artist’s comment section is much more informative than this book.
November 13, 2023
i wish it had a bit more character concept art in it that was posted on social media tbh☹️ but i enjoyed sosoxomyuchcuuhh so much!! everything abt the art in this movie is just SO impressive and having it all taken apart in a book is so inspirational!!!!
February 16, 2024
almost perfect, i wish they included more behind the scenes stuff. loved the unnecessarily extended amount of spreads pavitr got.
April 13, 2025
Solid four stars. Once again, I think it goes without saying that this book is visually stunning.
Across the Spiderverse is a fantastic movie, so any behind-the-scenes look was bound to be engrossing. I think this book did a particularly good job with explaining choices and goals of the movie’s visuals. Some art books that I’ve read wind up going in circles about the same idea, or not talking about the visuals as much as I think they should (these are books about the ART of media, after all). But this one was very good at describing what feelings animators and artists were intending to invoke in different scenes and environments, and how that tied back into the overall story and lore of the movie. The book was also organized very organically: no section felt thrown-in or out of place, and everything transitioned nicely. I loved learning about the worlds especially: what thoughts went into designing them and how the animators tried to make each one feel alive and reflect each dimension. It’s really a testament to how amazing the movie’s worldbuilding is, too.
My one complaint is that I wish the captions for each concept art had more than the artist’s name. In the art book for Into the Spiderverse, the captions had little descriptions of each piece and where they landed in the development process (for example, one would say ‘early designs for Uncle Aaron’ or something similar). I think those really added to the book and helped give context to the art being showcased. So I do wish this one added those in. But that’s really my only issue.
As a little note, though, there is concept for a deleted scene that is really cool, but it’s not stated explicitly that it was deleted from the final movie, so don’t get confused with the ‘Bar with no Name’ section- that scene was cut in the final film.
Overall, I loved this artbook! I have no idea how I’m going to survive until 2027, when Beyond the Spiderverse releases (and, presumably, its artbook too), but at least there’s a release date now!
Across the Spiderverse is a fantastic movie, so any behind-the-scenes look was bound to be engrossing. I think this book did a particularly good job with explaining choices and goals of the movie’s visuals. Some art books that I’ve read wind up going in circles about the same idea, or not talking about the visuals as much as I think they should (these are books about the ART of media, after all). But this one was very good at describing what feelings animators and artists were intending to invoke in different scenes and environments, and how that tied back into the overall story and lore of the movie. The book was also organized very organically: no section felt thrown-in or out of place, and everything transitioned nicely. I loved learning about the worlds especially: what thoughts went into designing them and how the animators tried to make each one feel alive and reflect each dimension. It’s really a testament to how amazing the movie’s worldbuilding is, too.
My one complaint is that I wish the captions for each concept art had more than the artist’s name. In the art book for Into the Spiderverse, the captions had little descriptions of each piece and where they landed in the development process (for example, one would say ‘early designs for Uncle Aaron’ or something similar). I think those really added to the book and helped give context to the art being showcased. So I do wish this one added those in. But that’s really my only issue.
As a little note, though, there is concept for a deleted scene that is really cool, but it’s not stated explicitly that it was deleted from the final movie, so don’t get confused with the ‘Bar with no Name’ section- that scene was cut in the final film.
Overall, I loved this artbook! I have no idea how I’m going to survive until 2027, when Beyond the Spiderverse releases (and, presumably, its artbook too), but at least there’s a release date now!
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February 13, 2024Marvel superhero movies always do well, whether live action or animation. The latest entry into the Marvel movies, is the popular sequel SPIDER-MAN ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE. Noted author Ramin Zahed, does an exceptional job of bringing not only the characters to life but also telling how the movie was created, along with the specific scenes. Sony Pictures Animation did an exceptional job of making this sequel as compelling and mesmerizing as the first movie, that did big bucks at the box office. Not only that, it won the Academy Award for best animated feature.
The second movie, which was released in 2023, did just as well, fans flocking back to see the adventures of Spider-Man, as the character related to the various earths encountered. We see how the long-time nemesis of Spider-Man, the Vulture, was given even greater emphasis, looking more menacing than ever.
There were many artists who contributed to the movie, their visions for the characters and the scenery on full display, in this memorable coffee table volume. Miles Morales as Spider-Man, may be just a teenager, but he has a massive responsibility as Spider-Man. There are many others such as Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman, Hobie Brown Spider-Punk, Jessica Drew the rather pregnant Spider-Woman from Earth-332, Margo as Spider-Byte from the Multiverse, and many more.
Other villains abound, and there is The Spot, another unique creation that definitely clashes with Spider-Man on a consistent basis.
The book also focuses on so many other worlds and territories, adding both darkness and light to the overall storyline. The book is the perfect companion to the film, and even if you didn’t see the movie, you definitely want to add this to your collection. If you did see either or both movies, it is the ideal companion as well, adding a new dimension to the film. You don’t need to cross any universes to grab this visually impressive edition.
The second movie, which was released in 2023, did just as well, fans flocking back to see the adventures of Spider-Man, as the character related to the various earths encountered. We see how the long-time nemesis of Spider-Man, the Vulture, was given even greater emphasis, looking more menacing than ever.
There were many artists who contributed to the movie, their visions for the characters and the scenery on full display, in this memorable coffee table volume. Miles Morales as Spider-Man, may be just a teenager, but he has a massive responsibility as Spider-Man. There are many others such as Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman, Hobie Brown Spider-Punk, Jessica Drew the rather pregnant Spider-Woman from Earth-332, Margo as Spider-Byte from the Multiverse, and many more.
Other villains abound, and there is The Spot, another unique creation that definitely clashes with Spider-Man on a consistent basis.
The book also focuses on so many other worlds and territories, adding both darkness and light to the overall storyline. The book is the perfect companion to the film, and even if you didn’t see the movie, you definitely want to add this to your collection. If you did see either or both movies, it is the ideal companion as well, adding a new dimension to the film. You don’t need to cross any universes to grab this visually impressive edition.
February 4, 2025
This art book is based on an amazing (pun intended) source material, but surprisingly it comes across as bland and uninspiring. I was expecting more from it.
The "art" part here is decent, showcasing various characters, locations, and objects from the movie. The selection criteria are not clear to me; some very impressive shots from the film are noticeably absent, few characters are missing too, and some pages simply fall flat and are easily skippable. There are a few beautiful and rich spreads, but there was definitely potential for more.
The "book" part is disappointing, offering little insight into the process. The descriptions are generic and lack any personality. Much like the art choices, the text feels disjointed, as if various people contributed without having any context of remaining sections of the book, so they played it safe. This might explain why the book fails to convey any meaningful story - whether about the making of the film, the creative process behind the animation, or the characters and the people who brought them to life.
Overall, the art book doesn't quite capture the dynamic spirit and imagination that made the movie so remarkable. It offers some great visuals and glimpses of what could have been, but it doesn't commit to telling a story or providing the depth I was looking for.
The "art" part here is decent, showcasing various characters, locations, and objects from the movie. The selection criteria are not clear to me; some very impressive shots from the film are noticeably absent, few characters are missing too, and some pages simply fall flat and are easily skippable. There are a few beautiful and rich spreads, but there was definitely potential for more.
The "book" part is disappointing, offering little insight into the process. The descriptions are generic and lack any personality. Much like the art choices, the text feels disjointed, as if various people contributed without having any context of remaining sections of the book, so they played it safe. This might explain why the book fails to convey any meaningful story - whether about the making of the film, the creative process behind the animation, or the characters and the people who brought them to life.
Overall, the art book doesn't quite capture the dynamic spirit and imagination that made the movie so remarkable. It offers some great visuals and glimpses of what could have been, but it doesn't commit to telling a story or providing the depth I was looking for.
August 19, 2024
**Mejor regalo de la historia**
Pensaba que tal vez el que estuviera en inglés iba a hacerlo un poco cuesta arriba, pero para nada. Excepto, tal vez el principio que se hablaba más un poco de la "burocracia" de la película, todo lo demás lenguaje bastante asequible.
Estoy deseando de verla de nuevo con todo lo que sé ahora jajaja. Da información super interansante acerca de cómo se crearon los personajes, los colores o la construcción de los entornos. Así como datos curiosos de los personajes. Te lo desarrolla todo, tanto el argumento como el diseño en sí. Incluso al final incluyen fotos del guion con las anotaciones del director.
En cuanto a las ilustraciones: una maravilla. Vienen las fichas finales de personajes, versiones alternativas, bocetos, escenarios, objetos... Y es que en todo hay detalles pequeños que molan descubrir.
Pensaba que tal vez el que estuviera en inglés iba a hacerlo un poco cuesta arriba, pero para nada. Excepto, tal vez el principio que se hablaba más un poco de la "burocracia" de la película, todo lo demás lenguaje bastante asequible.
Estoy deseando de verla de nuevo con todo lo que sé ahora jajaja. Da información super interansante acerca de cómo se crearon los personajes, los colores o la construcción de los entornos. Así como datos curiosos de los personajes. Te lo desarrolla todo, tanto el argumento como el diseño en sí. Incluso al final incluyen fotos del guion con las anotaciones del director.
En cuanto a las ilustraciones: una maravilla. Vienen las fichas finales de personajes, versiones alternativas, bocetos, escenarios, objetos... Y es que en todo hay detalles pequeños que molan descubrir.
April 18, 2024
this art book provides wonderful art from and for the across the spider verse film and provides lots and lots of wonderful insight into that art. what’s not to like? well, other than the fact that i wish the movie was even longer to incorporate more of this stuff into it… beyond the spider verse, i’m waiting for you!
that said, i do wish this went even deeper into breaking the film down to its technical aspects (it does, but i just wanted to know… everything, or more of everything and this ain’t that but i shouldn’t have expected it to be and i didn’t.) god these miles’ movies really are the best spider-man movies and i don’t envision that changing any time soon. this book is a 9 out of 10, but this silly app won’t let you give half star ratings so BLAH.
that said, i do wish this went even deeper into breaking the film down to its technical aspects (it does, but i just wanted to know… everything, or more of everything and this ain’t that but i shouldn’t have expected it to be and i didn’t.) god these miles’ movies really are the best spider-man movies and i don’t envision that changing any time soon. this book is a 9 out of 10, but this silly app won’t let you give half star ratings so BLAH.
December 2, 2024
i love miles morales. that sums up my thoughts.
beyond being such an insightful and fun explanation of how the spider-verse world is built, it was great to expand my reading to build my understanding of how artists operate. we see it it in the film itself but the level of detail and preparation for the film, let alone singular frame, demonstrates how this labour of love produced one of the greatest animated features of all time. as someone who wants to create their own art, this concept art collection has inspired me to continue to learn; spider-verse itself is such a revolutionary work but innovation is built from the shoulders of those who came before. i’m excited to build my own craft from the legacies of those before me!
beyond being such an insightful and fun explanation of how the spider-verse world is built, it was great to expand my reading to build my understanding of how artists operate. we see it it in the film itself but the level of detail and preparation for the film, let alone singular frame, demonstrates how this labour of love produced one of the greatest animated features of all time. as someone who wants to create their own art, this concept art collection has inspired me to continue to learn; spider-verse itself is such a revolutionary work but innovation is built from the shoulders of those who came before. i’m excited to build my own craft from the legacies of those before me!
August 6, 2023
First artbook was larger, more illustrations. I hate that the artbook was smaller. There was so much concept art I would have like to have seen more of--the different universes, more character designs, and more full page spreads. It felt cheap compared to the last art book, and some of the beautiful art is shrunk down to a laughable size that you can hardly appreciate all of the hard work the entire animation teams and artists spent their time on. Take a browse or borrow from a library, but the most frustrating aspect of the book is the potential it had to be so much more robust.
October 19, 2025
did a marathon of spiderverze and afterwards reading this… just the best feeling ever😭😭😭 I LOVE SPIDERMAN especially this one particular movie. as an illustrator myself, creating something like this is such a dream of mine. i even listed most of my fave artists from this book; kat tsai, dean gordon, wendell dalit, patrick o’keefe, ami thompson, peter chan, aymeric kevin, jesús alonso iglesias, jake panian, kristafer anka, tiffany lam, evan monteiro, and last but not least will coyner!!! SUCH AMAZING PEOPLE⭐️
June 17, 2023
This art book is really amazing !! I usually don’t like to pay this amount for books but I think it’s 100% worth the price . The art is stunning the texture and lines are so great and there’s really interesting commentary on the development of settings and characters . Every design aspect of nearly every character is explained in depth and was really cool since every shape is intentional! My only problem is the foreword by Jeff Koons but that’s only because I don’t like him .
February 10, 2025
Anyone know more about Delilah? This is all I found.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SpidermanPS4....
https://www.reddit.com/r/Spiderman/co...
https://www.instagram.com/maurobelfio...
https://www.reddit.com/r/SpidermanPS4....
https://www.reddit.com/r/Spiderman/co...
https://www.instagram.com/maurobelfio...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2023
An informative look at the process behind one of the most inspiring film productions in modern memory, complete with early concept art and interviews with the art department. My only wish is that even more of the nitty gritty had been covered, but everything the book delivers is of the highest quality and great insight for fans and aspiring concept artists or film designers.
August 14, 2023
A good collection of concept art for the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse movie. It has some thoughts from the designers about influences on their work.
My only complaint was that for some of the characters the original comic book artists and authors were left out in the intro for those characters. It felt like another example of Marvel not wanting to credit (and pay) living creators.
My only complaint was that for some of the characters the original comic book artists and authors were left out in the intro for those characters. It felt like another example of Marvel not wanting to credit (and pay) living creators.
December 27, 2023
The art is beautiful, of course. Would we expect any less from a film like Across the Spider-verse? It’s also nice to learn the names and vision of some of the key designers, producers, and concept artists, though I am sure there are literally thousands of other artists and animators who worked on this film who went unnamed.
5 stars.
5 stars.
January 19, 2024
It's cool and I love this movie, but compared to other artbooks such as 'the Mitchell's vs the machines', this is hella weak. Like wheres the storyboards or the rough concept sketches or a deeper dive into how they made spider punk etc, you buy an artbooks to learn about these things but yet this had barely any of that. Honestly, YouTube videos do a better insight than this book.
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