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The Legend of Korra: The Art of the Animated Series #2
The Legend of Korra: The Art of the Animated Series Book Two: Spirits
Go behind the scenes of the animated series Legend of Korra Book Two - Spirits --created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko--the smash hit sequel to their blockbuster show The Last Airbender !
This handsome hardcover contains hundreds of art pieces created during the development of the show’s second season, complete with creator commentary from DiMartino and Konietzko. This celebrated second edition also includes pages of new sketches from the original creative team and a brand-new foreword by Korra voice actor P.J. Byrne! This is an intimate look inside the creative process that brought a new generation of Avatar heroes to life, revisited for the show’s anniversary!
This handsome hardcover contains hundreds of art pieces created during the development of the show’s second season, complete with creator commentary from DiMartino and Konietzko. This celebrated second edition also includes pages of new sketches from the original creative team and a brand-new foreword by Korra voice actor P.J. Byrne! This is an intimate look inside the creative process that brought a new generation of Avatar heroes to life, revisited for the show’s anniversary!
184 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 2014
29 people are currently reading
1137 people want to read
About the author
Michael Dante DiMartino
104 books1,513 followersMichael Dante DiMartino is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. His directing credits include the animated series King of the Hill, Family Guy, and Mission Hill. He is a co-creator of the award-winning animated Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel, The Legend of Korra. DiMartino lives in Los Angeles with his wife. The Rebel Geniuses series is his debut prose work.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
March 4, 2024
Now, season 2 of Legend of Korra gets a lot of flack, not entirely unjustly. It is by far the weakest of the four with a villain that is Ozai-level of boring. However, and I will die on this hill, it might be the most impressive visually. Not only we get the most diverse settings here - from Republic City, to the South Pole, to the various Air Temples and finishing with the beautiful Spirit World. And one can't forget Varrick, Zhu Li (do the thing!), Ginger and the movers (NUKTUK, HERO OF THE SOUTH!) - which we all get to see and appreciate in this artbook, allowing us to notice how cheap the scenography utilized by Varrick looked. Oh and the various spirits! Of course we get the various spirits too! Plus, of course, we get the visual and artistic feast that is the art of the two-parter "Beginnings", which is nothing short of stunning! And, as if the creator's listened to my criticism of Artbook vol 1, we get many more storyboards in this book! And we get Korra with her hair loose! What's not to love? Even better artbook than the previous one.
September 10, 2015
I love these art design/concept art books for Legend of Korra! There are so many beautiful backgrounds, paintings and drawings that you either never see in the series or fail to properly appreciate in the moment.
The design of the spirits was particularly interesting to see, as was the varied personalities and countenances given to the "crowd" individuals.
I especially liked the older style family photographs in sepia of Aang, Katara, Tenzin, Bumi, and Kya!
The one of Mako and Bolin's family in the next art book was equally impressive, as was that of Su's family in that volume.
The design of the spirits was particularly interesting to see, as was the varied personalities and countenances given to the "crowd" individuals.
I especially liked the older style family photographs in sepia of Aang, Katara, Tenzin, Bumi, and Kya!
The one of Mako and Bolin's family in the next art book was equally impressive, as was that of Su's family in that volume.
August 28, 2015
There is so much background and landscape art in the LOK art books, which is probably my favorite thing about them. The artists have such a great grasp of color and lighting, and it really shines through in their landscape panels. Just beautiful.
The other thing that is so fascinating about these books, to me, is getting to see all the minuscule details that are so important and/or pretty, but all too often go unnoticed in the show. I also love re-watching the shows after reading the Art books and noting all the things I had missed before.
My one complaint is that I actually wish there was a little more text than there is in this series. It's about 2% text and info, which could probably be upped to at least 5%. I applaud them for making the book mostly about the art, but I like to read about some of the inspiration, inside stories, and making of.
The spirits were so whimsical and cute, when they weren't dark and creepy beyond all belief. I especially love the radish and grumpy carrot spirits!
**Yes, this is almost exactly the same review for this volume as for The Legend of Korra: The Art of the Animated Series Book Three: Change, as I had virtually the same thoughts about both of them.**
The other thing that is so fascinating about these books, to me, is getting to see all the minuscule details that are so important and/or pretty, but all too often go unnoticed in the show. I also love re-watching the shows after reading the Art books and noting all the things I had missed before.
My one complaint is that I actually wish there was a little more text than there is in this series. It's about 2% text and info, which could probably be upped to at least 5%. I applaud them for making the book mostly about the art, but I like to read about some of the inspiration, inside stories, and making of.
The spirits were so whimsical and cute, when they weren't dark and creepy beyond all belief. I especially love the radish and grumpy carrot spirits!
**Yes, this is almost exactly the same review for this volume as for The Legend of Korra: The Art of the Animated Series Book Three: Change, as I had virtually the same thoughts about both of them.**
January 25, 2024
The colors 😩
-1 star for a disgusting lack of Lin Beifong
-1 star for a disgusting lack of Lin Beifong
July 7, 2021
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
The Legend of Korra: The Art of the Animated Series--Book Two: Spirits (Second Edition) continues the excellent quality 'Art of' books from the Avatar universe. I especially enjoyed this one as the second season of Korra has such a wide variety of locations, characters and themes that it never feels tedious to read through the pages - there's something new every few pages (rather than ten pages of concept art for the same location, as seen sometimes in other art books).As before, the style of the book is to concentrate on the art and it is presented beautifully. There are smallish texts to describe the design process but the book is definitely an 'art of' rather than 'making of.' There is enough history though to give a bit of insight to likely even the most dedicated Korra fans.
It's been some years since I saw Korra book two and I found I had forgotten how diverse that season of the show was. Reading this art book was lots of fun just for the recollections - a steady stream of 'Oh yeah, this also happened' kept with me throughout.
The presentation is the book is top notch and everything feels of the highest quality. The dedication put into the design of the show is visible everywhere and the book makes this evident.
Highly recommended for fans of Avatar and even non-fans would enjoy browsing through this one. If it has been some time since you saw the show, you'll likely enjoy this book even more as a jog down the memory lane. Personally, it lit in me a desire to rewatch the entire show. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
June 22, 2024
The weakest of the seasons (while still being very good), this art book happens to be even better than the first. Love the storyboards especially, which are less relevant to what my current projects are that I'm getting inspiration for, but still very fun to see. Love the spirits, love the detailed explanations of the art choices, and of course the gorgeous art itself. A great art book.
February 9, 2024
Absolutely gorgeous with interesting data
January 21, 2022
Although I'd consider Book 2 to be my least favorite season of LOK, I think visually this was my favorite season. We had all the beauty and joy of the art style that we are already familiar with, but we also got to see art from Avatar Wan's story, which was unique in its own ways, especially with the background art. I thought this was another great art guide to the show, and I enjoyed reading it a lot. You can tell how much this show meat to the creators as well as to every single person who worked on this show in some form, and I think that the passion that everyone had for the show was evident through the art as well as the written comments in this book. Reading this book also reminded me that I need to re-watch LOK. It hasn't been that long since I watched it for the first time, but I still feel like watching it again.
There were a few things I really liked about this season of LOK compared to the first season and ATLA, and one of those was that we got to spend more time in the Water Tribe, especially the Southern Water Tribe. In ATLA you only are there at the very beginning, but Katara and Sokka's village was so small that you didn't get to see much of anything. But in this season we got to see a much larger Southern Water Tribe, and it was amazing. The background paintings for the Southern Water Tribe was incredible, and I really liked getting to see Korra fight to not only protect other people, but to protect her home and her family. I also liked getting to see so many more water tribe outfits, because we saw lots of those as well, not only from old and new characters, but also from the extras as well. I just enjoyed getting to see how the designs of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes were different, and I liked being able to revisit both places and learn more about how they were designed.
The other thing that I really liked about this season in particular was how prominent spirits and the Spirit World were in this book. To say that I love all the cute little spirits, and even the evil ones, is an understatement. So much creativity was put into their designs, and the artists and designers clearly had so much fun making the most whimsical creatures possible. There weren't that many moments in ATLA or LOK up until that point where designs like that were needed, and it was so nice to see a change in the show, where we got to meet some silly-looking creatures who had absolutely no similarities to anything you'd see in real life. It was very Ghibli-esque and reminded me of some of their films and their art style. It was mentioned that they were inspired by Studio Ghibli when creating many of the spirit designs, and I thought it was a really sweet nod to Ghibli. I particularly love the carrot spirit and the dragonfly-rabbit spirits. In general the spirit designs were phenomenal and I'm glad we got to see so many of them in this season. They were all vastly different to each other, they each were unique and funky, and the spirits also have color schemes that we haven't really seen in LOK or ATLA. Everything about the spirits and the spirit world is so bright and vivid, and it was nice to change the atmosphere of the show and the art up a bit.
Going off of the spirits, as I mentioned in the introduction, I really loved the art during Avatar Wan's story. Although the style of he animation was pretty much the same as the rest of the show, it had its own touches that made it stand out. I liked how the colors were a bit more muted in the flashback, the line art was more prominent, and the background art was so much more detailed. The lion turtles had such gorgeous, intricate designs, and I really liked getting to learn more about them. Overall, the art had a very whimsical feel to it, which was great for those episodes. I know one of the creators talked about wishing that they had used that style in ATLA, and although that would have been interesting, I think the style that was used in ATLA fit it better than this one would. This was a great style for Avatar Wan's story, but a more realistic style for the rest of the series is better and makes you feel more immersed in the world.
I definitely enjoyed this book, and I'd say I enjoyed it more than the one for the first season. I thought this was well put-together, informative, and provided a lot of insight into the making of the show. It was kind of draining to read in one sitting, so I would definitely recommend this as one of those books you have to simply browse through it. Even if you aren't into the show, it's still interesting from an art view, and the drawings are simply nice to look at. As a LOK fan, I got a lot out of this, and although I'm not an artist and don't take much interest in art or animation in general, I still was drawn in and thought this was a great read.
There were a few things I really liked about this season of LOK compared to the first season and ATLA, and one of those was that we got to spend more time in the Water Tribe, especially the Southern Water Tribe. In ATLA you only are there at the very beginning, but Katara and Sokka's village was so small that you didn't get to see much of anything. But in this season we got to see a much larger Southern Water Tribe, and it was amazing. The background paintings for the Southern Water Tribe was incredible, and I really liked getting to see Korra fight to not only protect other people, but to protect her home and her family. I also liked getting to see so many more water tribe outfits, because we saw lots of those as well, not only from old and new characters, but also from the extras as well. I just enjoyed getting to see how the designs of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes were different, and I liked being able to revisit both places and learn more about how they were designed.
The other thing that I really liked about this season in particular was how prominent spirits and the Spirit World were in this book. To say that I love all the cute little spirits, and even the evil ones, is an understatement. So much creativity was put into their designs, and the artists and designers clearly had so much fun making the most whimsical creatures possible. There weren't that many moments in ATLA or LOK up until that point where designs like that were needed, and it was so nice to see a change in the show, where we got to meet some silly-looking creatures who had absolutely no similarities to anything you'd see in real life. It was very Ghibli-esque and reminded me of some of their films and their art style. It was mentioned that they were inspired by Studio Ghibli when creating many of the spirit designs, and I thought it was a really sweet nod to Ghibli. I particularly love the carrot spirit and the dragonfly-rabbit spirits. In general the spirit designs were phenomenal and I'm glad we got to see so many of them in this season. They were all vastly different to each other, they each were unique and funky, and the spirits also have color schemes that we haven't really seen in LOK or ATLA. Everything about the spirits and the spirit world is so bright and vivid, and it was nice to change the atmosphere of the show and the art up a bit.
Going off of the spirits, as I mentioned in the introduction, I really loved the art during Avatar Wan's story. Although the style of he animation was pretty much the same as the rest of the show, it had its own touches that made it stand out. I liked how the colors were a bit more muted in the flashback, the line art was more prominent, and the background art was so much more detailed. The lion turtles had such gorgeous, intricate designs, and I really liked getting to learn more about them. Overall, the art had a very whimsical feel to it, which was great for those episodes. I know one of the creators talked about wishing that they had used that style in ATLA, and although that would have been interesting, I think the style that was used in ATLA fit it better than this one would. This was a great style for Avatar Wan's story, but a more realistic style for the rest of the series is better and makes you feel more immersed in the world.
I definitely enjoyed this book, and I'd say I enjoyed it more than the one for the first season. I thought this was well put-together, informative, and provided a lot of insight into the making of the show. It was kind of draining to read in one sitting, so I would definitely recommend this as one of those books you have to simply browse through it. Even if you aren't into the show, it's still interesting from an art view, and the drawings are simply nice to look at. As a LOK fan, I got a lot out of this, and although I'm not an artist and don't take much interest in art or animation in general, I still was drawn in and thought this was a great read.
November 17, 2021
(Second Edition)
I grew up watching Avatar the Last Airbender and many years later, when Avatar: The Legend of Korra was released, I was hooked from the start. I couldn’t wait to dive back into a world that felt like a second home. To say I liked Korra was a bit of an understatement. I did change my name to Korra II after all. That is to say, I may be a bit biased.
I tend to hyper-fixate on one of my interests for months or years on end. I knew there were Avatar graphic novels, I didn’t know there were companion art books, however. This book has been my introduction to the book’s side of the Avatar series and I see now that I have quite a few more to catch up on than I initially thought. I regret not following the news around the series more closely.
The art featured in this book is stunning. The locations all have a sense of grandeur, they have a way of making the world around them seem small and insignificant, despite being printed on a page. Locations and characters are seen from multiple angles; characters feature multiple facial expressions and stances. What’s even better is it’s not just limited to still images. The book includes storyboards from episodes, pencil sketches of the artwork alongside the colored in version. When you can see the architecture, spirits, and plant life without the action of the show, it helps you to better appreciate all the effort that went into building this new and yet familiar world Korra inhabits. It allows you to catch details you might not have otherwise given a second thought.
I’ve had coffee table art books before and what really sets this one apart for me is the creator commentary. As I mentioned before, I tend to obsess over my interests and I want to know everything there is to know about the world, lore, backstory, etc. This for me is a rare glimpse into the minds of the creators about a series I adore which would be enough of a selling point for me, the art is just a bonus.
This is definitely a copy I will be adding to my personal collection when it’s released. If you’re an Avatar fan, I think you really owe it to yourself to pick up a copy as well.
NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as an advanced reading copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.
I grew up watching Avatar the Last Airbender and many years later, when Avatar: The Legend of Korra was released, I was hooked from the start. I couldn’t wait to dive back into a world that felt like a second home. To say I liked Korra was a bit of an understatement. I did change my name to Korra II after all. That is to say, I may be a bit biased.
I tend to hyper-fixate on one of my interests for months or years on end. I knew there were Avatar graphic novels, I didn’t know there were companion art books, however. This book has been my introduction to the book’s side of the Avatar series and I see now that I have quite a few more to catch up on than I initially thought. I regret not following the news around the series more closely.
The art featured in this book is stunning. The locations all have a sense of grandeur, they have a way of making the world around them seem small and insignificant, despite being printed on a page. Locations and characters are seen from multiple angles; characters feature multiple facial expressions and stances. What’s even better is it’s not just limited to still images. The book includes storyboards from episodes, pencil sketches of the artwork alongside the colored in version. When you can see the architecture, spirits, and plant life without the action of the show, it helps you to better appreciate all the effort that went into building this new and yet familiar world Korra inhabits. It allows you to catch details you might not have otherwise given a second thought.
I’ve had coffee table art books before and what really sets this one apart for me is the creator commentary. As I mentioned before, I tend to obsess over my interests and I want to know everything there is to know about the world, lore, backstory, etc. This for me is a rare glimpse into the minds of the creators about a series I adore which would be enough of a selling point for me, the art is just a bonus.
This is definitely a copy I will be adding to my personal collection when it’s released. If you’re an Avatar fan, I think you really owe it to yourself to pick up a copy as well.
NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as an advanced reading copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.
September 24, 2014
My gripe with the previous book had been that there was not enough background artwork shown, this time around I think they have shown far to much background art. Don't get me wrong its is all very beautiful and I could flip through it over and over again but to me it has come at the cost of other pieces of artwork. There is a lot of environmental design this time around, which is not surprising considering the area's that were shown in the animation itself but where the previous book seemed to focus on characters and objects this one is very environmentally based.
You could argue that because the previous season/book was just in the one city we didn't really have much in the way of environment choice but its just so prominent this time around. I have read in the annotation that because of the schedule not all characters have character expression sheets. The major characters do but not minor ones, which is fine. I would have loved to see more character work and earlier art. By far my most favorite of all the book is the art of the episodes beginnings not only does the art style stand out from the rest of the book but this section is just beautiful.
The book also contains (i think) more storyboards this time around which is always fun to look at as it shows just how much work the animators have to do. Again the text is kept to notes and the bare minimal, which is nice since this is an art book. If you are looking for in depth text and explanations then again no this book may not suit, but the art more then explains everything. Again the printed pages are superb and can not be faulted in anyway.
Its a little longer (40 pages longer) then the previous book in the series, this season by far has not been my favorite and the quality between the two animation studios was evident within the animation itself. In the book not so much as the book seems to focus on the very best of both studios work. So overall its a nice book!
Can't wait for book three's artbook.
You could argue that because the previous season/book was just in the one city we didn't really have much in the way of environment choice but its just so prominent this time around. I have read in the annotation that because of the schedule not all characters have character expression sheets. The major characters do but not minor ones, which is fine. I would have loved to see more character work and earlier art. By far my most favorite of all the book is the art of the episodes beginnings not only does the art style stand out from the rest of the book but this section is just beautiful.
The book also contains (i think) more storyboards this time around which is always fun to look at as it shows just how much work the animators have to do. Again the text is kept to notes and the bare minimal, which is nice since this is an art book. If you are looking for in depth text and explanations then again no this book may not suit, but the art more then explains everything. Again the printed pages are superb and can not be faulted in anyway.
Its a little longer (40 pages longer) then the previous book in the series, this season by far has not been my favorite and the quality between the two animation studios was evident within the animation itself. In the book not so much as the book seems to focus on the very best of both studios work. So overall its a nice book!
Can't wait for book three's artbook.
October 14, 2020
The "Legend of Korra" art books are great coffee-table compendiums of Avatar lore and art. Unlike the art book for "Avatar: The Last Airbender," each season here gets its own book, which means you can dig deep into the minutiae of every single setting and every character... yes, we're including ever single non-speaking extra designed for the show.
Is it excessive? Yes. Is it perhaps more than we needed? Also yes. Is it cool, and gorgeous, and a testament to how much the art design for "Korra" (and indeed the entire East-West hybridization of animation production, which essentially erased the distinction between Western animation and Japanese/Korean anime) took advantage of the ten years between "Avatar" and "Korra" production to create a visual feast.
Is it excessive? Yes. Is it perhaps more than we needed? Also yes. Is it cool, and gorgeous, and a testament to how much the art design for "Korra" (and indeed the entire East-West hybridization of animation production, which essentially erased the distinction between Western animation and Japanese/Korean anime) took advantage of the ten years between "Avatar" and "Korra" production to create a visual feast.
January 27, 2021
Just like the Avatar The Last Airbender: The Art of the Animated Series, this is what a companion book should be. This installment feature Art from Book Two: Spirit. It has TONS of backstory and history from people actually involved in the making of the series. There are preliminary pencil sketches showing how the characters evolved over time and finished art which is gorgeous, especially the city designs and landscapes. Shout out - the design of the twins and the spirit world is particularly inspired.
May 19, 2020
2020.05.18–2020.05.18
Contents
DiMartino MD, Konietzko B, & Dos Santos J (2014) Legend of Korra, The - The Art of the Animated Series Book Two - Spirits
Introductions by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino
01. Rebel Spirit
• Old Faces and New
• Spirits in Turmoil
02. The Southern Lights
03. Civil Wars, Part 1
04. Civil Wars, Part 2
05. Peacekeepers
06. The Sting
07. Beginnings, Part 1
• Raava and Vaatu
08. Beginnings, Part 2
09. The Guide
10. A New Spiritual Age
11. Night of a Thousand Stars
12. Harmonic Convergence
13. Darkness Falls
• UnaVaatu
14. Light in the Dark
15. Ancillary Art
Contents
DiMartino MD, Konietzko B, & Dos Santos J (2014) Legend of Korra, The - The Art of the Animated Series Book Two - Spirits
Introductions by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino
01. Rebel Spirit
• Old Faces and New
• Spirits in Turmoil
02. The Southern Lights
03. Civil Wars, Part 1
04. Civil Wars, Part 2
05. Peacekeepers
06. The Sting
07. Beginnings, Part 1
• Raava and Vaatu
08. Beginnings, Part 2
09. The Guide
10. A New Spiritual Age
11. Night of a Thousand Stars
12. Harmonic Convergence
13. Darkness Falls
• UnaVaatu
14. Light in the Dark
15. Ancillary Art
Read
May 22, 2015As it was with the first, it's AMAZING to see the concept art of the world and the spirits. One of the concepts of the final battle looks so much like Pacific Rim it cannot be coincidence. But which one came first? Or is it just a weird thinking-similar timing? Still, I love it.
Only one problem with it. Where's the concept art of Zhu Li?!
Only one problem with it. Where's the concept art of Zhu Li?!
January 21, 2017
I can't even begin to explain how precious this book is. Not only does it give us a behind-the-scenes look on how the storyline comes to life, but it also shows how vast the imagination of the human mind can be. I'm so inspired to get back into sketching again. Absolutely exquisite. One of my fave drawing styles! ❤
December 21, 2018
Even though Season 2 of Legend of Korra was very weak, story- and plot-wise, the artbook is absolutely stunning. They could have filled twenty more pages with just spirit-designs, and I would have found it just as enjoyable. And the environments are nothing short of magical.
April 26, 2023
One of the interesting things present in this book is an eye into the mind of the creators.
You get to learn what their original plans for characters were and how they changed. By the end, someone first thought of as a villain transformed into an ally.
You get to learn what their original plans for characters were and how they changed. By the end, someone first thought of as a villain transformed into an ally.
August 12, 2014
Hoe kan ik hem lezen
January 28, 2015
Lovely art. Not as much Korra as I would have liked but still great.
March 28, 2015
Ang was funnier but Korra is more realistic great read
April 5, 2016
The Team behind Avatar always amazes me with there attention to detail.
February 10, 2016
I wish they would've included some of the weird Pierrot frames like crazy armed Korra or derp face Asami.
June 10, 2017
Lovely
Great book full of amazing pictures as well as insight into behind the scenes of making this series. Need to get my hands on the other books!
Great book full of amazing pictures as well as insight into behind the scenes of making this series. Need to get my hands on the other books!
November 19, 2017
Simply amazing
March 25, 2023
The blue hues of Book 2 are very pleasing to my eye, and although I can recognize its flaws when it comes to the story, the art is superb. ✧
5 stars
5 stars
September 16, 2018
Love the background paintings. Basically everything I said about book 1 applies here.
November 13, 2018
Liking this so far seeing the different art concepts for the character designs and setting or each location.
September 24, 2019
actual rate: 4.50 stars 🌟
August 25, 2020
I know a lot of people don’t love this season, but I really like it! The whole concept of the spirits is so cool and the background art is gorgeous
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews