Book Review: The Art of The Mitchells vs The Machines

The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a 3D animated film released in 2021. The movie is directed by Michael Rianda and produced by Sony Pictures Animation.

This 224-page large format hardcover artbook features the concept art created for the film. The book is packed with loads of fun looking hand drawn art. What I really like about the art is the 2D animation style mixed with 3D models. 2D hand drawn art will always have that looseness and caricature style which is difficult to replicate exactly to 3D, but in this film they managed to mix 2D with 3D quite effectively. When I first watched the trailer, I had to do a double take and ask myself if this is a 2D or 3D animated film.

The artists have managed to populate the world with so much details and life. The environments and interiors all look so "lived in" and makes you go "yeah, someone definitely would live in this".

The are text talking about the characters and the story. I enjoy reading about the responsibilities of different staff, eg director Michael Rianda, head of story Guillermo Martinez, production designer Lindsey Olivares, art director Toby Wilson, lead colour designer David R. Bleich, head of character animation Alan Hawkins and VFX supervisor Mike Lasker.

This is a terrific artbook for those who love hand drawn art and, of course, the movie. Highly recommended.

This book was borrowed from Basheer Graphic Books for review purposes. You can order the book from them. Check with Basheer on Facebook.

The Art of The Mitchells vs The Machines is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | AU | JP | CN)

The Art of The Mitchells vs The Machines - 02