The movie was great in itself, but the art style was what made me come back to it again and again. It was simple yet amazingly intricate, and called back to the medieval illuminations by which it was inspired, particularly the illustrations in the famous Book of Kells. I first saw The Secret of Kells a few years ago and immediately fell in love with the art style. When I visited Ireland in 2015 I made a point to see the real Book of Kells (and immediately got the sound Perfect, perfect, perfect. Definitely recommended for fans of animation or art books in general.more And the book itself is hefty and bound well - just the way a coffee table book should be. There’s a big focus on environments, especially in the forest section, but there’s a fair amount of character work as well.
It’s also really cool to see how illumination and Gaelic design influenced the team throughout their process. But the artwork is the true focus here, showcasing plenty of splash pages and exploratory sketches. The structure follows the basic plot and includes commentary from team members about behind-the-scenes decisions and how their style evolved. That same spirit translates over to this art book, which is a trove of concept and production art for the animated movie. It’s also really cool to If you’ve ever watched The Secret of Kells, you know that the studio Cartoon Saloon doesn’t do things halfway.
If you’ve ever watched The Secret of Kells, you know that the studio Cartoon Saloon doesn’t do things halfway.