Book Review - The Art & Making of Swapped
- 18 minutes ago
- 5 min read
July 14th 2026
Swapped from Skydance Animation won over the hearts of its viewers while breaking viewing records on Netflix, making it ones of the most popular animated movies of the year. The story of Ollie and Ivy also came with beautiful visuals, something not possible without the artists at the studio. Fortunately for fans that want more from The Valley and its wildlife, The Art & Making of Swapped from Titan Books is here to share their artwork!
The book was released on June 16th 2026 and Titan Books were kind enough to send me a copy so I can share my thoughts on the book. Their last partnership with Skydance Animation on the WondLa artbook was very impressive, so I was interested in seeing if they had continued that success here.
Build Quality
The Art & Making of Swapped comes as a 192-page hardcover, measuring 18.5cm x 16cm, a good size for an animation artbook. It’s also well-made too, the cover is strong, the paper is high quality, and the binding is secure while offering some flexibility to allow the pages to lay flat with ease. The print finish inside is also excellent and that’s ideal for such a colourful book. The publisher has been doing this a long time, and it certainly shows.
The cover art is also the perfect choice and a new favourite of mine. The image of a young Ollie and Ivy meeting has wonderful colours at sets the perfect expectation for the type of art you can see inside.
Content
Inside the book has hundreds of pieces of artwork alongside written insights and interviews. As you can see in the previews here, the art is stunning throughout. Just like the movie, it carries a charm and style that captures the magic of the fantasy world and its unique nature. You get a great variety as well, from early sketches of the characters and species, through to full colour pieces that capture moments of the story. There are also storyboards and final renders as well, making this a great overall look at the work that went into Swapped.
The character art stands out as the personality of the characters is felt in every image, something that never ceases to impress in the animation space. It’s also fun to see the early designs for species themselves, including the Pookoo, Boogle, and Javan, all of which could have been very different. This is the stuff people like to see, while highlighting the creativity and imagination of the artists.
A great example of this is a section called ‘Forrest Creatures’, which features 7 spreads of art for the wildlife seen in the movie. It’s a mix of birds, reptiles, and mammals that are also part plant as well. I could have enjoyed a whole book of these designs, with the hedgehog-pinecone creature being a personal highlight.
Locations and keyframes are not neglected either, as there are stunning paintings of the all the major places visited in Swapped, from Javan Rock, to the Root Snake Cave. Some is in black and white, and some is in full extravagant colour, but all would look at home framed on a wall. There is even a spread of some watercolour Pookoo homes that was an unexpected but welcome inclusion too.
When it comes to the artwork, the book has a well balances curation of artwork at various stages of production, while allowing people to see why Skydance Animation are able to create worlds people can get lost in.
The book is authored by Ramin Zaheed who does a great job at sharing details with the interviews from the creatives behind the movie. Some of the people interviewed include Director Nathan Greno, Head of Skydance Animation John Lasseter, Head of Story Kendelle Hoyer, and Director of Character Animation Julen Santiago, among others. You get a lot of insights about not just what was used, but how things changed during development, including the visual style.
There is a lot of interesting insights shared about the filmmaking process, as this isn’t just an ‘Art of’ book, so film buffs can get something out of this too. One example is a chapter called ‘The Magic of VFX’, in which the details of the how some of the CGI was created becomes the focus and includes film renders too, so it isn’t just the 2D art team getting their time in the spotlight.
The one issue for me with the text is that there a couple of instances where a sentence ends mid-way through on a page and doesn’t pick up until a few pages later. Not many books do this and for me it breaks up the flow, causing you to turn past the art to finish the paragraph, or makes you go back to re-read the last part again.
Credits
The Art & Making of Swapped does and excellent job at crediting the art on each page and for each image. This is something animation studio artbooks often get right, with Titan Books and Skydance Animation doing a great job at giving the artists their recognition.
Use of Space
This another top job from Titan Books and the book designers, because the pages are filled and there is no wasted space. The art is all in a good size so you can enjoy the details, without images encroaching on each other. The text and credits are also large and clearly readable, utilizing the large page sizes. Thanks to the binding mentioned earlier, there is minimal to no image loss in the centre fold on the spectacular double page spreads, so you can take them all in as intended.
Value
The pricing is what you expect in 2026, with an RRP of $50 or £40, so nothing unusual here. For the quality and content, people interested in the book will find this is a very fair price. The good news is that discounts are already available as well, with over 20% off on Amazon in both the UK and US right now. While these will come and go, it does show that deals can already be found and $40 / £30 is a very attractive price point if you come across it and like what you are seeing in the previews.
Verdict
The Art & Making of Swapped transports you back to The Valley all over again, presenting beautiful artwork and designs that deepens your appreciation of Ollie and Ivy's journey. The look at unused concepts is generous throughout and the interviews highlight the talent and care of the people that helped make Swapped happen. The cover art is also one of my favourites of the few years as well.
Titan Books and Skydance Animation have once again proven that they are delivering incredible high-quality releases, cementing their books as a must have series for animation fans. This is a volume I can easily recommend to animators, artists, and people wanting more from the world of the movie.
If you enjoyed my review, you can order a book for your own collection here;
For more, check out my review of WondLa: The Art & Making of the Limited Series, the previous book released by Skydance and Titan Books here.
