You can check out the art book for Luca for free

Disney has made the art book for Pixar’s Luca available to read online. The PDF can be found on Disney’s website, and shows some of the gorgeously messy concept art and how it evolved into the final film.

When Polygon spoke to director Enrico Casarosa ahead of the film’s release, he talked at length about trying to capture the imperfections of hand drawn art in the computer, bringing that warmth and expressiveness to the otherwise pristine and perfect computer models.

“The way I draw is expressive and silly. It’s not refined. It’s not beautiful paintings — it’s like a caricature or something,” he said. “You learn to be very expressive as a story artist, and there was something about those drawings that you fall in love with, because they’re goofy. They’re funny. They’re a little unusual.”

You can certainly see that human hand in the concept art, especially in the character designs. The first sketches for fearless Alberto, found on pages 66 and 67, really capture his zany, messy energy. It’s easy to see how that translated into his final design. The art book also includes some photos of the Pixar research trip to the Italian riviera, along with the sketches of the coastline that came from it.

Luca premiered on Disney Plus on June 18, 2021. In the movie, two young sea monster boys venture to a human town for the first time and enter a contest together so that they can win a Vespa and see the world. It’s a beautiful pocket of sweet childhood summers and touches on the big feelings that come with first defining friendships.

Disney isn’t the only studio putting up art books online during award season. Earlier this month, Netflix put up the art book for The Mitchells vs. the Machines.

Luca and companion short Ciao Alberto are available on Disney Plus.