Book Review: The Art of Google Spotlight Stories

Special thanks to Gallery Nucleus for sending over the book for this review.

First of all, if you haven't downloaded the Google Spotlight Stories app (Android | iOS), stop reading now and go download it, and also download some of the stories available in the app.

Google Spotlight Stories (GSS) is a platform for creators to share stories that were made to take advantage of VR, aka virtual reality. Imagine you're an audience watching a theatre play. With GSS you're not really sitting on a chair in front, you're sort of like "on the stage" with the actors. You can turn around to look at the actors and the set. When I first experienced one of the stories, I was blown away by this new way of storytelling. It's just so "wow!" Anyway, the app and the stories are free so you really need to go download them to see for yourself.

The Art of Google Spotlight Stories is the 140-page paperback that collects the concept and production art of selected stories from GSS. 12 stories are included. Each story has their own artistic style. You get to see coloured illustrations and sketches. Glen Keane is the director for one of the stories and his sketches are in the book. The artworks look beautiful by themselves but if you have watched the stories, you will be able to appreciate the artworks even more because now you've seen how the art has translated to screen.

This is a wonderful book. My only quibble is there's not much text other than the foreword and credits for the artists. I would love to read about how they actually produce those stories in animated form.

This book is available at https://www.gallerynucleus.com/detail/24680/