The Art Of ‘In Your Dreams’ Portfolio: Tracing The Visual Development Of Netflix’s Family Gem (EXCLUSIVE)

Netflix has given us exclusive access to the breathtaking digital Art Of portfolio for Alex Woo’s ‘In Your Dreams,’ a meticulously curated collection that brings together work from an impressive roster of artists who helped shape one of Netflix Animation’s most distinctive animated features of 2025.

Click the image below to access the full portfolio:

Designed by production designer Steve Pilcher, the portfolio functions not simply as an art showcase but as a well-thought-out visual statement, reflecting both the film’s collaborative nature and the narrative intent behind every image. We’ll rip the band-aid off quickly here and let you know that, while a physical edition of the portfolio was published, it will not be offered for sale to the general public, and was only sent to people involved with the film.

Directed by Alex Woo and co-directed by Erik Benson, In Your Dreams follows siblings Stevie and Elliot through a series of dream worlds that are surreal, playful, unsettling, and emotionally grounded. The film spent four weeks in Netflix’s global top 10 and also scored a Critics Choice Award. It’s currently a strong contender for one of the Oscars’ five animated feature nominations.

From the outset, Pilcher’s goal was to ensure that design served story above all else, “Whenever I go on a film, it’s not about me bringing a style to the film, it’s about me listening to the film’s story, idea, and concept, and thinking, what is appropriate for this and what would best express this type of film?” he said.

That philosophy guided both the film’s visual development and Pilcher’s work on the portfolio. The collection features a broad range of styles and sensibilities, unified by a shared narrative purpose. Among the artists represented are Danny Arriaga, Jeremy Beaudry, Mike Dutton, Daniel López Muñoz, and Hannah April Beadle, as well as work by Tonko House artists Robert Kondo and Daisuke Tsutsumi. The portfolio also includes storyboard-based compositions by Erik Benson, as well as multiple pieces illustrated or touched up by Pilcher himself.

According to Pilcher, originality must always be earned through intention rather than imitation. “You want to be original. You don’t want to do something that somebody has already done before because you think it’s cool, and you want to copy that. No, no, no! Stay true to what the film is asking for. Those are the biggest things. And to me, that’s kind of freeing enough to make the film,” he told us in a previous interview.

That sense of freedom, paradoxically, came from clearly defined creative boundaries. As Pilcher explained, “I have to set up parameters because I go, ‘How many styles do you want to do and why? And then the question is, why are you doing that style?’ So actually, the parameters are freeing.” The portfolio visually demonstrates this approach, showing how artists could explore wildly different tonal spaces while remaining anchored to a consistent emotional language.

“You create a base to go back to and out from, and back to and out from,” Pilcher said, describing the rhythm that allowed In Your Dreams to move seamlessly between grounded reality and heightened dream logic. That structure ensured that even the most fantastical imagery retained a sense of coherence and emotional truth.

At its core, In Your Dreams is a film about returning, returning to waking reality, to family, and to understanding. That idea is central to the portfolio as well. “At the end of the day, when the film’s all done, where are you? Reality. You’re back on something people can relate to, and you’ve been on this psychological journey, so what did you get out of that?” Pilcher said.

Ultimately, the portfolio stands as a reminder that visual ambition must always serve storytelling. “If you’re thinking about style when you leave a movie more than the story it told you, you’ve failed… So what? Is the film about that?” Pilcher said.

This exclusive digital unveiling offers a rare opportunity to study the collective artistry behind In Your Dreams, not as individual images or anecdotes, but as a cohesive, story-driven body of work.