Study of Aragog by Jim Kay, for The Chamber of Secrets

Imagine, if your greatest fear was spiders, how you might feel meeting an Acromantula. Jim Kay’s image of Aragog captures every creepy detail of the carnivorous spider that Harry and Ron encountered in the Forbidden Forest. In the background, hundreds of spiders’ legs become indistinguishable from the spiky trees around them. The strands of the spiders’ webs gleam white in Harry’s wandlight. This preparatory painting was layered with a watercolour tone and edited to create the final image.