James Annal art director at Macmillan Publishers commissioned Larry Rostantto produce these wonderful cinematic and striking covers for the top British Sci-fi writer Peter F. Hamilton's new title and hefty backlist.
These beautiful stylish covers, are very much of the film poster and video game genre ...
Larry Rostant is well known for producing stunning photographic covers in the science fiction and fantasy areas of publishing and so this was the ideal commission and a great tribute to his work - James Annal who produced the design has included unique and stunning spines, which are made of stripes of colours which should help make the books stand out from others on the shelves!
Yehrin Tong illustrated the cover for Michel Faber's latest novel 'The Book of Strange New Things'. Commissioned by Canongate's Art Director Rafi Romaya, Yehrin's work has a quality, beauty and sensitivity that married perfectly with the cover Rafi wanted to create.
Rafi explains that "for award-winning writer Michel Faber’s first novel in over twelve years we wanted to create a jacket that was something rather special. However, the brief itself was pretty open in terms of how we could achieve this and create an iconic jacket that reflects the emotion of the novel in an original and fresh way."
"It’s a book about relationships and environments...the cover was conceived as a droplet that could also represent a human tear of both joy or sadness. I really liked simplicity and symbolism the teardrop shape gave. I wanted the teardrops to dance like a musical script and the jacket to give you a sense of wonder, a sense of possibilities – like shining a magnifying glass on a universe made up of the same stardust that created all of us. It was also a great central motif that’s a very pure icon for such big ideas."
"First visuals toyed with the idea of raindrops/teardrops, shattered lettering, metal covers even to create a very tactile object. The concept developed with the teardrop as the central icon. Texture was created through the illustration and the use of a foil to create a 'stardust' effect on the jacket."
"There's a theme of repetition and rhythm to my work" describes Yehrin, "much like a musical riff with subtle nuances, that lends itself well to the sense of undulating fluidity, warmth and emotion that we were looking for."
On finally receiving her copy of the book Yehrin said: "The final effect is mesmerising. It looks beautiful as the light changes and plays with the foil giving it a feeling of movement. The texture of the foil has a very tactile braille-like quality to it. It looks timeless, other-worldly and I'm delighted with the result."
The cover art has been really well received so far with by far the best review from the author, Michel Faber himself, who comments: “...you produced a thing of great beauty. The design is elegant, it repays a long gaze (beguilingly detailed without being fussy -- a sort of intricate minimalism), it's very relevant to the book's themes, and it's irresistibly tactile.”
'The Book of Strange New Things' is now published and available to buy from Canongate books.
Cooking for Chaps is a stylish, cookbook with a difference, it's an essential guide to gastronomy for the man about town, written by Gustav Temple, editor of The Chap magazine. Gustav specifically requested David Hitch to illustrate his first cookery book as he felt that the illustrator, well known of his PG Wodehouse covers, could capture the quintessential English gentleman. David's colour and black and white illustrations beautiful compliment the recipes and advice for the modern gentleman to ensure culinary magnificence.
On September 1st the new editions of the Harry Potter books, with covers illustrated by award-winning Jonny Duddle were published for the next generation of Harry Potter readers. For Jonny, it's been the culmination of an intense six months during which he had to read all seven of JK Rowling's books, watch eight film adaptations and draw new front and back covers for each book as well as illustrate the box sets. The result is a stunning set of covers and presentation boxes which are a perfect gift for collectors and new readers alike.
Read The Telegraph's Arts Writer, Alice Vincent's revealing interview with Jonny about how he re-imagined the Harry Potter book jackets for a new generation.
Macmillan Publishers just launched six stunning books for their new Young Sherlock series! Illustrated by hugely talented artist Steve Stone (also well known for his Percy Jackson covers and other successful young adult fiction covers worldwide) the books are written by Andrew Lane and Art Directed by Rachel Vale
Steve was hired to produce strong, cinematic images for this prestigious series.
Carrie May created this wonderful cover for Nicholas Barreau’s ‘The Secret Paris Cinema Club’ published by Quercus. Carrie’s lovely illustration and typography have resulted in a beautiful cover with a handcrafted feel.
Adrian Valencia has been commissioned to illustrate five covers for the "Girls on Tour" series of books by Nicola Doherty. Poppy Does Paris is the first book in the series and Adrian's usual attention to detail and beautiful use of colour make for a great cover.
Steve May's lifetime ambition to draw his comic heroes Dennis The Menace and Gnasher has been realised at last. Diary of Dennis The Menace is the first title in a brand new series, written by Steven Butler and published this month by Puffin. Steve was initially asked to submit samples of both characters - the brief he was given: "Dennis would need to retain the high smile that sits just below the nose and eyes, plus his typical features – spikey hair, red and black jumper and shorts etc, but the Beano are keen for the illustrator to leave their mark on this. Being Dennis the Menace, the illustrations can afford to be anarchic and quite dominant throughout the book.”
Of course, Steve loves a bit of anarchy and his response was to produce these amazing character designs! Gordon Tait from DC Thomson & Co aka The Beano HQ said: " I think it's safe to say we were all very excited when Steve's initial drawings came through and for us the choice was pretty much a no-brainer as they say… it was exactly what we were looking for."
Steve went on to illustrate the cover and black and white illustrations for the insides, with added splats, ink blots, fingerprints and paw prints to emphasise the handwritten diary feel.
Sarah Perkins illustrated this beautiful cover for the new Rosie Thomas novel, 'The Illusionists' which is published this month by Harper Collins in hardback and ebook.
Larry Rostant has been honing his already highly regarded photographic skills to such a degree that his work has been recognised by Graphis - as a GOLD winner with his work appearing in the current Photography Annual 2014. The winning photograph entitled: Domestic Goddess shows a cheery mutated vision of 1950's femininity.
Larry's work is well known in the publishing and advertising circles having worked as highly regarded illustrator and photographer for many years.
