by Duncan McCay
Spring 2016 Intern
I remember two things about the
Harry Potter novels—besides the fantastic writing—from my youth. First, they
were a great way for me to remain entertained during my older brother’s hockey
practices, much to the delight of my father. Second, I recall the colorful cover
art that drew me into reading each of the books I owned. What I did not realize
was that the illustrations on the covers of my books were not the only versions
that drew a multitude of people into reading the imaginative adventures of the
boy wizard. While I was reading Scholastic’s American edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
and my first image of Harry was him flying on a broomstick underneath a golden
arch, people in Britain were introduced to Harry as he stood in front of his first
train to Hogwarts, excited to start the life of a wizard.
By this point in time, there has
been a wealth of cover art released for the series, like Scholastic’s fifteenth anniversary edition
in 2013, designed by Kazu Kibuishi. Releasing this new artwork sparked interest
in the books again for both former and new readers. More recently, publishers decided
to take renewed artwork far past the cover. For the newest release, the
publisher wanted to shift how readers would experience the series entirely, by
adding illustrations on nearly every page. How immersive would reading the
series be for someone if there were illustrations coinciding with the reading?
As long as the artist gets it right—very immersive.
Creating illustrations for the world’s
most successful book series was not without its stresses for award-winning illustrator
Jim Kay, for obvious reasons. But that pressure seemed to work well for Kay,
because a quick view of
some of the images from Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Illustrated Edition shows that Kay took his
role seriously, and improved the way in which a reader would interact with the
book.
For the Sorcerer’s Stone alone, Jim Kay created more than 115 images,
using mediums like pencil, charcoal, wax crayons, house paint, oil paint and
acrylic paint. Just think, by the time the illustrated edition of each
installment of the series is published (one is due to come out every year,
ending in 2021), Kay may have produced nearly a thousand images, each one with
its own unique look to captivate readers. I can only imagine how I could have further
lost myself in the series if these illustrations were in the books when I was
younger, even with the sound of pucks smacking plexiglass all around me.
Did You Know?
For the extreme Potter fan, Bloomsbury
has released a deluxe edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,
The Illustrated Edition. It includes a “pullout double gatefold of
Diagon Alley; intricate foiled line art by Jim Kay on the real cloth cover and
slipcase; gilt edges on premium grade paper; head and tail bands; and two
ribbon markers.”
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