Illustration Article 12: Book Cover Illustration (Various Artists)
Book cover illustration, like album cover art, can be extremely varied… as long as it fits within the dimensions of the pages. There are exceptions with using text on albums (some covers just have the art, with no album and/or band name). However, I highly doubt that there are exceptions for book covers.
I can say pretty confidently that the book cover needs to feature the book title and the author’s name. This can influence the structure of book cover art, where this text should be formatted or framed into a design where the words fit seamlessly with the illustration.
Another exception to album to cover art is that the art does not necessarily have to reference songs within the album; they can evoke a general emotion, or they can be completely distinct from the album’s contents. Think of The Beatle’s The White Album… there’s not much to think about, is there?
Again, book covers have no such wiggle room, and for good reason. Music is a looser art form that literature. Literature is descriptive—the words can represent literal or metaphorical imagery. An artist can take artistic liberties, but it has to relate to the book’s content in some way. It can be minimalist or extremely complex; the words can be in any font or any style of handwriting. But it has to… you get the picture.
This first example is a cover from The Hideout, which was designed by Ben Jones. The format features simple shapes and limited colors. The black font and rectangular red borders implies high-contrast colors, but the effect is subdued due to the large amount of white negative space. This allows the image to take center-stage; contrasting the clean, thin text and design lines with a messier, linocut-style print. The illustration has black-colored negative space in the form of a silhouette. The “Hideout” that the title mentions is connected to the smaller man hiding inside the larger man’s head. Likely being the same man due to the hat, the man is using his own mind as a hideout.
Karl James Mountford’s book illustrations stood out to me for his sharp, cartoony style and intricate composition. He follows an effective formula for creating something that can stand alone as an illustration, while also featuring specific ideas that define the literary work. The main character is in the center of the page, but fits comfortably within the setting. Aspects of the environment are used for design elements; a popular motif he uses is floral/leaf patterns and placement of animals. The style of his artwork involves layering of flat colors, both saturated and unsaturated. Using flat colors instead gradients makes the contour of each shape stand out. In order to make the various colors and shapes readable, I imagine that there must be considerable preparation in order to separate the foreground and background effectively.
This first cover of Coraline combines the illusion of depth in the background, along with flat patterns that break onto the front plane. Standing out the most is the contrasting colors of reddish orange and turquoise; the parts where they interact make them pop (just look at those clouds!) Coraline stands out from the environment by being mostly black-and-white, but the small elements of red and green attach her to the environment. The grass and flowers look like stamped patterns; the slightly worn and faded shapes give the impression of something old-fashioned and made with care. The red rats running along the plants give a sense of movement within the static plant-life, and frame the author’s name.
This second illustration for The Secret Garden differs greatly in terms of color scheme and framing. Instead of having negative space for designs like in the previous examples, the entire page is filled with the forest environment. There are a greater variety of colors (yellow, pink, brown, pale blue, and purple), but are all-around less saturated. The fox, rabbit, bird, and moth appear to be “stamped” onto the background, making the plants seem more real than the animals. The central character’s palette is filled with more colors from the environment, making her more immersed in the cozy setting. The two trees on either side also frame the girl, title, and author’s name.
I’ve followed M. Dean for her comic pieces, but I noticed she had created cover illustrations in her portfolio. I don’t know if this cover for The Scarlet Letter is official, but it still has successful elements of book design and illustration. Black negative space refers to the conservative era, as well as the dark tones of the story. The only red featured other than on the title and border designs is on the little girls’ dress and hair-tie. (I also enjoy the Picasso-esque style of her face!) She is colored the same as the scarlet letter, connecting her to the adulterous act. The “A” on the woman’s chest is subtle and partially hidden, while the daughter is a bolder marker as a product of sin (to the townspeople).
The formatting of the two walking figures is interesting as well. If you open the book, the characters walk in opposite directions; but if you close the book, they are walking in the same direction. (Sorry I don’t refer to them by their names. I haven’t read the book since high school, so I don’t really remember the characters…)
