Can a book be judged by its cover? Well… yes. In fact, there is an entire industry of artists whose primary job is to convey something about the story within, in an eye-catching way. Cover artists create our very first impression of every book, yet they often work in relative obscurity. Authors and in-book illustrators get front-cover credit, while cover-only artists are relegated to the fine print.
Think about an iconic book cover, like The Lightning Thief, Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone, or Magic Treehouse: Dinosaurs Before Dark. You can imagine it, right? But do you know the names of the cover artists?
They are John Rocco, Mary GrandPré, and Sal Murdocca, respectively.
In this blog post, I want to highlight successful and prolific cover artists in juvenile and young adult fiction. However, public libraries do not have a designated data field for cover artists, so they cannot be easily searched in the library catalog (author searches are easy, and illustrators are searchable as “contributors”). To find these cover artists, I had to manually check every book on our shelves one-by-one. Hardcover books usually credit the artist inside the back flap, beneath the author bio. For a paperback, the credit is usually towards the bottom of the back cover. If you can’t find it, check the fine print on the inside copyright page.
Identifying cover artists is a hobby of mine, and I often check the artist credit before I even look at the plot summary of a new book. Over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good at recognizing certain styles, so I had a few favorites in mind when I started this post. However, preparing for this blog post has introduced me to some amazing new artists, as well.
Juvenile Fiction Artists
Pictured above: The Land of Stories: the Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer, The Dragon Warrior by Katie Zhao, The Bellwoods Game by Celia Krampien.
Brandon Dorman (The Wishing Spell) has been holding down the middle-grade fantasy-adventure market for the last 20 years, and is the first cover artist whose style I really studied and learned to recognize. His artful shading gives his subjects a wonderful 3D-like solidity, which lends a certain realness to even the most magical scenes. I got to meet him at a Mazza Conference!
At present, Vivienne To (The Dragon Warrior) is the most prolific in WPPL’s juvenile fiction section. When I went through our shelves, I found roughly thirty titles with her cover art–and that’s not counting sequels and series! Her digital art tends to have atmospheric backgrounds, and characters with round faces and dark eyes.
Celia Krampien (The Bellwoods Game) has a wonderful and immediately recognizable style. Look for rich, warm coloring with thick but well-integrated outlines. She also has a distinct way of drawing faces that is hard to describe but easy to spot.
Pictured above: Bravelands: Broken Pride by Erin Hunter, Candle Island by Lauren Wolk, and The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill.
Owen Richardson (Bravelands) is another long-time contributor to the field of book cover art. He can be recognized by his misty, glowy scenes and a single, dominant color.
Covers by Dion MBD (Candle Island) tend to have a nostalgic texture, similar to film grain. Look for dreamy lighting and a unified color palette.
Yuta Onoda (The Ogress and the Orphans) uses luminous coloring and a strong black outline. A Japanese illustrator, some of his work is reminiscent of manga.
Young Adult Fiction Artists
Moving into YA fiction, we see more covers that are photo- or typography-based, and there are fewer fully illustrated covers. I was still able to find many exquisitely illustrated covers… but fewer recurring artists. Perhaps in a few years some of those brilliant artists will develop a thriving cover art career. Until then, here are just a few notable names from the Westlake YA collection.
Pictured above: Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan, Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim, Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater, and A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin.
Jeff Östberg (Melt With You) is a Swedish illustrator who combines stark graphics with a limited color palette, resulting in striking, emotional imagery.
Tran Nguyen (Six Crimson Cranes) often illustrates stories that are set in or inspired by Asia. Keep an eye out for lovely natural texture from colored pencils; she is one of the few cover artists who draws and paints traditionally.
Charlie Bowater (Bravely) draws strong, beautiful fantasy protagonists. Look for particularly luscious hair and a telltale “smolder” expression.
Art by Sija hong (A Magic Steeped in Poison) often features warm pink tones, and everything is very smooth. Exquisitely colored, semi-abstract patterning flows out from the focal point.
Conclusion
The next time you’re browsing, take a moment to look at a few book covers. Are there any artists you can recognize? Is there a particular style that makes you more curious about the book? Cover artists give us our first glimpse into countless written worlds, so let’s recognize and appreciate their hard work!
