Fun With Artwork
Posted on February 4, 2011 Posted by John Scalzi 15 Comments
I liked Paul Kidby’s art for the French version of Agent to the Stars so much that I bought it. And here it is. And it looks fabulous. Paul was also kind enough to offer me the black and white sketch he did for the cover, which is also fabulous, in a monochromatic fashion, so now I have that too. How awesome is that. I mean, it’s cool enough just that people create covers for things I write. But to get to own it too? Well. I like my life, is what I have to say to that.
Very cool. I was trying to think what the cover on the version I read looked like, and realized that I must have bought it during my brief love affair with the kindle. One more reason why I don’t buy electronic books anymore. Sooner or later I’m going to have to go out and get a copy of everything I bought in e-format. It’s just not the same.
Oh, that’s a Kidby? Explains why its SO AWESOME. (He does a lot of Pratchett art too.)
Lucky lucky lucky you. (Did I say lucky?)
@Billy Quiets: A lot of companies are doing cover art for their ebook editions now. Frex, I’m totally in love with the new covers for the Wheel of Time books that Tor commissioned and will probably be snagging those for my Nook Color shortly. (Although I have an ongoing beef with poor Darrell K. Sweet’s rendition of the WoT characters for the print books in the US so it was easy for me to be wowed.) Sam Weber’s rendition of Mat made me totally look up his website right then and there. Plenty of reasons not to love ebooks, but missing out on cover art is probably not going to be an issue for much longer. :)
@Scalzi: I think I need a French edition of Agent to the Stars now, after, um, three minutes of thought. (Sorry about posting so close, I just realised that I had more to say after my initial rush of mad envy.)
I own original cover art for one of the books of a favorite author. I know how much *OMGsqueeOMG* ridiculousness that generates in me. Pondering how cat that ate the canary you must be kind of makes me want to write a book worth publishing so I can try me some of that.
VERY nice. Doesn’t Kidby do the Terry Pratchett covers these days?
I think the real fabulous here is the living.
Could you please put up a picture of the black & white sketch as well?
Very cool. I know that if I ever get published I want a poster of the cover of my first book so I can put it up on the wall as a reminder of what I accomplished.
Rajesh:
You can see it here.
dtrasler:
Yes, Kidby does the Pratchett covers, too.
Certainly he is a Gallic looking fellow, no?
Can you please tell me a little more about the art? Is it a high-dpi printout of a computer file, or is it paint on some kind of board? I’m guessing masonite… Either way, handle it gently until it gets in a frame.
Love this. It’s amazing how different the French and German covers are.
Having read the book with the nifty retro looking cover, I defnitely prefer Kidby’s vision. Excellent. Lucky you to have the original. Enjoy it.
What better way for a writer to decorate the house? My wife surprised me with the cover for “politically correct Bedtime Stories” at a party, and it’s one of my prized possessions.
Thanks John. Looks great.