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Sharyn November's Firebird line has the best cover art of any fantasy imprint I've ever seen. Of course I like Thomas Canty and Charles Vess and other individual artists who have not appeared on Firebird covers, but in terms of a line using different artists whose art is consistently eye-catching, pretty, holds up under close and repeated examination, proves that the artists either read the books or a detailed description of them, and shows a consistent vision for the imprint as a whole, Firebird wins hands down.
Go to http://www.firebirdbooks.com/ and click on "cover gallery" and "featured titles" to see what I'm describing.
For a few not on the website, see
Ecstasia: http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142400378.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
Beguilers: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0142501395/ref=sib_rdr_dp/104-0950478-7787166?%5Fencoding=UTF8&no=283155&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&st=books
Compare the stiff pastel unicorns in a bland fantasy landscape on the original covers of Meredith Pierce's FIREBRINGER trilogy and Pamela Dean's SECRET COUNTRY trilogy to their Firebird covers. The art goes from generic and flat for both original trilogies to beasts out of a medieval tapestry dueling in wild swirls of furious color and movement in Pierce's case, and to gorgeous landscapes suggestive of ancient mysteries and dangers hidden by mist in Pamela Dean's:
Pamela Dean:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142501530.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142501433.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142501611.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
Meredith Pierce:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142500534.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142500577.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142500747.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
The covers are consistently romantic (in the old sense, not the kissy one), moody, and often informed by a specific art style. The covers of Lloyd Alexander's WESTMARK trilogy evoke the iconic paintings and propaganda posters his rebels might create, an African mask made of modern materials is the focal point of THE EYE, THE EAR and THE ARM, and the cover of THE WINTER PRINCE is aged and softened like an old scroll.
Rather than the basic fantasy cover, of which the standard example has a white castle in a green forest under a blue sky and a bunch of guys in red and black armor busily fighting while a unicorn looks on, Firebird covers have one simple image and often only or primarily use different shades of the same cover.
I will say that cover art for YA fantasy has gotten much better lately. The Young Wizard series finally has decent art, and the cover of SORCERY AND CECILIA is delicious (although the women on the cover have weirder faces than I noticed when I saw it in the bookshop):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0152046151/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-0950478-7787166#reader-link
But Firebird still rules. Yo, Sharyn, want to drop in and talk about how you pulled this off?
Go to http://www.firebirdbooks.com/ and click on "cover gallery" and "featured titles" to see what I'm describing.
For a few not on the website, see
Ecstasia: http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142400378.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
Beguilers: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0142501395/ref=sib_rdr_dp/104-0950478-7787166?%5Fencoding=UTF8&no=283155&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&st=books
Compare the stiff pastel unicorns in a bland fantasy landscape on the original covers of Meredith Pierce's FIREBRINGER trilogy and Pamela Dean's SECRET COUNTRY trilogy to their Firebird covers. The art goes from generic and flat for both original trilogies to beasts out of a medieval tapestry dueling in wild swirls of furious color and movement in Pierce's case, and to gorgeous landscapes suggestive of ancient mysteries and dangers hidden by mist in Pamela Dean's:
Pamela Dean:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142501530.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142501433.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142501611.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
Meredith Pierce:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142500534.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142500577.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0142500747.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
The covers are consistently romantic (in the old sense, not the kissy one), moody, and often informed by a specific art style. The covers of Lloyd Alexander's WESTMARK trilogy evoke the iconic paintings and propaganda posters his rebels might create, an African mask made of modern materials is the focal point of THE EYE, THE EAR and THE ARM, and the cover of THE WINTER PRINCE is aged and softened like an old scroll.
Rather than the basic fantasy cover, of which the standard example has a white castle in a green forest under a blue sky and a bunch of guys in red and black armor busily fighting while a unicorn looks on, Firebird covers have one simple image and often only or primarily use different shades of the same cover.
I will say that cover art for YA fantasy has gotten much better lately. The Young Wizard series finally has decent art, and the cover of SORCERY AND CECILIA is delicious (although the women on the cover have weirder faces than I noticed when I saw it in the bookshop):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0152046151/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-0950478-7787166#reader-link
But Firebird still rules. Yo, Sharyn, want to drop in and talk about how you pulled this off?