Fun for Monday: Halloween Book Covers Tag

This is an original tag created by Kristen over at Moonlight and Metaphors that I was particularly attracted to because Kristen’s rules are so relaxed:

“It’s really simple. All you have to do is find a book cover for each topic! It can be covers you love, books you’ve read, random covers – there are no rules. You can put your own spin on things. Do what you want 🙂 Just have fun…”

Yay! Can do! I am so hijacking this tag to talk about some of my favourite cover artists! (Whilst keeping it spooktastic, of course).

Artwork Credit: Sergey Niven from 123RF.com

 

Skull/Skeleton/Bones

This is Chris Panatier at his ink and watercolour best. And yes, that’s the same Chris Panatier who just wrote The Phlebotomist for which he also did the cover art. You can find more of Panatier’s work here.

 

Pumpkin

I first fell in love with Jon Foster when I saw those Mistborn covers, I love the point-of-view and feeling of motion in all three. He also did the art for Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker, a book I got for it’s cover alone (and still haven’t read).

You can see an impressive cross section of Foster’s work on his website here.

 

Blood

Not blood maybe, but that red is vicious, isn’t it? And this cover by Jeremy Wilson is just too pretty to ignore!

On Wilson’s website there are further brilliant pieces; I particularly like his Witcher, his Pinhead and his fabulous alt poster for Big Trouble in Little China!

 

Spiders, Bats, or other creepy creatures

(For the record, bats are not creepy but adorable, and spiders are the quietest lodgers/roommates I’ve ever had, but I take the point).

I wasn’t a fan of this book (or its predecessor), but it’s another one I picked up because of its cover. The design is by Rob Grom and the photographer was Geoff Spear. I don’t know who made the paper spiders …

 

Something Witchy

Oh my goodness, I love Jillian Tamaki’s artwork so so much and this cover is perfect.

She also did the illustrations and cover art for a Folio Society edition of Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea which you can see on her tumblr here, and you can really appreciate her range and talent if you take a look at her website here.

I have two of her graphic novels on my list of books to buy too – if heart-eyes were a real thing, my eyes would be huge pulsing blood-pumps right now.

 

Severed Body Part

Another book that’s on the to-buy list, I love this kind of bold, graphic design style. Designer and illustrator Will Staehle is responsible for it, and he’s done a heap of covers that I love, as you can see below.

His website is fabulous.

 

Full Moon

Sija Hong, everybody. Go visit her website now and step into a world of myth and magic.

You’re welcome.

 

Cemetery

I have to admit that Chris Riddell, Childrens’ Laureate for 2015-2017, leaves me a little speechless. I follow him on both Twitter and Instagram where he frequently knocks out blue pencil sketches of dragons (all the hearts forever!) and shares his political sketchbook. You can also find more of his work on his tumblr.

 

Haunted House

I particularly like this Corgi cover for The Haunting of Hill House, but unfortunately, it’s another that I can’t find any information about. There’s a kickass post over at BookRiot about the variety of covers that have been produced for this book. If I have a favourite, it has to be the one below by Aron Weisenfeld. He works in charcoal and while I don’t think he’s done much else in the way of cover art, his website shows off a lot more of his incredible work.

 

Ghost

Yeah, I know there isn’t actually a ghost on the cover, but there’s the suggestion of something ghostly happening there. The artist, Christian McGrath, also did the cover art for P Djeli Clark’s The Black God’s Drums, which I love.

Oh, yeah, and his is also the hand that painted Butcher’s Dresden Files covers, which you can see on his website here.

 

Classic Monster (Vampire, Werewolf, Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster etc)

(You’ll have to trust me on this one, unless you’ve already read this and know what kind of creature you’re looking at).

This cover by Daria Hlazatova is just frigging awesome. I hadn’t come across her work before seeing this cover and she is my latest love. You can find her on Instagram and there’s a cool article about her here by Enchanted Living Magazine.

 

Candy

This folky style is just so pretty. Pretty like … say … candy! (What? It’s the best I could do!)

I first came across Aitch’s work when I read Frances Hardinge’s A Skinful of Shadows and I immediately scurried off to see what else she’d done. You can see her website here and more of her work here on the Central Illustration Agency’s website. Feast your eyes.

 

Someone in a costume or mask

Wouldn’t this make a great Halloween costume?

I haven’t read this yet either, but I do love Tommy Arnold’s covers for both Gideon and Harrow the Ninth. If you take a look at his website you’ll see that he’s got a knack for capturing strong (fully dressed!) women.

 

Orange and Black

I have a penchant for typography – a big one – so this cover by Dale Halvorsen, aka Joey HiFi is right up my street. Then again, just about everything that Halvorsen does floats my boat.

You can find him on both Instagram and Twitter.

 

Something Creepy

I don’t actually think birds are creepy. I just want to share this cover with you because otherwise you might not come across Erica Williams’ delicious, decadent style and that would be heart-breaking. She has also done the cover for Bowling’s latest book In the Shadow of Heroes (depending on how you feel about goats, this might be creepier …?) and you can see lots more of her work on her website. *Swoon*.

 

Oh my goodness! I’ve just gone on and on! It’s your turn!

Do you have any favourite artists or book covers? Share your favourite eye-food with me (and the interweb)!

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