Hey everyone! Meredith from Pandora’s Books here. For those who don’t know, I’m doing a joint Blogoversary celebration with Kayla and Stacie from A Wonderland of Reading. The festivities started on May 26 (their one-year Blogoversary) and will end on June 24 (my one-year Blogoversary). We’ll be alternating days and providing fun guest posts from our fellow bloggers and author friends. You can visit A Wonderland of Reading to see the first post and learn more about the details and the grand prize giveaway!
So today, I have the AMAZING INCREDIBLE WONDERFUL Kayla from A Wonderland of Reading here with an epically awesome guest post. Kayla is my blogging BFF, my partner in crime and an all-around, wonderfully bookish person. Hosting this event together, along with the equally epic Stacie, has been beyond fun! So, without further adieu, please welcome Kayla!
~*~*~*~*~*~
Hi everyone, Kayla here! I’m here to talk about something that has always really fascinated me, which is (fan)art inspired by books and/or their covers. There are some covers out there that are beautiful masterpieces all by themselves. Examples being:
 |
 |
 |
 |
Now, I don’t know about you but covers can really make it or break it for me, especially if I’m just browsing for new books. Covers themselves are a form of art. They can be very simple, very elegant, beautiful and eye catching, or sometimes dull. Like with all forms of art, people have many different tastes and takes and it goes right along with covers as well. A cover that might look dumb to me may be absolutely stunning to you. Or in case like The Burning Sky, I see a phoenix on the cover but someone out there may say they see a dragon or something.
There’s no right or wrong interpretation when it comes to art, which is one of the reasons I love fanart so much. It’s really someone’s interpretation of a cover or a book or a person. How they see it, how they like it, what they want to see it as, etc. A cute example would be Sara from Forever 17 Books‘ feature, A Kid’s Perspective. Sara has her son look at a cover of a book and then draw it out for himself and then tell what the book is about based on the cover. An example being:
 |
 |
It catches the major essence of the cover but Shawn added his own spin. While I think the cover of Cinder is really supposed to focus more on the shoe and Cinderella, he focuses more on the metal in her leg.
There’s the method of viewing someone else’s (young or old) interpretation and having them draw what they see and think, or you can go the more technological way for fan art. Another feature I just find adorable is Becca from Pivot Book Reviews‘ feature Cover Puppies. She takes gorgeous covers and redoes them with her dogs! Absolutely adore! Here’s an example:
 |
 |
She’s also drawn them:
 |
 |
Both are down right adorable yet still capture the cover! I love how she’s incorporated her dogs into books like this!
Denise from Dandelionn Wine Book Blog, who actually designed the Dream Team buttons for Erica Cameron’s Street Team (and I have one on my blog!), goes the more interesting route! Case in point:
While she herself didn’t draw any of this, she combined several pictures, from the covers of the series to pictures that I assume either are scenes from the books or have meaning in them (still have to read Bloodlines myself), to form her own unique interpretation of things! Another example that shows there’s no right or wrong way to do fanart or express your love for a book/series!
Stephanie from Ohana Reads shows off her love for books in a couple of ways! She does excellent photography and, my personal favorite, designs these awesome book charms of books she likes! Examples being:
(Ugh I would kill to have one of those book charms!!)
She’s taken her love, and talent, for photography and included books into it as well as crafted these charms for books. While these include the exact books and covers, she’s still able to place her own spin and personality into it which is one of the things fanart is made for!
Finally, you could even go the route I went. I discovered I have a talent for stippling, so I draw/paint/color/design/etc a cover. I recently did the cover for Splintered by A.G. Howard. Here’s the result of that:
And I think I did pretty well if I do say so myself! After I realized that it’s fun, I’m good at it, you can tell what it is and what it’s from, and the author (and readers) like it I decided I’d continue to do it! I already plan on doing Unhinged and Ensnared by Anita as well as Fallen or Torment by Lauren Kate! Hopefully they turn out as well as this piece did!
Books are amazing, and their covers sometimes breathtaking, but the best part about them is they aren’t just for reading. They can inspire people far beyond that. To do art that they never would’ve tried before (like me) or sometime fun to do to express their love for a book. It’s amazing to see what people can come up with, especially when it comes to fan art!
~*~*~*~*~*~
Along with Kayla’s wonderful post, we have an epic prize to give away – a $5 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble
So, the rules:
-Giveaway is INT (Since I can email the gift card to the winner)
-Winner has 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond, a new winner will be selected.
-You must be 13 or older to enter OR have your parents’ permission.
-I am not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items.
-I reserve the right to change any rules as I see fit for each individual giveaway
*The above giveaway rules were borrowed and modified from Jessica @ Just a Book Lover.
With that being said, I wish you luck! May the odds be ever in your favor!
