This illustrated book cover was created as a personal passion project for my portfolio - based on A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. The story follows Feyre, a mortal girl who’s taken into the fae realm after killing a wolf in the woods, and who must navigate love, politics, and ancient curses in a world divided between courts of magic and war.

Having read the book really helped me get a feel for the atmosphere and the tone of the story, which I think makes a big difference when designing a book cover that actually feels true to the world. I was able to bring in more thoughtful details from the story this way - like Tamlin’s gold mask with whorls of emeralds, the Calanmai festival fires, Feyre’s painted chest of drawers, and her bow and arrow - symbolically embedded into wolf’s snowy paw prints, signifying the end of its life.

I wanted to explore a split narrative layout that reflects both the mortal and fae realms described in the book, using environmental storytelling and symbolic props to guide the viewer through Feyre’s journey. The gilded lushness of the Spring Court’s rose bushes from the front cover contrast with the darker, bare bushes of the human world on the back cover. I began with a rough thumbnail sketch to lay out the concept, refined it into a detailed final sketch, then moved through flat colours and final rendering, followed lastly by hand-lettering for the front cover and typography for the back cover.

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