Authors and Artists: The Ultimate Combination

In my last post, I mentioned the emerging possibilities of authors and artists working together to create a new kind of enriched e-book.  Scott Westerfield seems to have taken a step in that direction with the release of his young adult novel “Leviathan.”  Westerfield worked with Keith Thompson, an artist who produced fifty black and white illustrations (most full-page) to visually represent the world of Leviathan.  Combined with a gorgeous cover rich with colorful steampunk art, Thompson’s illustrations made it impossible for me to resist picking up the book as I passed it in the store.  The e-book also contains the illustrations, though the cover would not be displayed in color on the e-readers of today.  Perhaps this is where the iPad will start establishing its dominance before moving into the interactive possibilities of e-books.

Westerfield was interviewed about collaboration, and Thompson added his own experiences with the year-long illustration process.  This time period, which seems to be a typical length (according to other illustrators), means that any author/artist partnership needs to be a serious consideration early in the writing process.  But when an author is not sure that his or her novel will even get published, or that a publishing house would agree to print the art with the book, why even consider this option?  I’m sure many speculative fiction writers would jump at the chance to illustrate their creations, if these problems could be overcome; I certainly would.  Though an untested model (as far as I know), e-books may step in to bypass this stopgap.