In an interview with
Pioneer Press, artist Mary GrandPre admits she had to be persuaded by publisher Scholastic to take the job as illustrator for the U.S. Harry Potter books back in 1997 as she was busy with other assignments.
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I look at this whole thing as a fluke. I happened to be invited to do this job. Because of the writing - nothing I did - it turned into an amazing literary experience, and I just happen to be the illustrator.
Luckily she did accept the job and since that time has seen her drawing of Harry Potter on the cover of
Time magazine, traveled extensively speaking about her work, and had dinner with author J.K. Rowling.
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She struck me as a regular mom. She brought her daughter along, and I think the nanny was with us, too, but her first priority was making sure her daughter was okay and had everything she needed ... we tend to put famous people on a pedestal; we don't think of them with their families, so when we do, it's, like, 'Oh, yeah, they're kind of like us.' That's what I thought: 'She's kind of like us.'
If she could go back in time, would she have done anything differently artistically?
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The art grew up as Harry did, too. I've grown a lot as an artist, and I feel like the last cover is my best. If I could, I'd redo the first three or four - get a little more realism, get closer up on Harry, more drama - but you have to live with what you've done.
The first couple, three covers, definitely, they were smaller figures; it was more about a big scene happening in the book. And then we started to close in on Harry and started to deal more with mood or atmosphere. For the last one, I took the curtains from the first cover and put them on the last one. I brought back some of the jeweled tones but kept the more strongly rendered Harry.
Grandpre told the
Detroit Free Press that she gets a kick out of seeing fans’ reactions to the early releases of the covers and the scrutiny over the images.
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I try to make everything have a meaning. ... There is a reason why something is in the illustration. I don't just put it in because it looks better. It really does have to have a meaning or part of the story has to support it.
Although Grandpre’s fee was increased a bit after the first three books, she says she hasn’t made enough money to put her daughter through college.
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No, no, I wish. Still no royalties. Just a flat fee. It's a nice pay, but I'm not a rich woman.
Unfortunately, with book one, nobody knew then (how big Harry would get). I had signed agreements that weren't in balance with what was going to happen.
However, as illustrator for the series, GrandPre does get the perk of getting to read the books ahead of time.
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There are just a few of us who have read book seven. The manuscript is flown down to me. I keep it in a safe once it gets here. I don't talk to anybody about when I get it or where I keep it. I sign a paper promising that I won't. It's all very legal and protected, and I have to sign confidentiality agreements. It's very serious stuff. Because if it gets out, if there's any kind of theft or leak, that's huge.
I do get nervous, but my family - we don't even talk about it. My friends don't bring it up. I'll get calls, from reporters or people who know it's coming up, and they'll ask me who dies. Of course, I can't answer. I can't even say I know.
I really do like book seven. I really, really did. Not that it was easy to read. There are some very sad things in there, and I can't say what they are. But I think it was really well done.
Grandpre makes “pencil roughs” (tracing paper drawings) and then uses pastels. The sketches for book seven took her about 2 ½ months to complete.
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I take a lot of notes and I highlight the parts that describe what characters look like. I think about which scenes would make a good cover or a chapter heading, and all this is discussed with the art director. We go back and forth, coming up with ideas.
I do have to be careful to not give anything away as far as what's going to happen. My focus was, 'How do I do this last book justice as an illustrator? What can I do to make it special?' Because it was the last one. I hope it brings the words to life. Because that's the role of an illustrator, that's your first priority - to bring the writing to life, to be true to the writing. I would hope I've added some magic and life to some really wonderful writing.
There was some relief, too, when it was done, to be done with that part of my career. Now, I can move on.
Mary GrandPre "Now I can move on" 
Loved it!
A true friend | You're here 'til the end 
