Artwork and Design
Cover Art
The covers for The View from the Mirror Quartet were all done by Mark Sofilas based on concepts prepared by the author and others. The following sequence shows stages in development of the covers for the Quartet, which have been used worldwide.
Initial concepts were developed around Ian's kitchen table by Ian, Anne and Barrie Collins. An awkward early sketch by Ian is shown below (1996).
The cover for A Shadow on the Glass was inspired by a glorious coloured pencil sketch and graphic overlay by designer Barrie Collins (1997).
The Tower on the Rift cover was based on sketches by the author. The following image shows the author's rough pencil sketch for the tower of Katazza (1997).
The cover for Dark is the Moon is closely based on original Bryce 3D artwork by Simon Irvine, done when he was at high school (1998).
The Way Between the Worlds cover went through many drafts. The final cover is partly based on original Bryce 3D artwork by Angus and Simon Irvine while they were at high school. Simon did the volcanic landscape of Aachan and the Aachim buildings, while Angus created the portal and the landscape seen through it (1999).
The cover is also partly based on a rather amateurish coloured pencil sketch by the author (1999), proving that he's no artist.
The cover for The Last Albatross, by Simon Leong, is based on a computer artwork involving ice crystals growing over a feather by Simon Irvine (2000).
The Australian covers for Geomancer and Tetrarch were painted by Nick Stathopoulos based on suggestions by the author and design concepts by Cathy Larsen. The cover illustration for Scrutator is by Marco Nero.
Geomancer won the Galaxy Bookshop Award for Best Designed Fantasy/Science Fiction Book at the Australian Publisher's Association 50th Annual Book Design Awards.
The astounding UK cover illustrations are by Lee Gibbons.
Designs
All Ian's fantasy books were designed by Cathy Larsen of the Penguin Design Studio, Melbourne. The symbol on the Mirror, also by Cathy Larsen, is based on original artwork by Ian. The original image below was done by Anne in gold and silver leaf and crimson ink (1997).
The glyphs surrounding the Mirror on all four covers were created by Cathy Larsen, loosely based on designs by Ian, inspired by various South Asian scripts. The layout of these glyphs on the four Australian covers corresponds to the puzzle in The Way between the Worlds. In the Orbit and Warner covers, however, some glyphs have been moved and others added, so the arrangement no longer corresponds to the text.
The symbol for The Well of Echoes is based upon a 3-D minimal surface Scherk-Collins structure. For more on algebraic topology, see http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~sequin/SCULPTS/scherk.html
Maps
All the maps were hand drawn by Ian Irvine, based on door-sized maps created during his world-building phase of the late 1970's and early 80's. Part of one of the earliest maps is shown below (1978).
The final map of Lauralin and Meldorin is shown below, redrawn at A4 size from an original approximately 2 metres high by 1 metre wide. The map is extensively modified from the original, including redrawing in reverse. The maps were lettered by Cathy Larsen.
