#Tag · bonfire.cafe

CRYSTAL SINGER (1981)
Acrylic - 20" x 30"

Most of my sketches for this cover dealt with the interrelationship between the protagonist Killashandra and the black crystals she has a special affinity for. 1/4

#sciencefiction #illustration #annemccaffrey #delreybooks

A raven haired woman in brown jumpsuit and knee-high boots holds out a crystal, black at its base but transparent at the faceted edges. It shows through magenta against a pale pink sky. Her knees are bent, her back arched, straining in an awkward pose. Her eyes are pressed closed overcome with ecstasy. A large moon frames her head and one shoulder. A high-tech gauntlet covers her right hand up to her wrist, projecting outward in a slender needle with a bubble forming at its tip. The rock upon which she stands is covered with green alien lichen. Cool jagged mountains fill the low background with crystalline peaks pointing in chaotic directions—up and at diagonals to frame a sun burning intense yellow surrounded by orange haze. A second smaller moon rises higher with a similar crescent glow.

Michael Whelan

@MichaelWhelan@mastodon.art · last week

CRYSTAL SINGER (1981)
Acrylic - 20" x 30"

Most of my sketches for this cover dealt with the interrelationship between the protagonist Killashandra and the black crystals she has a special affinity for. 1/4

#sciencefiction #illustration #annemccaffrey #delreybooks

hypebot boosted

Michael Whelan

@MichaelWhelan@mastodon.art · 2 months ago

PEGASUS IN FLIGHT (1990)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 29” x 20”

This was a rare instance, especially with Anne’s books, when Del Rey dictated what they wanted on the cover. I didn’t get to read the manuscript. Instead I worked with a brief overview. 1/3

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #annemccaffrey #delreybooks

Above an empty swivel chair, a young man floats weightless in front of a bank of mainframe computers. One leg dangles down while the other is folded in front of him. His elbow rests there, propping his head in his cupped hand. His eyes roll as if lost in thought. The lights of equipment behind him give way to stars and the cloudy surface of a blue planet. Framing him—as if imagined or visualized—a spaceship resembling the space shuttle rendered dark gray and black intersects the glowing blue halo of the planet while its wings below become semi-transparent.

Michael Whelan

@MichaelWhelan@mastodon.art · 2 months ago

PEGASUS IN FLIGHT (1990)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 29” x 20”

This was a rare instance, especially with Anne’s books, when Del Rey dictated what they wanted on the cover. I didn’t get to read the manuscript. Instead I worked with a brief overview. 1/3

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #annemccaffrey #delreybooks

der.hans and 2 others boosted

Michael Whelan

@MichaelWhelan@mastodon.art · 5 months ago

THE WHITE DRAGON (1978)
Acrylic on Masonite - 20" X 30"

Although this is the third book in the series, it was my first Pern cover and I was determined to create the dragons as faithfully to Anne McCaffrey's description as possible. 1/5

#bookcover #illustration #sciencefiction #dragon #annemccaffrey #pern #delreybooks

Ruth, a pearl white dragon with green eyes, poses regally with wings spread against a cliff face. Her rider Jaxom rears back, saddle-mounted just above her wings. A foreclaw grips rock as the other releases, flexing like fingers. Ruth's tail, marked with a parallel ridges of short spikes and ending in a spade-shaped tip, curls forward around her back leg. A tiny dragon grasps Jaxom's finger, perching like a bird. Across the misty valley, a group of dragons take flight, soaring past the Red Star which hangs in deep blue sky like a bloody moon just above the jagged spine of mountains.

Michael Whelan

@MichaelWhelan@mastodon.art · 5 months ago

THE WHITE DRAGON (1978)
Acrylic on Masonite - 20" X 30"

Although this is the third book in the series, it was my first Pern cover and I was determined to create the dragons as faithfully to Anne McCaffrey's description as possible. 1/5

#bookcover #illustration #sciencefiction #dragon #annemccaffrey #pern #delreybooks