The closest fiery-themed piece I have for Bonfire Night, this was the jacket illustration I did for the first hardback edition of Salman Rushdie’s Luka and the Fire of Life back in 2010, published by Random House US.
The full jacket, including flaps.
The original artwork in ink and gouache.
The final jacket omits parts of the original artwork, including the otter on the spine, to make more room for the title and the Random House logo. It also uses a fine textured gold which has a very pleasing, subtle effect and recalls the gold of the original.
A photograph of the original artwork during its progress, which gives a better idea of the gold gouache’s effect.
Interestingly, the cover of the most recent reprint edition features a much more narrative illustration and in many ways makes me think of the very first rough which I came up with.
The designers preferred a more graphic/design-based image, however, which eventually became what we have now.