|
OCTOBER 19, 2008 at 12:59 AM
Posted by JEREMY
Source: MuggleNet
Scholastic has updated
its official Harry Potter website with a brand new feature, "Quick Quotes Quill," which features serveral extensive Q&A's with key members of Scholastic's Harry Potter team.
One of those interviewed was David Saylor, creative director of the Harry Potter series.
Did you get to read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" before it came out? Was it hard not being able to talk about Harry Potter secrets with friends and family?
I was one of the few people that was allowed to read the book before it came out, because I was working closely with Mary GrandPré and Arthur Levine on concepts for the cover and chapter opening illustrations, so I had to read the book. It was hard not being able to talk about it, but I was really glad I could share thoughts with Arthur and Mary. It was like a little club. One thing I did learn from my years of working on Harry is that I'm great at keeping secrets!
Each book has a different dominant color. How did you decide which color would be good for each book
For most of the books I had a color scheme in mind, based on something that came through in the story. For example, on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, there were specific scenes in the book that dictated the color palette that Mary and I wanted to use. Because J. K. Rowling's descriptions are so clear and easily imagined, it wasn't hard to come up with a color scheme. And from the beginning, the palette of the books was based on the “jewel tones” of Mary's artwork: ruby reds, deep amethyst purple, dark sapphires and emeralds.
To read the full interview with Mr. Saylor, click here. And to see all the interviews, click here.
Reader Comments (25)
click to read...
Your Thoughts
click to write...
Copyright © 2002-2009 HPANA. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. 
HPANA is an unofficial fan site, in no way affiliated with J.K. Rowling,
Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury Publishing or Warner Bros. Entertainment. All
trademarks and copyrighted material are the property of their respective owners.
About HPANA | Movie 6 | Send a news tip | Contact us | Privacy policy
Auror
(Moderator)
Points: 2185
Jeremy says:
Very insightful interviews.
Love 'em!
Posted Oct 19, 2008 at 1:11 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2316
loopy looney says:
I don't think I would be able to keep secrets like that!!! It would be cool to have a job like the ones they all have
Posted Oct 19, 2008 at 2:45 AM EST
Squib
Points: 131
DonnaK says:
I always wondered if there was a reason that a certain color scheme and now I know.
It would be hard to keep all those secrets.
Posted Oct 19, 2008 at 3:08 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2363
Nataly says:
What an interesting interview woow.. what an honor for him! Thanks for posting!
Posted Oct 19, 2008 at 6:14 AM EST
Prefect
Points: 335
x_loony_lovegood_x says:
It would be so cool to have read the book beforehand but I don't know how I'd have kept it a secret!
Posted Oct 19, 2008 at 6:27 AM EST
Witch
Points: 819
accio_kim says:
That's so interesting. They are such lucky and talented people, I could never do it; partly because I am horrible at drawing and mostly because I would never be able to keep such secrets!
Posted Oct 19, 2008 at 8:12 AM EST
Prefect
Points: 366
Ayesha***Yumna says:
Ingenius! Marvellous!.......
Posted Oct 19, 2008 at 9:14 AM EST
Auror
Points: 3656
Anastasia Popovick says:
Very interesting interview! Actually intreguing how they made the choices for pictures and colors. Also amazing how they were able to keep the secrets from the books. I don't think I could.
Posted Oct 19, 2008 at 9:35 AM EST
Head Girl
Points: 435
Scarlet Snow says:
Love it. Very interesting, and I'm sure that if it were me, I'd have a hard time keeping it a secret as well. And great tidbit about the color schemes!
Posted Oct 19, 2008 at 11:40 AM EST
Mrs. Draco Malfoy
Points: 27761
Arika Granger Malfoy says:
OoO yay!
I love interviews like this they are so interesting!!! :D
Woohoot for scholastic!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Posted Oct 19, 2008 at 11:40 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2424
bonniewrightrulz says:
That's a good interview.Im a bit jealous of the people who got to read the book beforehand though,that would have been great.
Posted Oct 19, 2008 at 12:34 PM EST
I Am Queen of My Castle
Points: 3673
Hecate3fold says:
That would be really tough, not being able to tell anyone that you have read the ending before it was published. I don't know if I could do it. That would take extreme self disapline.
The insight into why those specific colors were chosen adds an extra flair to the whole collection of books.
Blessings! Hecate3fold!
Posted Oct 19, 2008 at 3:48 PM EST
Squib
Points: 198
Wacky Wand says:
How lucky were they to have read the book beforehand, it would feel really good to know you're trusted to keep the secret and not tell anyone. I reckon if i was able to read it before it had gone on sale id probably let a couple of things (accidently of course) slip to my closest friends n family.
Posted Oct 20, 2008 at 1:29 AM EST
Witch
Points: 670
draconifors says:
if I could have read the book befor it came out could certainly not keep it a secret!!but its a good quality to not tell other people!!=)
Posted Oct 20, 2008 at 1:54 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2860
mad_eye muggle says:
Wicked!Interesting and also a very inquisitive interview.Indeed,its really hard to keep a secret,especially if its so elusive.
Posted Oct 20, 2008 at 7:31 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2407
KissingDraco says:
Hey this is cool! And I love how the questions asked seem to remind me of Rita Skeeter, the grammar or something sounds like her. And I like the illustrations on the page.
Posted Oct 20, 2008 at 9:11 AM EST
Keeper of Harry's Fate
Points: 8934
TheOneWhoMustBeNamed says:
Interesting insights to how the process worked. Always fun to see and learn new tidbits. I liked to hear some more from Jim Dale, the American voice of the books.
Posted Oct 20, 2008 at 12:17 PM EST
Prof. of Cultural Literacy
Points: 4469
PowerGranger says:
I read through all of the interviews and was fascinated by the insider information each person provided. It must have been so strange (and cool!) to have been involved with the HP phenomenon from the very beginning in all of these capacities and to see everything get bigger and bigger with each book. What amazing experiences they have all had. I have to say I got a bit teary-eyed reading that several are most excited about how a BOOK could mean so much to so many people around the world. It's corny to think about it, but these books have connected all of us -- it's really quite an incredible thing to think about.
I wish all of these professionals continued success. It was great getting to know the people who have served the fans so well all this time.
Posted Oct 20, 2008 at 1:16 PM EST
Delusional Army Soldier
Points: 4399
ILoveHP! says:
Nice update from Scholastic! It's great to finally know about these people!
Posted Oct 21, 2008 at 9:26 AM EST
Auror
(Moderator)
Points: 2484
Since the Start says:
Interesting to see some of the behind-the-scenes stuff from the publishers. It doesn't really affect me since I always bought and read the Canadian/British versions from Raincoast and Bloomsbury, but it's still nice to hear from these guys. It makes a good break from hearing from WB all the time.
Posted Oct 21, 2008 at 3:38 PM EST
Sirius's Veil Thrower
Points: 4655
SiriusBlacksGodDaughter says:
Wow, that was really interesting. I'm glad they have this up here, great idea.
~Drish~
Posted Oct 21, 2008 at 6:53 PM EST
Rickmaniac to the Core
Points: 2564
snaily says:
What an interesting job! I doubt I would've stopped myself from blurting out the ending to my friends. :D
And the bit about choosing colour schemes was great! I should have a look at the other interviews as well. :)
Posted Oct 26, 2008 at 7:40 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2572
Mystique says:
How cool, i like this! It's nice to hear what they think.
Posted Nov 26, 2008 at 2:41 PM EST
Wizard
Points: 587
Jacob_Knight says:
I wish i were one of the first to read the books. That would have been great fun. I would have kept it a secret. Wouldn't have wanted to ruin it for the fans. I like that idea behind the colors for the books. Very neat.
Posted Jan 26, 2009 at 1:26 AM EST
Muggle
Points: 14
SiriusAbby says:
I dont think I would be able to keep that secret. I have a hard enough time not spilling it to people even now. That takes discipine.
Posted Aug 5, 2009 at 1:02 PM EST