Rob Ball creates a journey through time and space on the cover of Notes From Small Planets

Rob Ball has illustrated the cover to a guide to the galaxy (not that one) for Harper Voyager; Notes From Small Planets is a Lonely Planet style guide that shows readers all the best things to see and do in the worlds of science fiction and fantasy in the vein of The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.

A simple, strong colour palette of blues, pinks and yellows unifies the different genre elements that span the cover (fantasy, sci-fi, pirate adventure…), and invite viewers to revel in the details of each;

“I wanted to make a bright and colourful illustration that had lots of details – implying that there’s lots in the book to get your teeth into.”

Deciding early on in the process that the composition should draw a straight line between the traveller and a tower that evokes those in the Lord of the Rings, the figure stands in for the viewer, gazing past the title, the kraken and the pirate ship and out to the horizon, following up the tower and pointed back to the traveller by the eerie yellow light of the flying saucer, bringing your eye around to start again! The clever repetition and subtle guidance allows you to focus on something you may have missed and really revel in the details of the cover.