MinaLima No Longer Illustrating Harry Potter: My Thoughts

[@olisbookshelf]

Anyone else heartbroken about this development?

[@JlNXED]

Noooooo I just got the first one a while back in hopes of getting the whole series, I really loved her editions and how fun they are. I was hoping to pass them down to my kids later on.

[@olisbookshelf]

Had the same plans as you... already pictured myself introducing Harry Potter to my future kids through these versions...

[@trinc9015]

I was heartbroken 😢I have the first three

[@racheldee8361]

I was so sad to hear this and I LOVE MinaLima’s work! I keep hoping maybe something will change and they will be able to illustrate books 4-7 🤞🏽

[@olisbookshelf]

There's always hope 🙏

[@LimeIsTheName]

What probably happened… Minalima: hey, the books are going to get bigger and we need more money. Scholastic: no 💅🏼

[@olisbookshelf]

😂😂 sounds about right

[@Iza56]

They don't make money on the books that they need to beg forsponsorship??

[@holmesgirl3673]

I'm also disappointed the Mina Lima will not continue. Not only were the books a completely new way to experience the stories; but they often illustrated elements in the novels that were never done before.

[@agonys.embrace]

MinaLima said they have “not been commissioned to illustrate the fourth Harry Potter book” which leads me to assume that Scholastic is looking for a cheaper alternative. It’s unfortunate. I tend to wait until the special editions of any given series are completed before I pull the trigger to buy them; a double edged sword as that also means I don’t contribute to it’s monetary success. But these are the moments I feel justified. No book collector likes to have incomplete or mismatched sets on their shelves.

[@YARIN108]

I could write a whole series about book collecting issues :D Series unfinished (ASOIAF), edition unfinished (2×HP), not translating the last book in a trilogy (The Age of Unreason), translating only first few and the last book of the series (The Vampire Chronicles), publisher deciding to flip the text on spine halfway throught the series and not to publish some story arcs (SW hardcover comics in cz), excluding chapter arts in later books in a series (HP in cz)... changing the size mid-series, changing the font and/or cover art style, breaking the mural! SAYING THAT PAPER IS EXPENSIVE AND STARTING TO PUBLISH ANOTHER SERIES INSTEAD OF FINISHING SOME!!! There is a special place in hell for the people responsible...

[@ThompsonBrosStudios]

Not only this but Jim Kay, the artist for the BIG illustrated versions has also stepped down to focus on his mental health, though it sounds like they may still finish those ones without him at least...

[@Justin-uc8sc]

Not much man just taking a dump and watching some KZbin

[@someonedifferent198]

I know right, I loved collecting both series, I am so sad, both are cancelled in it original for.

[@bluegoose7832]

​@@Justin-uc8sc bro?

[@plumdutchess]

Well, that's disappointing. The collector in me is crying. However, my overstuffed bookcase is sighing with relief.

[@rosssims7224]

Between them and Jim Kay no longer finishing them is super sad too!

[@jamierodgers5049]

Jim Kay more so

[@heatheredwards7158]

I was just wondering about Jim Kay. He was the only reason I was still buying those oversized books.

[@tashassims6383]

The wording "we have not been commissioned" sounds to me like the parties involved tried to re-negotiate some conditions of the deal and failed to find an agreement. To be honest, I don't see why they wouldn't sit down at the table together again in the future. This might not be in the foreseeable future but never say never, especially if it's just about money. They know that the fans will happily snatch the books from their hands no matter how long they have had to wait for the next volumes.

[@olisbookshelf]

To me the message reads like there was quite a bit of disappointment about the decision on MinaLimas side.

[@d_dave7200]

I didn't know these editions existed, but I'm still disappointed with this. No doubt when all seven books were out I would have bought these at some point. If the art style ends up being clearly inconsistent I doubt I will.

[@WaterBearReads]

I ate an entire bar of chocolate the day I heard this news😳. Oh well...perhaps it will all turn out well. I am excited to see who will illustrate it and hoping that the spine will match the others on the bookshelf. We shall see!

[@olisbookshelf]

As a Swiss I fully endorse the use of chocolate as your coping mechanism :) ...I'm also hoping for the best but honestly I'm not very confident this will end well.

[@WaterBearReads]

@@olisbookshelf ha ha! yes I hope we at least get a matching Hufflepuff yellow so it looks good on the bookshelf.

[@CharpyTheHedgehog]

Yeah it's disappointing. Although I will say that I was worried about how they would adapt the final four books because they're so HUGE. The first three books are tiny in comparison but the MinaLima versions are chunky so the MinaLima versions of books 4-7 would have been ENORMOUS!!

[@olisbookshelf]

Yeah, I see that point. They could've split them in two maybe 🤔 did it for the movie as well. Or just less of the play features.

[@RekindledReader]

Yeah I’m pissed about this. I was hoping to collect these and read them with my kids one day.

[@sir_christmas_leopold_duckson]

Well, this is a disappointing day. I was catching myself up on the status of both illustrated editions and find out that neither will be finished by their original artists...

[@lostgirlclub]

Thats so sad 😢 minalima has such beautiful illustrations!!!

[@lgiraldo91]

I begin buying the books shortly after Jim Kay announced he needed to step back (which is understandable and needs to be respected). I thought as MinaLima is a studio with the direction of two very talented people and lots of other artist there will be finished versions. In my mind the style could be carried into completion because the way a studio works is more collaborative and no one will be overwhelmed, overworked etc. I was not counting with the greediness of corporate publishing to be an issue. But alas... earwax

[@olisbookshelf]

Oh wow...you got unlucky twice. I'm not quite sure though how big of a studio MinaLima actually is or if it was mostly the two doing the bulk of the work. Appreciate the earwax comment though. 😂

[@TKDGal76]

Wow, I didn’t know that They stepped down too, like Jim Kay with the big illustration books. I hope it’s not over money. They need to pay these artist, it’s so worth it.

[@katelouise7684]

Scholastic made the decision to commission a different artist for the series. From what I can gather minalima would have happily finished the series

[@olisbookshelf]

That's how I understood as well... let's see what happens.

[@SaoirseS.]

Maybe one day one of the fans could illustrate future books 😍

[@kallistoindrani5689]

Oh No! I had no idea! Dammit! The 3 books I already have are gorgeous!

[@bradleyjamieson7718]

This is so frustrating. I started collecting the MinaLima editions after years of collecting the Kay versions only for Kay to quit and now this. Will we ever get fully illustrated editions 1-7?

[@mteresa-p7f]

Disappointing

[@pupkru]

This is how i found out 😭 noooo

[@hockeyvaughnfan]

I feel your pain. On a similar kind of theme I was collecting the Naomi Novik Temeraire UK paperbacks as they came out a few years ago and they had gorgeous covers, but that stopped after book 5 when the publisher switched the god awful US covers so I still don't have the final ones. That was bad enough but changing illustrators for a full on illustrated edition part way through is insane :(

[@3choblast3r4]

Ngl, I'm not really into harry potter books, because I never read them as a kid. And the reason I never read them as a kid .. is purely because I absolutely hated the covers. I thought the art on them was so goofy and ugly. One day, me and my mom are waiting in line at the super market. And I see an RL Stine goosebumps book and I loved those so I asked my mom if I could get it. She told me it was fine. And while I was picking the book off the shelf this kind lady stopped me and said "young man, I think you will really, really enjoy this book" and she gave me harry potter full of pride. I remember taking one look at the cover, the kid with glasses (I was wearing glasses myself lol) flying on a broom .. and I thought, no fn way I'm reading a book about some nerd flying around on a broom. (I loved fantasy too lol). I told her no thanks and picked the rl stine book. She was so disappointed. And looking back, so am I. I know for 1000000% certain I would have absolutely gotten obsessed with harry potter if I had read that book. But at the time I was really into "scary" books

[@mteresa-p7f]

@@3choblast3r4 never too late 💥

[@Chrissella]

My Nephew loves me to read to Him & I did purchase the 1st book since I am a huge fan & have the regular books for myself & to my disappointment it stopped at book 3 😢 I didn’t even know that they were proceeding to continue the books but as you said they will prob not mesh up properly since it will be a new person taking over.

[@scarlet7658]

This is so disappointing, they did such a great job in portraying every part of the book so beautifully and just as I imagined things when I read it when I was 7 years old… I really hoped to see all books with those illustrations :(

[@silkeschaaf930]

Oh no - I just love the MinaLima editions! 😢

[@mere24601]

I literally just found out yesterday! I was going to buy the third and figured might as well buy anymore that are out. Nope. Only the three. And scholastic is going to continue a different illustration editions or start from book 1? Terrible decisions. And i really hope this decision has nothing to do with using AI to produce a quicker turnaround for these illustrated books.

[@olisbookshelf]

Not sure if they are restarting from the first book. Though it sounded like they will continue with book 4. AI...oh no, could you imagine the backlash

[@mere24601]

@@olisbookshelf yup. It doesn't make sense especially since minalima editions were released about 1 year apart. So it's not like she was taking too long to get these done. I'm thinking since scholastic is much bigger they may add a little bit more and then charge more. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@MissNicXx]

That’s so disappointing 😢 I would have bought the rest of the series even if there were 2 parts to each book

[@KnarfStein]

As long as the new artists keep the same basic parameters, i.e. book dimensions and border design, then this continuation can work.

[@olisbookshelf]

I hope you are right. Like the positivity!

[@MrFallred]

If they're doing the same concept, but with a different company, then switching companies is kind of lame. However, as much as i love the minalima books, i wasnt a huge fan of the way people looked in the book (very angular/no color in face/more sketched looking faces rather than realsitic details, how graphical the art was, how dark/tiny and sometimes hard-to-see illustrations could be.

[@petiaivailova2563]

I thought it was for money. They probably asked for a lot more because the next books are bigger and the company decided to think about a cheaper option. But if it's cheaper for them, I expect it will be a lot cheaper for customers too. And in that case, maybe they won't be on the same level.

[@rhonwenbaker2448]

There's no way their cost cutting is going to reflect on the consumer end, come on now.

[@frombookswithlove]

OMG. THIS IS SO SAD 😢

[@sjofngeirdal9631]

Yes I am . I bought these books for my grandson and hope to buy them all so I am dissapointed ofcourse

[@alef_19]

So sad. I was waiting exactly for book 4 cause of the tournament 😭😭😭

[@abitterwind]

Whaaaat???!!! I had no idea! What a disappointment, this is frustrating! I'm sorry for the lucky illustrators that get to do books 4-7, but I hope that nobody buys those, I hope the sales are a flop so that Scholastic regrets this decision. The only way to hurt Scholastic is in their wallet.

[@olisbookshelf]

Honestly I'm feeling the same way. I don't want them to continue with different illustrators.

[@Blixthand]

I had not heard this. I don't know what I feel. I much preferred the Jim Kay illustrated ones, but he's not doing the last couple in the series either, so now I have 2 sets of unfinished illustrated editions, or some other artist will finish them. I liked the idea behind the MinaLima editions, but I wasn't too "wow-ed" by them when I had them in my had, and now thinking back I hardly remember any illustrations from them, even though I have all 3 and have flipped through every single page. I mostly remember them being quite uncomfortable to read with the interactive elements making them wobbly and having protective papers that would fall out and disappear and pages that were folded and would get stuck, and I was thinking that Prisoner is the last one they can do this with even some small amount of success before the books get to big. The Jim Kay ones had a very large surface area, but at least they were just normal pages.

[@durba-718]

What's wrong with ppl these days😢 that's plain disturbing. Who wants an incomplete set

[@TheCrispyChip]

Harry potter prints money there is no reason that the couldn't bite the bullet on this project and just finish it regardless of cost. I frigging hate buying a series and knowing it can never be competed such a waste of time money effort and love in collecting.

[@alexilupin]

This sucks, but on a positive note your video prompted me to buy the three that have been released.

[@olisbookshelf]

That's awesome, I hope you have a great time reading them!

[@calumwilson7877]

I’m convinced with goblet of fire being a much bigger book ie needing MUCH more illustrations and items, as well as the books being popular. They probably asked for better pay and were dumped

[@olisbookshelf]

I have a feeling you might be right here.

[@calumwilson7877]

@@olisbookshelfI’m also not convinced that it would be because of sales or quality. The fact they’ve went with a new illustrator says they still have confidence in the product. The quality was undeniably high. I can’t think of any other reason why theyd be let go

[@rhonwenbaker2448]

@@calumwilson7877 precisely, and they knew they were going to make a profit no matter what. Now, though... a new artist with a new art style doesn't complete the set we've got; a new artist imitating Minalima's style for uniformity will just be a reminder that they _weren't_ designed by them.

[@TotallyRobssed2009]

I just saw your video and couldn't believe it. That's so sad and disappointing. I don't know what to say😢

[@Ian-xo4vy]

And they should have kept Richard Harris as Dumbledore

[@Iza56]

I just wanted to get goblet of fire😢

[@olisbookshelf]

I would have loved the Half-blood prince...with all the Voldemort flashbacks

[@maxinezook4618]

@Iza56 Me too!

[@DanielaDormiaru-ih9xf]

I would have liked to see the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes store illustrations also.

[@TheBarefoottedGardener]

To me, the Jim Kay illustrated version is the version for me, so I'd give that a shot since you're likely not going to get the MinaLima version. It feels disappointing, sure, but this is probably somewhat related to Jo's desire to say dumb things on Twitter.

[@olisbookshelf]

I often flip through the Jim Kay versions in bookstores. They are stunning as well, but somehow that art style just never really resonated with me. It almost has a photorealism feeling to it while the MinaLima versions feel more playful and fantastical to me. Will Kay actually do all the Books? Might be more realistic with that format size.

[@TheBarefoottedGardener]

@@olisbookshelf I don't find his art style photo-realistic, more evocative, honestly, but yes, MinaLima versions are definitely more playful. Kay actually quit (officially for his health) after book 5. So that's at least 5 books rather than 3. I doubt you'll get a single high profile illustrator who will do all 7, that's a ton of work.

[@rosssims7224]

So sad that Jim Kay won’t be able to finish the series.

[@petiaivailova2563]

Of his, I only like the first two. I think he got bored pretty quickly and it shows a lot.

[@UlricGrim]

I’m so glad I never bought these books. I’d be pissed.

[@olisbookshelf]

Well the thing is these books are so beautiful that I still really enjoy the first three of them....just upset about the others missing.

[@petrina7883]

Oh no😢I was waiting for more to come out, really peeved I’ve just wasted money on first 3- what’s the point !!

[@Suhailee91]

SMH n I brought their signed editions over the Jim one I really wanted the whole. Collection 😢

[@erinartypants6673]

So bummed 😢

[@mteresa-p7f]

I will probably stop buying this HARRY POTTER TYPE SERIES.i do have a few of other ML illustrated books

[@olisbookshelf]

Which other ML books can you recommend? Any favorites?

[@xeinrayar6932]

Guys how many copies out there?

[@olisbookshelf]

Copies per book? Not sure about that but surely more than they would become rare. You can still buy them.

[@dannyjorde2677]

When you realize we don’t have any finished illustrated edition of Harry Potter 😐

[@pjlights164]

why would they do this?!?!

[@teaandreads]

I hope with this news, Mina Lima works on LOTR editions lol chunkers 😅

[@olisbookshelf]

MinaLima LOTR versions would be awesome!

[@raf1717]

Ive seen this coming.. it was an ambitious undertaking. They could’ve used AI or outsource illustrators for the pages with insignificant illustrations.. or the publishers could at least get Minalima design the covers for the rest of the books, I don’t mind if the inside are not illustrated at least I get the full set with uniform covers 😂

[@xsparik]

These editions will sell for a fortune in next 50-100 years to come 😂

[@DanielaDormiaru-ih9xf]

Yes, but illustrated by ML, especially due to their involvement with the movies. Not by someone else.

[@barbara3911]

They will probably be using AI generated art.

[@olisbookshelf]

Oh no, please not.

[@barbara3911]

@@olisbookshelf I also hope not. But I think it’s very likely.

[@wbbartlett]

Children everywhere might possibly shrug if they've ever heard of this person. Adults everywhere will carry on reading proper books.

[@sophovot5079]

Lets just all stop buying and talking about JKs books? She's clearly evil now

[@3choblast3r4]

lol .. man gtfo. No one agrees with your aside from a tiny handful of loud ideologues

[@plumdutchess]

Why? I can seperate the art from the artist. Fact is, Harry Potter holds a special place in a lot of hearts. At this point JKR doesn't need us for the monetary gain. She's set. If you enjoy the incredible world she created and it brings you comfort, you'd only be robbing yourself of that. She won't feel any boycot.

[@kurjan1]

Why is she evil?

[@CarisiCreates]

I was supporting minalina. For some of us, these books were a big part of our childhood. Like plum said, JK is set. What we spend now is mere pennies to her. Maybe we should boycott Mark Twain? Or any “problematic “ books written? The works of great artists and musicians of old?

[@irynarovna]

Take your hate and overblown ego elsewhere.

[@tiananesbitt7156]

Petitions were the first reactions I saw 🪧 Had you mail them?🧿