Beauty And The Beast Book Launch Q&A at House Of Mina Lima!

This week Leaky was once again invited to an exciting event held at London’s House of Mina Lima, this time to celebrate the launch of the book ‘The Beauty and the Beast’ in conjunction with publishers HarperCollins. Coinciding with Disney’s heavily anticipated on screen adaption of the children’s animated classic (showing in cinemas in less than a week) the timing couldn’t be better! Alongside Afilliate publisher Karen Davies, we were able to sit down and enjoy a discussion not only on the book’s journey from a publishing persective but also on the rich illustration so beautifully executed through graphic designers Eduardo and Mira.

Below is the exceptional MinaLima front cover design showcasing authentic features and gold foil type for ‘The Beauty and the Beast’

When asked what approach they took on creating the illustrations for the Beauty And The Beast Book, Mira and Eduardo talked about how protagonist Belle had influenced their design asthetic.

“We spent quite a lot of time trying to figure out the covers and colour choices. We knew this needed to be a much more female centric book. The content of this is much more feminine and charming.”

And it certainly does hold a certain charm with the addition of detailed fold out maps, lavish rooms within the Beast’s palace and a dial of Belle’s ring.

On the topic of future Illustration for children’s classics, Mira and Eduardo had a few in mind that they’d love to have the chance to work on, including the likes of Pinocchio and Alice In Wonderland.

“We try not to see what’s in fashion or what works at the moment, but just try to work with the material and see how it makes us feel.”

So far, The Beauty and the Beast is the third in the series of illustrated books published by HarperCollins. Let’s hope the collection continues to grow!

What are you most excited to see brought to life in the Warner Brothers adaption? Mira answered,

“Transition from Beast to Man! But of course, we come from a highly visual background and we’re always scrutinising what the set is going to be like, what the graphics are going to be like… and so you can’t help doing that when you see how someone has interpreted such rich work.”

Eduardo reveals to us,

“We just started on the second ‘Fantastic Beasts’ last week!”

The pair then continue to explain the significant steps taken in order to produce such highly detailed graphic design on set as opposed to the books.

“So we just dive in and explore the period, environment, where the story is set. That’s the broader way of engaging your brain with it and we always make sure our studio is always completely covered in material. The next step is to just go in to the script! Then the next layer is what needs to be done for everything around. “What’s on the bookshelves? What’s the point of sale? What’s the signage? Suddenly it all comes together. It’s great when you’ve got good material to work with!”

Karen Davies, Affiliate Publisher at Harper 360, shares some insight on the importance of book covers,

“You wouldn’t believe how many hours we spend in design meetings, covers are so important! The design element is where it’s at. Obviously we have great partnerships with the authors so they can promote the book as well, but it really does have to look good, and that’s where these two come in!”

After an enlightening Q&A evening, we have also learnt Eduardo and Mira are currently working on two more books, but are held to secrecy over revealing any titles..so watch this space!

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the book, click here to be directed to the MinaLima E-Shop! And don’t miss out on the film which opens in cinemas March 17th!