When beloved storybook characters are brought to life on the big screen in motion pictures, the whole world associates that character with the actor that portrays him or her.
Since 2001, the world has associated the famous Harry Potter characters with actors, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. Although the casting directors for the Harry Potter films did an amazing job at casting each character, J.K. Rowling’s original books described the characters a bit differently then how they appeared on screen.
Lovers of the Harry Potter franchise will be excited to know that their favorite characters and settings of the wizarding world of Harry Potter will now be brought to life with illustrations in the first ever, fully illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone novel.
According to Time, Rowling met with British illustrator, Jim Kay and Bloomsbury Publishing to give her full approval for Kay to illustrate the hardcover and endpapers as well as illustrations throughout the pages.
In the six images that were released by Bloomsbury UK and Scholastic U.S., Harry, Ron, Hermione and Hagrid all look more how they were described in the novels than the real life actors who portray the characters. Ron Weasley’s illustration shows a rather lanky boy with highlighted freckles, while Hermione Granger’s illustration shows a way different looking girl than the famous Emma Watson, who plays Hermione in the films.
Kay reveals on his website that he is on board for illustrating the complete series. Kay jokingly says he will release more news soon and “I’ve got to get busy drawing!”
The new illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone book will be released October 6.