Cliff Wright
A new wand
Following the remarkable success of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Bloomsbury Publishing sought a seasoned hand to take over the visual magic for the second installment in the series. They turned to Cliff Wright, a Brighton Art College graduate based in Sussex, who had already established a reputation as an experienced illustrator.
The call came unexpectedly—an invitation to bring to life the world of a character named Harry Potter. Wright accepted the offer, receiving a copy of the first book along with the now-famous cover illustration by Thomas Taylor. With only sparse physical descriptions of the characters provided by J.K. Rowling, Wright conjured his own image of Harry, blending the few textual clues with his personal illustration style.
Bloomsbury gave him freedom in choosing scenes to illustrate but also suggested options they felt would translate well visually. Wright decided to go with one of their ideas, a dynamic depiction of the flying Ford Anglia.
His early concept showed the enchanted car soaring over an industrial British landscape. However, that version was eventually replaced with the now-iconic countryside setting—lush, green, and whimsical—with the Hogwarts Express steaming ahead below.
Faxes and Flying Fords
The process of illustrating Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was more collaborative than the first book’s cover had been. Wright regularly communicated with Bloomsbury and received feedback from J.K. Rowling and her team—mostly by fax, the dominant method at the time. Sketches went out, responses came in.
One of the greatest challenges Cliff Wright faced during this project was, unexpectedly, the car itself. “I have no knowledge of cars,” he admitted. Drawing Buckbeak the hippogriff for Prisoner of Azkaban was, in his words, much easier.
To get the visual dynamics right, Wright drew the Ford Anglia from various angles, testing perspectives that could suggest movement and flight. He experimented with where to place Harry, Ron, and Hedwig inside the vehicle to create a sense of excitement.
In the end, the cover illustration for Chamber of Secrets as we know it wasn’t a single unified piece. Bloomsbury had commissioned a separate drawing of the car and characters for promotional use in bookstores. They ultimately preferred that version’s depiction of the trio and merged it into the original background illustration, creating a hybrid scene where the car flies across the rolling British countryside with the Hogwarts Express below.
Redrawing the Castle
Wright’s imagination was also tasked with bringing Hogwarts Castle to life on the book’s back cover. At the time, no visual standard existed—no movie sets or fan art—just the mysterious, magical fortress hinted at in Rowling’s prose.
Early sketches shared on Wright’s website reveal two different interpretations. One depicted a medieval castle reminiscent of Arthurian legend, a place where knights might roam the halls. Rowling’s reaction to this was succinct: her Hogwarts was “more shambolically turreted.”
Wright adapted. His second design broke from the traditional symmetry of medieval castles, opting for a haphazard assembly of spires, towers, and turrets bursting from the walls at odd angles. This more chaotic, whimsical version of Hogwarts made it onto the book's final back cover—and captured the eccentric charm of the wizarding school long before its cinematic incarnation.
The Price of a Flying Car
The original artwork for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets—the version with the flying Ford Anglia and its magical passengers—was first auctioned at Christie’s in 2001. The reserve price was £30,000, but the illustration failed to sell.
Eventually, the work was acquired by investor Luke Heron on behalf of Storyboard Assets Plc, an investment company specializing in illustration. On July 12, 2012, it was auctioned again at Sotheby’s and sold for £12,500. Later, in April 2015, it was auctioned at Heritage for $13,750.
Over time, the once-vibrant illustration has lost some of its luster. The bright blue of the Ford Anglia has faded, a poignant reminder that even magic can wear with age.
Soaring with Buckbeak
For Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Bloomsbury once again called upon Cliff Wright. The image he created is often cited as one of the most visually dynamic in the series. “Simple is often the most effective,” Wright once said—but achieving simplicity took considerable effort.
He wanted to evoke “high drama underscored with impending danger.” To achieve this, Wright broke from conventional book cover design. He chose a square format, placed the viewer’s perspective low to the ground, and allowed elements of the illustration to break through the boundaries of the frame. Buckbeak’s wings and head extend past the edges of the image, while a massive moon dominates the background, guiding the eye toward the central figures: Harry and Hermione.
The upward diagonal motion of the composition gave the image energy, hope, and tension. “Scary, but optimistic,” Wright described it.
One major challenge was depicting Buckbeak, a creature unfamiliar to most readers at the time. Rowling provided helpful material by faxing over an image that captured her vision of the creature. To study movement, Wright observed a horse belonging to a friend. Sketch after sketch refined the beast’s form, particularly its legs and head.
Bloomsbury and Rowling offered further notes: Buckbeak needed claws on his front legs and ears to enhance his ferocity and reflect the darker tone of the book.
Interestingly, Wright has said that he prefers some of the earlier, rougher sketches to the final version, as they conveyed more motion. In the published artwork, Buckbeak appears almost too serene, not quite as fast or fierce as he did in the drafts.
Redrawing the Grim
The back cover of Prisoner of Azkaban introduced another visual challenge: the Grim, a spectral black dog that haunts Harry throughout the story.
Wright’s initial sketch showed a dog growling, ears down, but something about it wasn’t right. The feedback from Bloomsbury—and Rowling herself—was clear: it looked too much like a dangerous Retriever, not the terrifying omen it was meant to be.
They suggested changes: bigger, scarier, shaggier. Perhaps the dog should be shown on all fours, bounding forward or leaping. The final version embraced that menace, becoming, in Wright’s words, “more demonic.” With sharper teeth, a more aggressive stance, and a shadowy presence, the Grim was finally worthy of the fear it inspired in the story.
Lost Artwork, Lost Trust
Despite his contributions to Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban, Cliff Wright did not return for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The reason? A serious breach of trust.
Bloomsbury lost the original front and back cover artwork for Prisoner of Azkaban. Whether misplaced or mishandled, the artwork simply disappeared. For Wright, who had poured hours of creativity and labor into the pieces, it was a line crossed. He declined to illustrate the fourth book.
Even so, the attention generated by his Harry Potter covers had a lasting impact. His artwork resonated with fans around the world, and Wright has since signed covers in places as far-flung as the mountains of Nepal. His illustration workshops gained traction, with aspiring artists of all ages wanting to learn from someone who had helped shape the visual identity of one of the most beloved book series of all time.
More Than a Cover
Cliff Wright’s journey with Harry Potter spanned just two books—but what a legacy he left behind. From the enchanted flight of the Ford Anglia to the moonlit sweep of Buckbeak’s wings, his art infused the early Potter covers with motion, mood, and magic.
Though his time with the series ended abruptly, the impact of his work remains. Long before Hollywood gave us its own version of Hogwarts and its inhabitants, Cliff Wright offered a vision born of paper, pigment, and imagination.
And in the hearts of readers who first opened Chamber of Secrets or Prisoner of Azkaban, it is his Harry, his Ron, his Hedwig, his Buckbeak they saw first—not through the lens of a camera, but through the eyes of an artist who understood that magic often lies in the details we almost miss.