Ilona
Polanski

It was released in a leap year, on the magical date of February 29th, 25 years ago. That's how long the Czech edition of Harry Potter has been around. Publishers were embarrassed by the first Harry Potter book not only in England, but also in the Czech Republic. And so it was first published in a small print run of six thousand copies. As it turned out later, the concerns were unfounded. For its birthday, the Czech translation will receive a new cover. It will also be magical.

The special collector's edition of Harry Potter will be illustrated by one half of the Czech illustrators. The book's visual material is being created by Ilona Polanski from the duo Tomski&Polanski. Polanski will thus be moving away from Lukáš Tomek, with whom she founded a world-renowned studio.

The illustrator designed Harry Potter and his friends in pastel gray-blue tones. "You can also look forward to several black and white illustrations inside. And we can already tell you that we are working together on other works in the series," Albatros publishing house said on its Instagram account. When it comes to special editions, the authors are tasked with avoiding similarities with the film. They should draw inspiration only from the books and should differ from the film scenes. This was achieved, the images have the author's unmistakable handwriting.

This year marks twenty-five years since the first Harry Potter was published in Czech. And the anniversary will be celebrated with a new look, created by illustrator Ilona Polanski, one half of the famous duo Tomski & Polanski. "It's a dream come true," she told Forbes Life just moments after the cover was unveiled to the public. The first book is planned to be published by Albatros Publishing House on May 15. Inside the article you will find an exclusive illustration that will appear in the opening part.

She had heard the offer two years ago. Petr Eliáš, editor-in-chief of Albatros, approached her to illustrate a special edition of Harry Potter to mark twenty-five years on the Czech market. "I was excited and then terrified, because I know that the fan base is large and very critical. It was a mixed bag of feelings," Polanski says.

The illustrator, who is best known for her work with the creative duo Tomski & Polanski, had enough time to reread all the books and think about what the new look should look like. In addition to the original covers, Polanski was also tasked with creating new illustrations for the inside of the books.

"First, the covers for all the volumes were made and then it was approved whether I should be involved," the illustrator explains.

After approval, she was able to begin illustrating her first book. "A dream come true!" she rejoiced, but with a great opportunity comes great responsibility. Not only to the fans, but also to the London agency associated with the author of the books, JK Rowling, who must approve everything.

"It was difficult. I'm a big fan and I enjoyed the illustrations by Galina Miklínová the most, so I had to sketch a lot to break away from the established style," she explains, thinking back to the first Czech editions from the turn of the millennium.

She wanted to differentiate her illustrations and incorporate the unique elements that make up her style and that got her the commission. “The surface, a certain color scheme, the graphic design, the abbreviations I use,” she lists. But she often stumbled with her designs. Again and again.

"There was a lot of going back and forth, a lot of editing of factual matters. It was important to stick to the description, that's where we stayed," he admits. The agency requires that all illustrations correspond exactly to what is written in the books.

I also had to keep in mind that according to the book, the room had a stone floor.

"I thought it was mainly about the author's illustration and capturing the mood, but then comments came from London, where they clearly said that it had to be followed when, for example, a stone floor was indicated in some rooms," Polanski explains.

"Sometimes they're strict about the looks, but if I followed the description, I could be a little creative," she adds.

She enjoyed illustrating the good-natured giant Hagrid, her favorite character the most. "I love him! There were a lot of sketches of what he would actually look like. We were influenced by the existing aesthetic, but the other thing is the description in the book, where he is different than in the movies, for example, he is supposed to be four times taller than the others," Polanski points out.

The first book, including the black and white illustrations inside, is already finished and will be published in mid-May. For the others, he only has the covers, and he will still finish the illustrations.

I love Hagrid. I enjoyed the illustration of his character the most.

She chose the topics for the illustrations herself. "There are four illustrations in the book, so we choose what will be shown and that the illustrations are equally spaced within the book - but I have free rein as to whether it will be chapter 13 or 14. Then a rough sketch is made, it is sent for approval, and then the details begin to be worked out and fine-tuned," Polanski describes the creation process.

Although it is more complex than she imagined, she still considers the opportunity to work on an extremely popular wizarding saga extremely special. “It is a compliment that someone noticed your illustrations and wants to apply them to their great work,” she says with enthusiasm.