Harry Potter is one of the many fantasy characters that are featured in new Chinese textbooks. (Photo : Reuters)
In sync with its worldwide release, the first fully illustrated edition of J.K Rowling's famed Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," has hit the Chinese market on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Jim Kay, a British award-winning artist known for his gloomy artwork, illustrated the full-colored edition of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the first of the seven-part book series. It has been announced that the sequels will be released each year in succession.
The Harry Potter series has established itself as a household name in China and it has been 15 years since it was first introduced in the country's market.
The fully revamped "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" gave the series a whole new definition. The book contains 110 colored illustrations.
This special edition is said to give a much gothic and movielike dimension to Hogwarts, the students and the teachers. Readers are expected to enjoy seeing a darker version of Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter.
In an interview with the Telegraph, Jim Kay said that "the story is everything, and so I want to bring what I can to really show the depth of Rowling's stories to their best."
He also claimed that he was "extremely excited" for having the chance to illustrate "possibly the most expansive fantasy world in children's literature."
Kay evidently paid a great amount of attention to Rowling's character descriptions. His illustrations were strictly by the book and therefore showing great difference in other adaptations including the one from Warner Brothers.
His artworks showed uniqueness with the character designs. Ron has a longer face and nose and blue eyes just the way Rowling described him in the books, while he endowed Hermione with bushy hair, which is a trait people did not see in other depictions.
A social media favorite was of Draco Malfoy, which most people think Kay depicted the best. The youthful Slytherin was illustrated with sharp facial features, cold grey eyes and pale skin.
