One of the best parts about illustrating a book cover is imagining how written characters and places could appear. This is exactly the opportunity that fell into my hands with Lizz Huerta’s title The Lost Dreamer. The book is a gripping YA fantasy debut inspired by ancient Mesoamerica where we are introduced to a lineage of seers defiantly resisting the patriarchal state that would see them destroyed.
Something that Huerta and I share in common is colorful and surreal articulation, so when I read the text, there was so much inspiration to draw from. On top of that, I am a student of history and so bringing someone from Pre-Columbian times into a contemporary lens was an honor. The main character, Indir, is depicted on the cover. She’s a Dreamer, someone able to see beyond reality, with the rare gift of Dreaming truth. It wasn’t hard to figure out what Indir's face would look like since Native people are still all around us, the challenge was more in her historic outfit, hair and context.
There are two variants of the cover, one is the hardcover edition and the other is paperback. My favorite is the paperback since it has neon inks and I’m a fan of bright colors. However I do enjoy the mysterious mood of the hardcover and how it sets the character in the context of a forest canopy. I had to adjust the artwork specific to each edition since the tones and color of a person changes depending on the background.
I am so grateful to have worked on this book and I hope that there are readers out there who feel seen when they encounter the cover.
Samuel Rodriguez (born March 16, 1981) is an Abstract Portrait Illustrator based out of San José California. His work spans across public art, advertising, tech, commerce and media publications. As a youth, he dedicated most of his time to Painting Graffiti until he later pursued a BFA at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. He has since built his career as a portrait illustrator, developing a style that blends facial features, lettering, and abstract shapes to formulate distinct visual narratives.
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