6 Apr 2021, 06:33

Hi, 🖐 I'm writing in hopes to find an answer to which I believe I know but wanted to find out if others have experienced the same and how to proceed. I'm currently working with self-published author(s) who finished their first two books in a series they plan to publish and I has hired to continue the series in a semi-similar style to maintain some coherence between the transition of illustrators for the series and changing some characters completely.
My question is: ❓
When switching illustrators part-way through a book series do they credit the previous illustrator for 'original artwork by' since they were the ones who first illustrated/designed the characters and world for the first two books even though they won't be continuing in any kind of art capacity?

I explained, since I'm the illustrator for the book series now, the previous illustrator wouldn't be credited for the artwork any longer. I've seen this be the case with other series that switch illustrators in picture books to graphic novels and they credit the current illustrator for the artwork done and not the previous, unless it's a very long standing illustrator for a series I believe. I also mentioned they could have a 'special thanks' because I think they want to be considerate towards the illustrator and all the previous work they have done.

It would be great to get some insight/opinions on this so I can better answer their question. Honestly their question caught me off guard in regards to crediting the previous illustrator for 'Original artwork by'! 😕

Thank you!