End of an Era: MinaLima Gives Way to New Illustrator for Rest of Harry Potter Series

In a surprising development that has sent ripples through the Harry Potter fan community, Scholastic has announced that MinaLima—known for their innovative and interactive versions of the first three Harry Potter books—will not be continuing their work on the series. Instead, Scholastic will engage a new illustrator for the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The decision marks a significant shift in the presentation of J.K. Rowling’s beloved series, one that has provoked a variety of responses from fans.

MinaLima Studio, headed up by the graphic design duo Eduardo Lima and Miraphora Mina, is behind the graphic props in all eight of the Harry Potter films as well as the Fantastic Beasts franchise. They brought a fresh and enchanting perspective to the Harry Potter series with their pop-up editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Their work was celebrated for its beautiful design and interactive features, which included pop-ups, pull-tabs, pull-outs and hidden compartments that allowed readers to explore the Wizarding World in a new, immersive way. These editions quickly became collector’s items, with fans eagerly awaiting the publication of the fourth book in the series Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Creating these pop-up books is a labor of love that involves meticulous design and engineering. At MinaLima’s studio in London the process begins with conceptual sketches and illustrations. Each book starts as a series of detailed drawings, capturing key scenes and moments from the corresponding Harry Potter book.

Some of these illustrations are then transformed into complex pop-up mechanisms. The studio’s team spends countless hours cutting, folding, and assembling the paper structures to ensure that each pop-up element operates flawlessly. The goal is to create a seamless and engaging experience that allows readers to explore the wizarding world in a new, dynamic and fun way.

In January 2023, Nearly Legless Mick and Penelope Presto (founders and owners of Quizzic Alley) got a behind-the-scenes tour of the MinaLima Studio in London while the design team there were working on the much-anticipated Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It was still nine months away from publication but the cover design was complete although shrouded in secrecy, explains Mick.

“The cover was due to be revealed just a few weeks later and so we were sworn to secrecy. We couldn’t take photos. Our team back home in Australia were so excited (and jealous). We got a message that simply said ‘The cover better be purple’ and we couldn’t even confirm that!

“The publishers had created a blank mock-up of the book with the right number of pages and, as each illustration was completed, the design team simply glued it to the relevant page. It was very much a work in progress: the cover was done and pasted in place. Some pages of text and a few completed illustrations had been glued to the relevant pages but most were still blank.

“Designers and paper engineers were working together to create the book page-by-page, checking sizing against the text, making it all fit together. We marvelled at the challenge of choosing which parts of the story would be illustrated and which would be ‘engineered’ into moving or pop-up works of art.

“The mock-up was just sitting there on the table and we carefully turned a few pages. We felt enormously honoured to lay eyes on it, to witness the process first-hand and to meet some of the artists responsible for creating the book,” said Nearly Legless Mick.

The announcement that MinaLima would not be creating the next book came as a big surprise to the Quizzic Alley team and raised many questions not answered by Scholastic’s brief statement:

Fans were left wondering why and reactions to the news have been a mix of nostalgia and apprehension. One fan commented:

“MinaLima’s pop-up books were more than just editions; they were a gateway to experiencing Hogwarts in a new dimension. It’s hard to imagine the series without their magic.”

Another fan expressed concern, saying, “I’m worried that the new illustrator won’t capture the same sense of wonder. MinaLima set a very high bar.”

Scholastic’s role as a publisher in the United States includes overseeing the production and distribution of Harry Potter books in the American market. Although Bloomsbury holds the rights to publish the series in the UK, Scholastic is the lead publisher for this series and so we imagine solely responsible for commissioning artists, designers and printers.

Fans have taken their displeasure one step further and created a petition in an attempt to get Scholastic to reverse their decision and commission MinaLima to create not just the next book but the rest of the series.

“These illustrated editions aren’t just books; they’re collectors’ items, treasures that bring the magic of Harry Potter to life in a wholly unique way….We are not merely consumers, but an active community of fans who wish to preserve the value and unity of our beloved Harry Potter collection.”

The petition calls for Scholastic to “allow Studio MinaLima to continue illustrating all the Harry Potter books.” Over 2800 signatures were collected on the first day.

In a word – no!

It takes a lot of work to create a book with the artistry and complexity that MinaLima brought to all three of the books they created.

Perhaps Scholastic already have an artists on board and maybe they are already lining the artwork up to print. We doubt it. Just the marketing lead-in alone precludes an October release which is generally when new Christmas titles hit the shelves.

The Prisoner of Azkaban was announced in October 2022, a full year before it was released. The cover was revealed in February 2023 and, on 31st July 2023 (Harry’s birthday) MinaLima released some sneak peaks of the pages inside a few months before the books started appearing on shelves in October 2024.

MinaLima has announced the release of a box set of the first three books in October 2024, especially handy for those who have already decided they won’t buy a pop-up book if it’s not by MinaLima.. You can pre-order yours here.

As Scholastic prepares to introduce a new illustrator for Goblet of Fire, the transition presents some challenges that perhaps they failed to anticipate. Fans are very loyal to MinaLima and their hands-on history with the franchise and in-depth knowledge of the books. But more than that, fans feel they have invested in this interactive series, anticipating the day when they could complete the set.

“I was planning on spending obscene amounts of money to get the full set at once when it was done. I adore MinaLima,” wrote one fan in response.

And this from another which sums up the concerns of many: “I already know they are going to be different covers and it’s going to look like trash next to the MinaLima ones.”

Perhaps there were scheduling conflicts that necessitated the change. Maybe sales of the most recent book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban weren’t what they had hoped for.  Certainly some fans have been burnt before, investing in the first few books of a new series only to see it abandoned halfway through (fans still await news about the sixth book in the larger illustrated series following the exit of renowned illustrator Jim Kay almost two years ago). It’s hard to fault fans who decided to wait for all seven books to be completed before handing over their cash. Ironically, they may have contributed to the decision to switch illustrators.

Scholastic will need to work hard to convince all of us that further investment is warranted. Otherwise, the global fandom will keep their wallets firmly closed until they are confident The Goblet of Fire will look good on the shelf beside the first three books and that they will one day be able to complete the set with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.