Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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Today it's time to deep dive into the fantasy and sci-fi book cover and how art trends have changed over time. What do these trends mean for us culturally and why did they happen? What's happening now, and what will it mean for the future of the genre? Drop your favorite era of cover art below.

Thank you to my collaborators:
Birch (instagram.com/zachbirch)
Adam Auerbach (adamauerbachdesign.com/)

Chapters
00:00 - introduction
01:16 - a brief look into art history
04:18 - cover art vs traditional art
06:32 - the genre-fication of books
10:53 - 1800s-1920s trends
11:46 - 1920s-1950s trends
13:07 - 1960s-1990s trends
15:50 - 2000s to present
20:45 - the special edition
22:28 - AI art
28:22 - conclusion