by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 1988
Michael was in a frenzied state trying to finish up his jobs before the impending birth of his son, when he had a dream about this cover. The trees came to him exactly as you see here and he worked the rest of the cover design around them. Luckily Anne McCaffrey liked... 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 1988
The cover for the first book in a very successful series by author Melanie Rawn. 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 1988
This cover painting in the popular Dragon Prince series by Melanie Rawn features the first Whelan dragon with patterned scales. 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 1987
This was the first cover in the Dragonriders of Pern series to feature the beloved fire lizards and Michael really enjoyed painting them. He finished the painting, but he had a vague sense of an unease and he didn’t send it off to the publisher before leaving... 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 1985
The quickest way to grab a potential reader’s attention is to cause a question in their mind – is the dragon saving the woman or about to have her for lunch? Originally done for the cover for the novel by Barbara Hambly, but a very popular dragon image in... 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 1983
For the six weeks prior to doing this cover painting for the fourth book in Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series, Michael had his painting hand in a cast. Although he had the cast molded around his brush and he did 2 paintings during that time, his hand... 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 1982
When Amazing Stories commissioned Michael to do the cover for the premier issue of their newly redesigned magazine, he decided that the painting should encompass both the realms of science fiction and fantasy. Since it didn’t have to be tied to a particular... 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 1980
A wizard entrances a menacing dragon and leaves behind the hoard of gold to gather blood for a new spell. Originally an illustration for a story by Glen Cook, but it has become a darkly original and frequently-copied Whelan classic. 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 1978
The primary menace to the planet Pern is “Thread,” a corrosive and devastating alien life form which falls from the Red Star and burrows its way into the soil, destroying all life and making the soil unusable. Only the dragons who are able to burn the... 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 1978
For the first book in Anne McCaffrey’s now legendary Dragonriders of Pern series, Michael wanted to create a literal visualization of the title. He selected an aerial point-of-view and tilted the horizon to simulate the dizzying sensation of flight. Anne’s... 