Yihyoung Li

"This piece was immensely challenging because I had to overhaul some elements on a dime. The biggest one was the setting, which used to be completely different. I felt sad about that but I think the final is the right choice because it's more suggestive and distinctive."
―Yihyoung Li, on designing the cover for The High Republic: The Fallen Star[4]

Yihyoung Li (born in Dallas, Texas, United States) is a Taiwanese-American freelance illustrator. For the Star Wars franchise, he created several book covers and illustrations for the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project.

Biography

Yihyoung Li, born in Dallas, Texas, United States,[1] is a Taiwanese-American freelance illustrator.[3] His first Star Wars cover was created for[4] Claudia Gray's 2022 novel[5] The High Republic: The Fallen Star and its audiobook adaptation.[4] Penguin Random House Senior Art Director[6] Scott Biel hired Li to work on the Fallen Star cover and guided him through the process. Li's boyfriend posed as a reference model during the cover's development. Overall, Li found work on the Fallen Star cover to be "immensely challenging" as many elements had to be overhauled quickly. Li expressed sadness that the original setting for the cover was drastically changed, but in the end, felt that it was the right choice as the final background made the cover more "suggestive and distinctive."[4]

Li's cover for The High Republic: Convergence

Li's cover for The High Republic: Convergence

Li's second cover was designed for Zoraida Córdova's 2022 novel The High Republic: Convergence[7] and its audiobook adaptation.[8] Initial artwork was revealed at Celebration Anaheim on May 26, 2022.[9] The final cover was published with the book on November 22 of the same year.[10] Li's third cover was designed for the reference book Star Wars: The High Republic: Chronicles of the Jedi,[11] which was published in the United States on March 21, 2023.[12] He also provided interior illustrations for the title.[11] Li's fourth Star Wars cover was created for Lydia Kang's 2023 novel The High Republic: Cataclysm and its audiobook adaptation. The cover was revealed at New York Comic Con on October 8, 2022.[13] The novel was published on April 4, 2023.[14] Several of Li's works for Star Wars, including his book cover work and illustrations from Chronicles of the Jedi, were included in the 2025 reference book The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic: Volume II by Kristin Baver.[15]

Works

Bibliography

Year Title Contribution(s)
2022 The High Republic: The Fallen Star[5] Cover art[4]
The High Republic: The Fallen Star audiobook[4]
The High Republic: Convergence Cover art[7]
The High Republic: Convergence audiobook Cover art[8]
2023 Star Wars: The High Republic: Chronicles of the Jedi Cover art, illustrations[11]
The High Republic: Cataclysm Cover art[13]
The High Republic: Cataclysm audiobook Cover art[13]
2025 The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic: Volume II Assorted illustrations[15]

Sources

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Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Facebook icon Yihyoung Li (@yihyoung) on Facebook (screenshot)
  2. ↑ DeviantArt-Logo Yihyoung Li (yihyoungli) on DeviantArt: About (backup link)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Premium-Era-real About / Contact on Yihyoung Li (backup link)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 ArtStation-Logo Yihyoung Li (@yihli) on ArtStation: The Fallen Star (backup link) demonstrates that Yihyoung Li has illustrated the cover of The High Republic: The Fallen Star. Because the novel's audiobook adaptation shares the same cover art, it can be deduced that Li is the illustrator of the audiobook's cover as well.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The High Republic: The Fallen Star
  6. ↑ Premium-Era-real Bio — Scott Biel on Scott Biel (backup link archived on February 4, 2020)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The High Republic: Convergence
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The High Republic: Convergence audiobook
  9. ↑ TwitterLogo Del Rey (@DelReyStarWars) on Twitter (post on May 26, 2022): "Some exciting #HighRepublic news that was just announced at #StarWarsCelebration! Teasing the new cover for The High Republic: Convergence, depicting Jedi Knight Gella Nattai. Coming October 2022." (backup link)
  10. ↑ TwitterLogo Del Rey (@DelReyStarWars) on Twitter (post on September 8, 2022): "Due to changes in the galaxy, The High Republic: Convergence will now be on sale November 22, 2022." (backup link)
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Star Wars: The High Republic: Chronicles of the Jedi
  12. ↑ InsightEditions-Small Star Wars: The High Republic: Chronicles of the Jedi on Insight Editions' official website (backup link)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 TwitterLogo Skytalkers (@skytalkerspod) on Twitter (post on October 8, 2022): "CATACLYSM COVER. He isn't a Jedi! "We get to explore what the heck he's doing with that."" (backup link)
  14. ↑ PenguinRandomHouse-Logo Star Wars: Cataclysm (The High Republic) on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link)
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic: Volume II

External links