That earlier Psion cover seems to have disappeared entirely - I get a whole 'nother page at that URL.
I will say that the classical English language term "dark" - as in describing a person who isn't "fair" - usually just meant "dark-haired, and of darker-than-milky-white complexion." Petrova, one of the three heroines of the children's classic Ballet Shoes, was described as dark - she was of Russian descent, had sallow skin, and "hair the color of a jay's wing." And again, in classic English usage, a Caucasian person who goes out into the sun for a while can get "brown." So the illustrators may have just received the wrong idea, especially if they were given nothing but what the publishers thought were suitable extracts from which to work. I wish they'd have authors work more closely with the cover artists.
Personally, if I say someone is brown-skinned, it's brown. What happens to my pale peachy skin when I get some sun is "tanned" (or to get squishy, "sun-kissed"). (Kougaiji is brown, but Gojyo isn't, for example.)
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That earlier Psion cover seems to have disappeared entirely - I get a whole 'nother page at that URL.
I will say that the classical English language term "dark" - as in describing a person who isn't "fair" - usually just meant "dark-haired, and of darker-than-milky-white complexion." Petrova, one of the three heroines of the children's classic Ballet Shoes, was described as dark - she was of Russian descent, had sallow skin, and "hair the color of a jay's wing." And again, in classic English usage, a Caucasian person who goes out into the sun for a while can get "brown." So the illustrators may have just received the wrong idea, especially if they were given nothing but what the publishers thought were suitable extracts from which to work. I wish they'd have authors work more closely with the cover artists.
Personally, if I say someone is brown-skinned, it's brown. What happens to my pale peachy skin when I get some sun is "tanned" (or to get squishy, "sun-kissed"). (Kougaiji is brown, but Gojyo isn't, for example.)