Cover artists

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Kweepa
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Kweepa »

richl, my thoughts exactly.
(Dredd's look was designed by Carlos Ezquerra, another iconic artist whose style is immediately recognizable and not on display here...)
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Einar Saukas
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Einar Saukas »

OK, this will be changed in the next ZXDB update. Thanks!
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Juan F. Ramirez
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Driller Tanks:

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=1524

In the scanned instructions (see the Mobygames link) it says:

"Cover Illustration: Roger Garland, Young Artists"
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Einar Saukas
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Einar Saukas »

We have been contacted by someone working on a documentary, trying to identify authors of cover artists for the following games:

Zaxxan (Starzone Software)
Death Cruiser (Noble House Software)
Volcano - The Action Game
Anirog - Specgraf (Anirog Software)
Jasper! (Micromega)
Starstrike (Realtime software)
Codename Mat (Micromega)
Moon Buggy (Anirog)
Hungry Horace

Does anybody have information about these titles?

Thank you!
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Re: Cover artists

Post by richl »

Jasper! is by Paul Cemmick
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cemmick

His signature is on the bottom left of the cover but isn't very clear. On the magazine ads they put text over the top of it but I eventually worked out what it was through some trial and error!

Here's a clearer example of his signature, just because I like to present evidence to back up my claims! ;)

Image
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Einar Saukas
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Einar Saukas »

Thanks!
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Kweepa
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Kweepa »

Zaxxan - nothing in the scans; really nice illustration for 1983!
Death Cruiser - "Design by Portland Artists" is the credit in the advert (same illustration as the cover).
Volcano - "Design/Illustration by Angel Art".
Specgraf - no obvious signature or credit
Jasper! - signature is small (under the snake in the bottom left). Here's the best pic I could find from the covers in ZXDB:
Image
Nicely found, richl! (I thought it said Paul Comwick :( )
Starstrike - Olly Frey? according to the contributor list in ZXDB
Moon Buggy - no obvious signature or credit (looks similar to Specgraf - in terms of art skill level)
Hungry Horace - just looks like a copy of the loading screen art, which was probably by William Tang

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Einar Saukas
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Einar Saukas »

Thanks!
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Re: Cover artists

Post by richl »

Kweepa seems to have covered pretty much all of them but I've got a couple more signatures:

Zaxxan is Oli Frey - his signature has ZX Spectrum 48k slapped over the top of it on the inlay but is visible on the full page ad for the game
Same again for Starstrike - his signature is visible on the bottom left of the cover image
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Kweepa
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Kweepa »

Well spotted!
:)
I just looked up Oli Frey because I thought maybe he had died (nope, that was Bob Wakelin), and that might be a problem for the documentary. I didn't know about his 'Zack' years! Or that he was in the Swiss army.
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Kweepa »

Rogue Trooper cover is by Dave Gibbons (it's the cover of 2000AD 228, the first appearance of Rogue Trooper).
Strontium Dog: The Killing cover is by Carlos Ezquerra. I didn't find a reference in the Agency Files - it may be an original for the game.
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Kweepa »

The cover to Nemesis the Warlock is by Bryan Talbot (you can see his signature along the left hand side). Definitely not his best work!
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Rorthron
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Rorthron »

Confirmed as by Roger Garland (box credits);
Oil Strike
Weathermaster
Disease Dodgers
Planet Patrol
Eric and the Floaters
Bubble Buster
Panama Joe
Driller Tanks

Linda and Roger Garland (box credits):
King Arthur's Quest (cover and poster)

Very probably also by Roger Garland, but not confirmed (same style, same time):
Stop the Express

(An aside: Roger Garland is probably best known for his Tokien illustrations. He provided the covers for most of the 1980s Unwin paperback editions, for example.)

Confirmed as by Dave Eaton (box credits):
MacMan and the Caber Eater
MacMan and the Treasure Caves
MacMan's Magic Mirror
Soundabout
Body Swap
LOGO (Sinclair)

Almost certainly also by Dave Eaton, but not confirmed (same series, same characters, same style):
MacMan and the Great Escape
Alphabetter
Learn to Read 1-5
Wordsetter

Stuart Hughes (box credit):
Zipper Flipper

John Harris (internet mentions, eg Wikipedia):
Original ZX81 manual
Original ZX Spectrum manual

Michael Foreman (box credit):
The Saga of Erik the Viking
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Rorthron
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Rorthron »

Stephen Robertson:
Happiest Days of Your Life
Harvey Headbanger
I, Ball
Olli and Lisa

David Rowe:
Bounces
The Sentinel
Flying Shark
Soft Aid
Way of the Exploding Fist
Frenzy
Glass
Dandy
Infodroid
Prodigy
The Centurions: Power X Treme
Delta
Dogfight: 2187
Hybrid
I, Ball II
Chubby Gristle
Licensed to Kill
Continental Circus
Tank Attack

Susan Rowe:
Jewels of Darkness (internal art)

Herman Serrano:
Weird Dreams
Carrier Command

Steinar Lund:
Starglider (poster)
Gyron
I, Ball
3D Pool
QS Defenda
QS Asteroids
QS Invaders
Classic Adventure
Dragonsbane
Smugglers Cove
Xadom
Boulderdash
Blood 'n' Gutz
Gatecrasher
Fighting Warrior
Gyroscope
Codename: MAT II
Riddlers Den
Battle of the Planets
Dynamite Dan
Terror of the Deep
Cop Out
Frost Byte
Stainless Steel
Orbix the Terror Ball
Mermaid Madness
Jahangir Khan World Championship Squash
Knuckle Busters
Redhawk
Kwah!
Moon Strike
Nigel Mansell’s Grand Prix
Armageddon Man
Mega Apocalypse
Terramex
Live and Let Die
Hellfire Attack
Pac-Mania
APB
Space Harrier II
Total Eclipse
Thunderbirds
Lords of Chaos
Scramble Spirits
Stunt Car Racer
Manchester United

Sources:
Crash 19
http://birdsanctuary.co.uk/artists/
http://www.boxequalsart.com/djrartistpage.html
http://www.boxequalsart.com/steinarlundartistpage.html

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Einar Saukas
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Einar Saukas »

Thanks! I'm adding all this information to ZXDB.

However I'm having trouble to identify the following titles:

The Centurions: Power X Treme
Delta
QS Invaders
Classic Adventure
richl
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Re: Cover artists

Post by richl »

Einar Saukas wrote: Tue Mar 20, 2018 6:07 pm Thanks! I'm adding all this information to ZXDB.

However I'm having trouble to identify the following titles:

The Centurions: Power X Treme
Centurions: Power Xtreme is an alternate name for The Centurions by Reaktor. Apparently it's what the TV show was called... maybe... if Wikipedia is correct.
Delta
Delta is Delta Charge! by Thalamus *BUT*... the Spec cover is actually by Oli Frey and the C64 version is by David Rowe
QS Invaders
QS Invaders is a ZX81 game
http://www.zx81stuff.org.uk/zx81/tape/QSInvaders
Classic Adventure
Classic Adventure is Melbourne House re-issue of Adventure 1
Actually, looking at the entry for this - which already has Steinar Lund credit on it - is it possible to link a cover artist to a specific release of a game? I probably already mentioned this before but if you didn't know any better you might assume that Steinar Lund did the Abersoft cover, which he clearly didn't!

I think some of these I covered in the original thread over on that other site... There may some others that are missing from this thread but I guess you've probably already trawled that one?
https://www.worldofspectrum.org/forums/ ... ent_921202

Also...!!!!

I've just noticed that a fair few are incorrect in that previous list. Tch! 100 lines for Rorthron!! ;)

From http://birdsanctuary.co.uk/artists/

"Stephen Robertson

Most recognisable by his 8-bit title screen signature SIR, Stephen created a series of C64 title screens for the budget range Firebird Silver/Silverbird between 1986 and 1987. Titles included Freak Factory, Happiest Days of your Life, Harvey Headbanger, I Ball, Microrhythm, Olli and Lisa, Warhawk, Twinky Goes Hiking."

Basically, he did the C64 loading screens and was nothing to do with cover art or even the Spec! I Ball and others were by Steinar Lund (see further down the same page).
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Rorthron
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Rorthron »

Sorry, I rushed the second post. All the items in the first post were all individually checked. I did run through the lists in the second post, but did not verify each individual cover.

I had meant to delete QS invaders and Delta (which I could not identify, either), but evidently they slipped through. The inclusion of the Stephen Robinson names was careless; they should all be deleted.

With richl's corrections the list in the second post should be as follows.

David Rowe:
Bounces
The Sentinel
Flying Shark
Soft Aid
Way of the Exploding Fist
Frenzy
Glass
Dandy
Infodroid
Prodigy
The Centurions: Power X Treme
Delta Charge
Dogfight: 2187
Hybrid
I, Ball II
Chubby Gristle
Licensed to Kill
Continental Circus
Tank Attack

Susan Rowe:
Jewels of Darkness (internal art)

Herman Serrano:
Weird Dreams
Carrier Command

Steinar Lund:
Starglider (poster)
Gyron
I, Ball
3D Pool
QS Defenda
QS Asteroids
Classic Adventure
Dragonsbane
Smugglers Cove
Xadom
Boulderdash
Blood 'n' Gutz
Gatecrasher
Fighting Warrior
Gyroscope
Codename: MAT II
Riddlers Den
Battle of the Planets
Dynamite Dan
Terror of the Deep
Cop Out
Frost Byte
Stainless Steel
Orbix the Terror Ball
Mermaid Madness
Jahangir Khan World Championship Squash
Knuckle Busters
Redhawk
Kwah!
Moon Strike
Nigel Mansell’s Grand Prix
Armageddon Man
Mega Apocalypse
Terramex
Live and Let Die
Hellfire Attack
Pac-Mania
APB
Space Harrier II
Total Eclipse
Thunderbirds
Lords of Chaos
Scramble Spirits
Stunt Car Racer
Manchester United

Sources:
Crash 19
http://birdsanctuary.co.uk/artists/
http://www.boxequalsart.com/djrartistpage.html
http://www.boxequalsart.com/steinarlundartistpage.html
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Audionautas
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Audionautas »

Hi all

Just found by chance. According to MobyGames (http://www.mobygames.com/developer/shee ... Id,175755/), illustrator Lee Gibbons is credited as cover artist for the following games on the Spectrum:

* Deactivators (Reaktor, 1986).
* Starfox (Reaktor, 1987).
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Rorthron
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Rorthron »

The Hive instructions on SC contain the following credits:
Spectrum loading screen Kevin Wallace.
Illustration RICHARD SHENFIELD
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Sir Lancelot (Melbourne House). Cover Artwork by Con Aslanis, according to the credits in the instructions of the game.
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Audionautas »

Three Ariolasoft cover credits as it reads on the back cover of the games themselves.

* Bride Of Frankenstein (1987). Cover artist. Richard Edington.
* Triaxos (1987). Cover artist. Eddie King.
* Think! (1985). Cover artist. Peter Gudynas.

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Re: Cover artists

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Sports Hero (Melbourne House). In the instructions:

Cover artwork by Ned Culic

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Juan F. Ramirez
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Hong Kong Phooey (Hi-Tec, 1990). We can read in the instructions:

Illustration by Julie Hebdon

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Re: Cover artists

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Black Lamp (Firebird). According to the instructions:

Cover artwork by Graham Potts of John Martin & Associates.
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Rorthron
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Re: Cover artists

Post by Rorthron »

Both Jeff Easley:

Heroes of the Lance
Dragons of Flame
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