Re: Cover Artists 2

StooB · Post by **StooB** » Fri Dec 09, 2022 5:01 pm

Rorthron wrote: ↑Fri Dec 09, 2022 4:32 pm Great spots, but can you explain why you think it's that Thomas Canny? He's an American digital photography artist. He doesn't seem a likely candidate to me.

The signature also looks to me more like P Canny.

He's a digital photography artist now, but has a background as a "painter and illustrator" and prior to 1990 he was doing freelance book covers and worked at a "busy advertising agency".

Rorthron · Post by **Rorthron** » Fri Dec 09, 2022 5:36 pm

StooB wrote: ↑Fri Dec 09, 2022 5:01 pm He's a digital photography artist now, but has a background as a "painter and illustrator" and prior to 1990 he was doing freelance book covers and worked at a "busy advertising agency".

Still, a Californian artist working on Spectrum games in the 1980s would have been pretty unusual, and the name Canny's common enough that I doubt he is the only illustrator with that surname.

Stefan · Post by **Stefan** » Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:30 pm

Could it be Paul Canny? As thanked at the bottom of the kidsplay ad.

KIDSPLAY thanks this magazine and the following companies for the generous donation of their services: Camel Advertising, G & L Services, Rowley Studios, Friarsgate Studios, Pre-Press Services, Crystal Design, Ampersand, Steel Splash, Printing Centre, Lyne Printers, Willbond Artists, Paul Canny, D.J. Rowe and Inter Mediates.

Googling further on Paul Canny:

https://sfandfantasy.co.uk/php/series-l ... bsection=8

pb The Princess of Flames Ru Emerson Issued: 1987 ISBN 0048233595 Cover artist: Paul Canny

And that cover looks in line with Solomon's Key.

Which also leads us to Paul Canny Illustration & Design in Leceistershire

But I cannot find a direct link between the games on KidsPlay and Paul Canny.

Rorthron · Post by **Rorthron** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 9:06 am

Stefan wrote: ↑Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:30 pm Could it be Paul Canny?

It could be. A Leicester-based artist would make more sense and the images are similar enough in style. The date of the book cover (1987) also fits. It seems more promising to me than Thomas Canny. However, there's not much information in the listing for the Leicester firm and the illustration style is pretty generic 80s airbrushing, so it's hard to be confident. It doesn't help that no signature is visible on the book cover.

I checked ISFBD for Paul Canny and the cover you show is the only one they have for him.

The Kidsplay case is an odd one. There is no illustration on the preserved inlay (I've never seen the original). Yet Paul Canny and David Rowe are credited in the advert. But neither is credited on the inlay itself (though others are).

Stefan · Post by **Stefan** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 10:15 am

Rorthron wrote: ↑Sat Dec 10, 2022 9:06 am It could be. A Leicester-based artist would make more sense and the images are similar enough in style. The date of the book cover (1987) also fits. It seems more promising to me than Thomas Canny. However, there's not much information in the listing for the Leicester firm and the illustration style is pretty generic 80s airbrushing, so it's hard to be confident. It doesn't help that no signature is visible on the book cover.

I checked ISFBD for Paul Canny and the cover you show is the only one they have for him.

There is a copy of the book for sale on ebay with signature visible, unfortunately it looks different, so this may be a red herring:

Rorthron wrote: ↑Sat Dec 10, 2022 9:06 am The Kidsplay case is an odd one. There is no illustration on the preserved inlay (I've never seen the original). Yet Paul Canny and David Rowe are credited in the advert. But neither is credited on the inlay itself (though others are).

Rorthron · Post by **Rorthron** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 10:56 am

Stefan wrote: ↑Sat Dec 10, 2022 10:15 am There is a copy of the book for sale on ebay with signature visible, unfortunately it looks different, so this may be a red herring:

It's pretty similar, though. Only the P and C are different, and it's not unusual for artists to change their signature. It's not conclusive, but we have two artists with similar styles in similar fields at the same time with probably the same name and similar signatures. It seems to me likely they are the same person.

Audionautas · Post by **Audionautas** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 11:30 am

Rorthron wrote: ↑Sat Dec 10, 2022 10:56 am It's pretty similar, though. Only the P and C are different, and it's not unusual for artists to change their signature. It's not conclusive, but we have two artists with similar styles in similar fields at the same time with probably the same name and similar signatures. It seems to me likely they are the same person.

That's true. We have seen very different signatures from the same artists. For instance, the Steve Weston signatures are very different in some cases. The Ring Wars signature that @StooB shared a few days back is very different from the one on Starglider II or the one seen on the Onslaught poster. Sometimes artists had to adapt the signature to the illustration itself. Many times they didn't include a visible signature, or it was located out of frame.

In this case, I truly believe Paul Canny is the artist behind those U.S. Gold covers. In my opinion both art styles match perfectly, despite being different signatures.

Best regards

StooB · Post by **StooB** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 12:40 pm

Audionautas wrote: ↑Sat Dec 10, 2022 11:30 am
In this case, I truly believe Paul Canny is the artist behind those U.S. Gold covers. In my opinion both art styles match perfectly, despite being different signatures.

Yes, it must certainly be him. The link with Kidsplay is Camel who did all the advertising for both US Gold and Gremlin.

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Rorthron · Post by **Rorthron** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 1:52 pm

Yes, I think we have enough information to be confident attributing the covers to Paul Canny. If we want further evidence, we could contact the Leicester illustration firm. We might not get a response and it might not be the same person, but a similar approach led to identifying Bren the Mapmaker from Dun Darach, so it might be worth a go.

StooB · Post by **StooB** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 2:59 pm

Another Gremlin one.
The Final Matrix

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Rorthron · Post by **Rorthron** » Sun Dec 11, 2022 10:07 pm

LED Storm: Ian Naylor
Per signature (written vertically in dark panel just to left of centre)

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/9 ... /LED_Storm

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StooB · Post by **StooB** » Tue Dec 13, 2022 9:50 am

Another Firebird Hot cover with a tiny Steve Weston signature:

The Comet Game

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Audionautas · Post by **Audionautas** » Tue Dec 13, 2022 3:33 pm

StooB wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 9:50 am Another Firebird Hot cover with a tiny Steve Weston signature:

The Comet Game

Another great find! @StooB From now on I think we'll have to use an x-ray machine in order to find those hidden Steve Weston signatures.

Best regards

Rorthron · Post by **Rorthron** » Tue Dec 13, 2022 5:00 pm

Just looking at these Firebird Hot covers... Costa Capers has a JP signature on the rightmost bottle.

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... sta_Capers

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Rorthron · Post by **Rorthron** » Tue Dec 27, 2022 10:19 am

I have been looking at the US Gold inlays pavero scanned and saw a few artist names.

Alienstorm: Brian Butterfield and Carn Standing
Per inlay: "Artist sculptors, Brian Butterfield and Carn Standing". The cover appears to be a photograph of a model or sculpture.

Black Magic: Thomas J Clement
Per C64/128 inlay which has the same cover.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source= ... 5774706076

Bounty Bob Strikes back: K Samin?
Per signature on cover (on beam to the left of Bob's head)

Chicago 30s: AZ Pirlo
Per signature

E-motion: D Behr?
Per signature (lower left)

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Audionautas · Post by **Audionautas** » Tue Dec 27, 2022 10:31 am

Rorthron wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 10:19 am I have been looking at the US Gold inlays pavero scanned and saw a few artist names.

Chicago 30s: AZ Pirlo
Per signature

Chicago 30s is a very well known ALFONSO AZPIRI cover. His signature was always quite easy to spot on his covers. It's odd it's not credited yet on the ZXDB.

Regards

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Rorthron · Post by **Rorthron** » Tue Dec 27, 2022 10:51 am

Audionautas wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 10:31 am Chicago 30s is a very well known ALFONSO AZPIRI cover. His signature was always quite easy to spot on his covers. It's odd it's not credited yet on the ZXDB.

Regards

Well, the ZXDB entry doesn't even have the correct game title!

Audionautas · Post by **Audionautas** » Tue Dec 27, 2022 11:23 am

Best regards

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StooB · Post by **StooB** » Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:30 pm

Rorthron wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 10:19 am I
E-motion: D Behr?
Per signature (lower left)

That's David Bracher who also did Auf Wiedersehen Monty and HATE.

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Audionautas · Post by **Audionautas** » Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:59 pm

Audionautas wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 11:23 am Hi

Other ALFONSO AZPIRI covers not credited on the ZXDB yet are:

* CORSARIOS. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... /Corsarios
* DESPERADO. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/9 ... /Desperado
* DESPERADO 2. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... esperado_2
* GONZZALEZZ. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/2 ... Gonzzalezz
* ICE BREAKER. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/2 ... ce_Breaker
* JAI ALAI. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/2 ... m/Jai_Alai
* LORNA. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/2 ... trum/Lorna
* METROPOLIS. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/3 ... Metropolis
* MITHOS. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/3 ... rum/Mithos
* MUNDIAL DE FÚTBOL. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/3 ... %C3%BAtbol
* POOGABOO. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/3 ... m/Poogaboo
* SIDERAL WAR. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/4 ... ideral_War
* SIRWOOD. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/4 ... um/Sirwood
* TITANIC. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/5 ... um/Titanic
* TRIGGER. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... um/Trigger
* TUAREG. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/5 ... rum/Tuareg
* VEGA SOLARIS. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... ga_Solaris
* ZONA 0. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/5 ... rum/Zona_0
* OPERA SUPER SPORTS. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... per_Sports
* PACK MONSTRUO. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... k_Monstruo

I have credited Alfonso Azpiri in all these entries on the ZXDB through the SC Preservation Tools, except Desperado that is being edited by @StooB

Regards

✓ Reviewed

Rorthron · Post by **Rorthron** » Tue Dec 27, 2022 1:05 pm

StooB wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:30 pm That's David Bracher who also did Auf Wiedersehen Monty and HATE.

Yes, it looks the same signature as HATE, though he clearly couldn't be bothered with half the letters this time!

Incidentally Dave Bracher is not listed in ZXDB as the artist for HATE. I presume it's just part of the backlog.

✓ Reviewed

StooB · Post by **StooB** » Tue Dec 27, 2022 1:29 pm

Audionautas wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:59 pm except Desperado that is being edited by @StooB
Regards

Yes, that's another David Bracher for the Go! re-release.

Rorthron wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 1:05 pm Yes, it looks the same signature as HATE, though he clearly couldn't be bothered with half the letters this time!

Incidentally Dave Bracher is not listed in ZXDB as the artist for HATE. I presume it's just part of the backlog.

He doesn't usually sign with his full name, most of his signatures are just "DB", At the moment he's not even in ZXDB himself. His entry and around 15 other covers credited to him are waiting for @druellan to process through the preservation tools.

Audionautas · Post by **Audionautas** » Wed Dec 28, 2022 10:54 am

Hi

I have added the following covers through the Preservation Tools

* LA ESPADA SAGRADA (Topo Soft, 1990). Cover art by RAMÓN GONZÁLEZ TEJA as per instruction manual.
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... da_Sagrada

* TOP BY TOPO 2 (Topo Soft, 1991). This cover was made with pictures taken from previous covers by Alfonso Azpiri and Fernando San Gregorio, so, IMHO both artists should be credited for this cover.
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... _By_Topo_2

* GREMLINS 2: LA NUEVA GENERACIÓN (Topo Soft, 1990). Cover art by GREG WINTERS, just added to ZXDB. He's an American cover artist who did several film posters and video game covers in the 80s/90s mainly.
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/2 ... aci%C3%B3n

Some links.

- https://www.originalfilmart.com/products/gremlins-2-b2
- https://spelpappan.se/2013/08/this-is-h ... -was-made/
- http://www.boxequalsart.com/index-page-g-ii.html
- https://www.mobygames.com/developer/she ... erId,9268/

* THE GOONIES (U.S. Gold, 1985). Cover art by GREG WINTERS.

And now I have some doubts about the next one.

* TOUR '91 (Topo Soft, 1991).
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/5 ... um/Tour_91

According to the instruction manual the cover is credited to A.G.E Foto Stock. This is a Spanish stock photography company (https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/AboutUs.aspx), so my question is, have we credited stock photography agencies in the past or we just add illustrator names to the ZXDB?

Best regards

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sho · Post by **sho** » Wed Dec 28, 2022 3:31 pm

StooB wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 1:29 pmHe doesn't usually sign with his full name, most of his signatures are just "DB", At the moment he's not even in ZXDB himself. His entry and around 15 other covers credited to him are waiting for @druellan to process through the preservation tools.

I hope you don’t mind me submitting all your hard work to MobyGames?

StooB · Post by **StooB** » Wed Dec 28, 2022 5:09 pm

sho wrote: ↑Wed Dec 28, 2022 3:31 pm I hope you don’t mind me submitting all your hard work to MobyGames?

Not at all. All the cover artists should be getting far more credit for their work.