The Talented Illustrators Behind The Album Art
There are many talented illustrators and artists behind album covers. The three examined in this article have been involved in over 100 albums each.
Derek Riggs is best known for his work for Iron Maiden creating their mascot “Eddie the Head”. He designed covers for the band over a decade including many of the most popular covers. Expelled from art school in Great Britain, Riggs is a natural talent. He taught himself both traditional illustrating, painting and then digital artwork. When the album, “World’s only Female Tribute to Iron Maiden” was made, he was commissioned to do that cover. Riggs did covers for Bruce Dickinson’s solo album, as well as covers for Stratovarious, Gamma Ray, Artension, Gillman and a number of other bands.
Travis Smith, an American artist, specializes in heavy metal art. His cover for Revolver’s “Nightmare” is considered one of the best covers of all time. Smith has been involved in about 120 projects for over 100 bands. His works are seen on the covers of such bands as Opeth, Death, Devin Towsend, Nevermore and Anathema. He is known for using mixed media including photography, acrylics and watercolor, converting them to digital and changing the composition more.
Roger Dean, another British artist, is known for album covers based on fantasy. Comparison with landscapes in the movie “Avatar” suggests they were inspired by his art. He has done over 100 album covers many of which were done for the band, Yes. His first cover was done for “The Gun” in 1968, followed by a cover for Atomic Rooster. He went on to do covers for Uriah Heep and others. Dean’s works use mixed media such as watercolor, ink, collage techniques and even crayons.
The illustrators behind album art are true artists. They capture the essence of the music in artwork.