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Ezra Tucker (b. 1955) Pete McDonnell (b. 1959) Walter Carzon (b. 1965) Michel Bohbot (b. 1955) Unknown Lawrence Fletcher (1954–2022) Paul Kidby (b. 1964) Oliver Frey (1948–2022) Mark Heine (b. 1961) Paul McCaffrey Brad Lonergan (1968–2024) Simon Roberts (b. 1957) Steinar Lund (b. 1954) Lee Sullivan Peter Andrew Jones (b. 1951) Bob Eggleton (b. 1960) Ken Macklin (b. 1954) Tom Thiel (b. 1968) Wil Overton Greg Winters (b. 1956) Koichi Miyajima Hisashi Fujiwara 藤原ひさし David Rowe (b. 1950) Don Bluth (b. 1937) Greg Martin (1956–2013) Rick Grayson Jim Krogle (b. 1944) Joe Spencer Lee MacLeod (b. 1953) Yasushi Torisawa 酉澤安施 (b. 1962) Roger Loveless (b. 1957) Carl Flint Boris Vallejo (b. 1941) Tim Gabor (b. 1958) Fabien Rypert (b. 1964) Frank Cirocco (b. 1956) Tom Raney (b. 1966) Bill Morrison (b. 1959) Sergio Medina Tom duBois (b. 1957) Simon Bisley (b. 1962) John Youssi (b. 1947) Kevin O'Connor (b. 1952) Lisa French (b. 1956/7) Marc William Ericksen (b. 1947) Stephen Sampson Donato Giancola (b. 1967) John Smyth (b. 1946) Bob Wakelin (1952–2018) Dave DeVries (b. 1963) Leslie Cabarga (b. 1954) Dermot Power (b. 1967) Sam Weber Gary Meyer (1934–2021) Alan Craddock (b. 1956) Michael Dashow (b. 1968) Danny Jenkins (b. 1965) Robert Blackwell Franco Tempesta (b. 1966) Dave McMacken (1944–2019) John Zeleznik (b. 1965) Paul Faris (b. 1949) Julie Bell (b. 1958) Philip Howe Kenny Yamada (b. 1956) Mike Winterbauer (b. 1959) Gary Ruddell (b. 1951) Drew Struzan (b. 1947) David Harto Larry Grossman (b. 1948) Steve Weston (1948–2010) Stephanie M. B. Czech Joe Madureira (b. 1974) Terry Wolfinger (b. 1967) Robert J. Clarke (b. 1947) Adrian Powell (b. 1941) Tim White (1952–2020) Mark A. Nelson (b. 1953) Roger Huyssen (b. 1946) Ron Dias (1937–2013) Christopher Moeller (b. 1963) Stephen Gardner (b. 1963) Phil Roberts (b. 1960) Mike DeCarlo (b. 1957) Jason Edmiston (b. 1973) Val Semeiks Neal Adams (1941–2022) John Dearstyne (b. 1943) Duncan Gutteridge Ron Randall (b. 1956) Mike Wieringo (1963–2007) Duncan Fegredo (b. 1964) Iain McCaig (b. 1957) Randy Green (b. 1963) Joe Mathieu (b. 1949) Oclair Alberto Silverio Mark Fredrickson (b. 1957) Don Ivan Punchatz (1936–2009) Takahiro Kanie (b. 1955) Gary Winnick (b. 1954) John Higginbotham Bill Hall (b. 1948) Phil Trumbo (b. 1948) Takaya Imamura 今村 孝矢 (b. 1966) Dave Pether (1943–2021) Mick McGinty (1952–2021) Scott McDougall (b. 1954) Bruce Timm (b. 1961) Masao Koga 古賀 マサヲ (b. 1957) Bud Thon (b. 1938) David B. Mattingly (b. 1956) Steve Lang (b. 1960) Luc Collin (b. 1960) Ed Bryan Ken Steacy (b. 1955) Stephen Peringer (1951–2024) Eddie Sharam Paul Mann (b. 1955) Masami Obari Ayano Koshiro Don Bluth Studios Jeremy Pyke Nixon Galloway (1927–2003) Madhouse Studios Eiji Shiroi 白井影二 Ciruelo Cabral (b. 1963) James Dietz (b. 1946) Greg Hildebrandt (b. 1939) Tokyo Movie Shinsha Jeremy Wilson (b. 1986) Barbara Lofthouse Mark Stutzman (b. 1958) Dave Dorman (b. 1958) Corey Wolfe Ralph Horsley Robert A. Kraus (b. 1959) Yoshihiro Hashizume 橋爪義弘 Peter Bollinger Del Thompson Michael Koelsch (b. 1967) Paul E. Niemeyer (b. 1957) Roko (b. 1953) Tony Szczudlo (b. 1957) Marc Silvestri (b. 1958)

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  1. OVGA Database
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  2. OVGA Database
    Pete McDonnell is an American freelance illustrator that has worked in advertising, comics, and publishing, including for video games. In addition to box art for a small number of games, Pete worked on numerous, diverse projects related to video games, documented throughout his biography below. OVGA has hosted a gallery with some of Pete's projects, which can be seen here and on a side-pane on the right (on desktop). Pete’s first game project was also one of his most substantial: the box art for Activision’s Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 releases of Double Dragon in 1988. Pete’s work with Activision would continue with an ill-fated Sega Genesis project under the name Mondu’s Fight Palace. With the game set to be published in the fall of 1990, Pete was tasked with creating art for inclusion in the game’s manual: illustrations of each of the game’s characters as well as a mini-comic to introduce the game’s premise. However, amidst financial issues, including multi-million dollar patent infringement lawsuits, Activision pulled out of the Sega market. Though the game would later reach the Sega Genesis under the name Slaughter Sport from U.S. publisher Razorsoft in 1991, Pete’s work for Activision would go unused. A prototype manual for the game can be seen on the website of Steve Englehart; the back cover of the manual includes Pete’s art for the character Guano. While Mondu’s Final Palace would be scrapped, Pete would take on one final project for Activision: the box art for The Adventures of Rad Gravity for the NES in late 1990. Pete’s art would be created in two separate layers. After inking the line work on paper, Pete worked with a local film processing shop to make both a black & white film overlay and a “blue line” version of the art on illustration board. In what would become the final color art for the box, Pete would color the blue line version with dyes, basically vivid watercolors. The supplied film overlay was then laid on top of the color as a composite. He would utilize this process for coloring his art up until 1996, when he entered the world of digital coloring! Though the final art for The Adventures of Rad Gravity incorporates the game’s title, Pete created separate Rad Gravity title art for use on the sides of the game box. Frank Cirocco illustrated the art for Rad Gravity’s comic book manual, another Steve Englehart project. In mid-1990 and likely sequentially before his Rad Gravity work, Pete played a significant role in Data East’s Werewolf: The Last Warrior for the NES. Pete is responsible for all of the artwork for the game’s pack-in comic, but he was also the game’s character designer. Fun fact: before the game was set to star a Werewolf, Pete created and Activision focus-tested character concepts for not only for a Werewolf but also for a Lizard man and a bear named “Kodiak.” Pete designed the title logo for the game and created the concept for the game’s box art, though he did not illustrate the final box art. Pete additionally illustrated Werewolf: The Last Warrior art used on a seemingly obscure or undocumented promotional flyer (front / back). In 1991, Pete would pencil a comic included in the instruction manual for Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin for the Sega Genesis. As Steve Englehart tells it, while it was not Sega’s policy to pack a comic in with the game, Steve touted Activision’s approach and sold them on the idea. Long-time Spider-Man artist John Romita provided final ink revisions for the comic, ensuring the correct look for all of the characters’ heads and faces. Curiously, while Steve could not recall that Pete had penciled the project, it was likely Steve’s involvement and an assumed network of mutual acquaintances that landed Pete the job, having both overlapped for Mondu’s Fight Palance and more indirectly for Rad Gravity. Following the same process as for Rad Gravity, Pete additionally colored some of his Spider-Man comic panels, for promotional usage including in issue 6 of Sega Visions magazine and on apparel. The following year in 1992, Pete created advertising art for The Combatribes for the Super Nintendo. The same year, Peter collaborated with his friend Michel Bohbot on the packaging art for Ranma ½: Hard Battle for the Super Nintendo. As Michel typically worked from photo reference and as Pete had a more comic book-oriented drawing style, Michel recruited Pete to ensure the final art captured the anime style of the characters. All of Pete’s involvement was directly through Michel, with Pete creating a few concepts and thumbnail sketches, then refining the final poses and characters that Michel then referenced in painting the box art. Surprisingly, one of Pete’s sketches appeared on an ad sheet used to promote the game. The final painting for Ranma ½: Hard Battle is signed “BOHBOT/PM,” in acknowledgement of Pete’s contributions. Beginning in the fall of 1993 through early 1995, Pete would work closely with Sega for a handful of projects likely run out of a newly-created Sega Toys division for electronic games and toys. In what was intended to be a line of proposed “electronic comic books,” Pete created new comic art for stories featuring Batman, the X-Men, and the Eternal Champions. Presentation in subsequent years at the New York Toy Fair appears to have driven both Eternal Champions work, beginning in January 1994, as well as his final projects—color comic pages of Batman—in January and February of 1995. Ultimately, the project never saw the light of day, and Tiger Electronics’ acquisition of Sega’s electronic toy line, announced at the 1995 Toy Fair, likely killed off the electronic comic book concept. The only mention online of Sega’s idea of electronic comic books came in a preview in Popular Science magazine in April 1995. The preview shows a prototype unit and reveals it was intended to be a cartridge-based system that would have seen special comic books placed onto a touch pad that would let the reader/player direct the plot. The article mentions X-Men, Batman, and Superman, though Pete had no involvement in a Superman project, if it existed at all. Depicted in the preview is an X-Men page illustrated by comic artist Luke McDonnell, Pete’s twin brother. Lastly, amidst Pete’s ongoing work with Sega on the Electronic Comics concept, in early 1994, following the start of his work on an Eternal Champions comic, he contributed to the in-game art for the Tiger Electronics LCD handheld for Eternal Champions: Special Moves Edition, as part of the Pocket Arcade series. Among the first Pocket Arcade games to be created, it was apparently designed by cartoonist I.B. Nelson in the space of a month. While I.B. Nelson appears to have done an initial design for the characters (as previously shown on his website), Pete McDonnell was brought in to clean up the in-game character images to ensure the game was consistent with the look of the Eternal Champions property. The final game uses art based on Pete’s inked lines.
  3. OVGA Database
    Rampart Atari Lynx box art from Gary Glover
    Rampart is signed "Glover" in blue on the waves off to the right side.
  4. OVGA Database
    Power Factor Atari Lynx box art from Gary Glover
    Power Factor incorporates Gary's interlocking "GG" initials in the background.
  5. OVGA Database
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  6. OVGA Database
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  7. OVGA Database
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  8. OVGA Database
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  9. OVGA Database
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  10. OVGA Database
    Catch the Taito Wave Ad
  11. OVGA Database
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  12. OVGA Database
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  13. OVGA Database
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  15. OVGA Database
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  16. OVGA Database

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    OVGA Database posted a gallery image in Paul Faris

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  17. OVGA Database
    Adapted from El Mundo del Spectrum | Original in Spanish, with credit to @Pablo Steve Weston was a British illustrator best known for his computer game box art for UK publisher Hewson Consultants Ltd. Steve’s quality and quantity of work for Hewson would come to epitomize the company during its most successful period (1986–1989), with Steve illustrating the majority of the publisher’s most iconic boxes. Born in the seaside town of Bournemouth, Steve lived as a child on his grandparents' farm in Chipping Norton (Oxfordshire). In that rural environment, he discovered a profound love for nature and soon became interested in drawing. Steve meanwhile developed a great fascination for the world of aviation—he would later become a respected ultralight flight instructor—classic cars, and all kinds of mechanical artifacts, passions that would accompany him throughout his life. During the 1970s, Steve studied graphic design at Oxford Polytechnic and then started a career as a commercial designer. In 1977, he organized his first painting exhibition based on oil paintings of birds in his town, which would launch his career as an independent artist and illustrator. Steve’s clients were diverse, illustrating for newspapers and medical and computer magazines but also album covers; however, it would be Steve’s fantasy paintings that would open the next chapter of his career. Owing to his fantasy work, Steve would acquire a certain notoriety at the beginning of the 1980s as the artist responsible for the cover art for the British releases of fantasy novels from Irish author Anne McCaffrey. Beginning with a cover painting for Dragondrums in 1981, Steve’s collaboration with Anne would last two decades and span around 15 covers, with Steve creating art for the Pern, Pegasus, and Crystal Singer series. Thanks to his mastery of the airbrush technique and limitless inventiveness when it came to recreating the mythical worlds and giving the dragons that emerged from McCaffrey's imagination a life of their own, Steve would receive the nickname of “The Dragon Master” among his peers. With a growing fantasy reputation and his residence in the same Oxfordshire county where Hewson Consultants was headquartered, Steve attracted the attention of the software house toward the end of 1985. In a rapidly evolving and fiercely competitive gaming industry, a product’s image could determine the success or failure of a game—and by extension, a company. Having gone without a signature illustrator since its inception, the Abingdon company sought to upgrade its box art and in bringing in Steve ushered in a transformation for Hewson's packaging. First lending his talents for Hewson’s now-iconic box art for Uridium (February 1986), Steve soon followed with paintings for an extensive list of titles such as Firelord, Alleykat, Impossaball, Rana Rama, Gunrunner, Zynaps, Exolon, Nebulus, Cybernoid,(also released for the NES featuring Steve's art), Marauder, and so on forming an oeuvre of some twenty game boxes during the most brilliant period of Hewson’s output (1986–1989). Steve would also illustrate Hewson's exclusive titles for 16-bit computers such as Custodian and Onslaught, and would be the creator of the golden lizard logo that Andrew Hewson's company would emblazon on the boxes of all its games during its last active period (1989–1991). OVGA has further attributed to Steve a number of titles done for Hewson's budget label Rack-It. Steve Weston was a highly versatile artist who mastered a wide range of illustration techniques ranging from early oil painting to 3D modeling and computer animation, which he combined with the former in his later years. However, the technique for which Steve would be most recognized in the 8-bit era is that of the airbrush, reinforced by the use of a fine brush for details. While the vast majority of Steve's video game package art was for Hewson, he also illustrated a small handful of titles for publisher Telecomsoft, under its Firebird and Rainbird labels, including some of his earliest works in 1986: Runestone, The Comet Game, and The Pawn. Additionally, Steve illustrated he box art for Ring Wars for Cascade Games Limited, his sole title for the publisher. Steve passed away on December 29, 2010, with the Oxford Mail publishing an obituary shortly after. OVGA has included below Steve Weston's full known box art catalog: Runestone (Firebird Software | Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum | 1986) Uridium (Hewson Consultants | Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum | 1986) Firelord (Hewson Consultants | Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum | 1986) The Comet Game (Firebird Software | Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum | 1986) Alleykat a.k.a. Demolition Mission: The Alleykat Space Racer (Hewson Consultants | Commodore 64 | 1986) The Pawn (Rainbird Software | Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum | 1986) Tracker (Rainbird Software | Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS | 1986) Jewels Of Darkness (Firebird Software/Rainbird Software | Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II , Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh, MSX, ZX Spectrum | 1986) Rasputin (Firebird Software | Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum | 1986) Silicon Dreams (Firebird Software/Rainbird Software | Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II , Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh, MSX, ZX Spectrum | 1986) Knight Orc (Firebird Software/Rainbird Software | Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II , Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh, MSX, ZX Spectrum | 1987) Impossaball (Hewson Consultants | Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum | 1987) Rana Rama (Hewson Consultants | Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum | 1987) Gunrunner (Hewson Consultants | ZX Spectrum | 1987) Exolon (Hewson Consultants | Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum | 1987) Zynaps (Hewson Consultants | Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum | 1987) Nebulus (Hewson Consultants | Amiga-EUR, Atari ST-EUR, Commodore 64-EUR | 1987) Eagles (Hewson Consultants | Commodore 64 | 1987) attributed Morpheus (Rainbird Software | Commodore 64 | 1987) attributed Herobotix (Rack-It | Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 | 1987) attributed Tunnel Vision (Rack-It | Commodore 64 | 1987) attributed Evening Star (Hewson Consultants | Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, Electron, ZX Spectrum | 1987) attributed Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine (Hewson Consultants | Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, NES, ZX Spectrum | 1988) Marauder (Hewson Consultants | Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum | 1988) Netherworld (Hewson Consultants | Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum | 1988) Eliminator (Hewson Consultants | ZX Spectrum | 1988) Cybernoid II: The Revenge (Hewson Consultants | Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum | 1988) Ring Wars (Cascade Games Limited | Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum | 1988) Steel (Hewson Consultants | Amiga, Commodore 64 | 1988) attributed Magnetron (Firebird Software | Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum | 1988) attributed Scorpion (Rack-It | Commodore 64 | 1988) attributed Subterranea (Rack-It | Commodore 64 | 1988) attributed Sunburst (Rack-It | Commodore 64 | 1988) attributed 5th Gear (Hewson Consultants | Amiga, Atari ST | 1989) not the Rack-It release for Commodore 64 Custodian (Hewson Consultants | Amiga, Atari ST | 1989) Onslaught (Hewson Consultants | DOS | 1989) not Sega Genesis Starglider 2 (Rainbird Software | Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, ZX Spectrum | 1989) Fish (Rainbird Software | Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum | 1989) Battle Valley (Hewson Consultants | Amiga, Commodore 64 | 1989) attributed; separate art from the 1987 Rack-It release, which may or may not also be Steve Weston’s work Future Basketball (Hewson Consultants | Amiga, Atari ST | 1990) attributed Streets of Rage 3 (Sega | Genesis-EUR | 1994) Famously, Steve Weston also painted what was intended to be box art for Astaroth: The Angel of Death, featuring a seductive yet frightening bare-chested female demon. Although Steve’s artwork had been completed months ahead of time with a planned April 1989 release—and even shown at industry events such as the 1988 PC Show—upon presentation to the major retailers, Hewson Consultants was told that the high street chains wouldn’t stock the product with its present artwork. Unable to get to store shelves and effectively censored, the game was repackaged for a July 1989 release with just the game’s title logo on a black background. With such a robust body of work for Hewson, Steve also created illustrations for games that ultimately went unreleased, such as for Hewson's release of Morpheus, which would have had different art from the Rainbird title of the same name. Similarly, Steve appears to have painted more than one image for Magnetron, with an early image for Hewson advertising an unrealized November 1987 release date; instead, Magnetron was published by Firebird in 1988 with different box art, though with a near identical concept. Though Steve’s son Sam Weston (also a graphic designer), previously hosted a tribute site for his father’s artwork (now offline), Sam confirmed that his father did not maintain a list of his works nor did he preserve his original illustrations for video games. Accordingly, Steve likely completed additional video game package artwork not yet identified above. In particular, Steve was likely responsible for many of the budget releases under the Rack-It label when it debuted in 1987, though given their lower price point, the art for those releases often lacked the detail and execution typically associated with Steve or work he might ordinarily do for a “full-priced” title. OVGA has attributed some of these works but has left others off as inconclusive.
  18. OVGA Database
    William Charles “Bud” Thon is a retired American illustrator and Pixar alumni from Washington, Illinois. A resident of the San Francisco area for many years, Bud started his art career painting flames on cars and airbrushing sweatshirts. This led him to ad agencies, design studios, corporate art departments, and eventually to KPIX-TV as art director (1970–1973) before deciding to work for himself. Finishing up at the California Institute of the Arts in 1973, Bud likely began freelancing while in school and would do so for the next 25 years, sharing a studio with fellow artist John Mattos. Bud picked up his first video game work in 1982, illustrating the box art for the Atari 5200 release of Space Invaders. Although ultimately unused, Tim Lapetino’s book Art of Atari (page 122) features a Bud Thon illustration for Asteroids for the 5200, also likely 1982. Additionally during this period, beginning in September 1983, Bud illustrated several covers for Antic, a print magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit family of home computers and later the Atari ST. His next known box art would come in 1986 for Epyx’s World Games, a title that saw numerous ports using Bud’s art, including for the Milton Bradley-published NES release in 1989. Almost a decade after his initial video game work, beginning around 1991, Bud would complete a number of jobs for Sega. In addition to box art for Midnight Resistance (1991) and David Robinson’s Supreme Court (1992), Bud’s art duties for Sega included the packaging art for Sega’s “Championship Moments” VHS tape as well as a holiday card featuring Sonic and Tails. Outside of games, one of Bud’s most recognizable illustrations was the album art for Shooting Star’s 1983 album Burning. He additionally created the album art for Paul Kantner’s Planet Earth Rock And Roll Orchestra, also 1983. From 1997 to 2002, Bud worked as a concept artist and designer for Pixar Animation Studios. His credited work for Pixar includes Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, and the animated short Mike’s New Car; he may also have worked on the Toy Story series. OVGA has included below Bud Thon’s full known box art catalog: Space Invaders (Atari, Inc. | Atari 5200 | 1982) World Games (Epyx, Inc. | Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64-US, NES, PC Booster | 1986) Midnight Resistance (Sega | Genesis | 1991) David Robinson’s Supreme Court (Sega | Genesis | 1992) Rolo to the Rescue (Electronic Arts | Genesis | 1993) The Adventures of Dr. Franken (DTMC | SNES | 1994) Though ultimately unused, Bud also created art for the Super Nintendo game Combatribes, with another artist’s work being selected instead for the box art.
  19. OVGA Database
    Keith A. Parkinson was an American fantasy artist and illustrator known for his work for Dungeons & Dragons, EverQuest, and Magic: The Gathering. Upon graduating from Kendall School of Design in 1980, Keith took a staff artist position at Advertising Posters, a printing company in Chicago, which was the center of the pinball manufacturing world. Advertising Posters handled the art for Gottlieb as well as Gottlieb’s major competitor, Williams. In addition to pinball work, Keith created the art for early arcade cabinets, including Krull and Tron, giving Keith a direct hand in the beginning of the video game industry. It was also at Advertising Posters that a coworker introduced Keith to the role playing game Dungeons & Dragons. That introduction to D&D not only hooked Keith—he thereafter played weekly—but likely heavily influenced the rest of his career. Departing Advertising Posters, Keith took a job in November 1982 with the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons, TSR, Inc. As Keith tells of his start with the company: "I didn't like a lot of the art I saw on D&D game products, and the company was in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, just over the border, so I drove up one day to see if I could do some freelance work. Elmore, Jeff Easley, and Tim Truman had all just joined the company, and the art they were working on was fantastic. It really blew my mind. Jim Roslof, who was the Art Director, hinted that I could join the staff full-time, but I missed the hint. A few days later, I called him about a job, and he had just hired somebody else the day before, but he'd keep me in mind. The next day, he called back, and had an opening.” During a five-year stint, Keith contributed to a wide variety of projects, including for the core of TSR’s product lines: Dragon magazine, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Star Frontiers, DragonLance, Forgotten Realms, and Gamma World. Several of the D&D paintings that Keith would do for TSR, Inc. during this period would later be reused as the box art for the D&D games published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1990 and 1991. After leaving TSR, Keith pursued a freelance career for seven years, during which he primarily painted book covers for the New York publishing market. Clients include Random House, Bantam and Penguin Books. Covers for best-selling authors include Terry Goodkind, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, and Terry Brooks. Keith received many accolades and awards during this period from fans and his peers alike. In 1999, Keith painted the well-known artwork for the original EverQuest as well as its first three expansion packs: The Ruins of Kunark, The Scars of Velious, and The Shadows of Luclin. In painting the box art, he also created the character Firiona Vie, who has since become nearly synonymous with the series, adorning the box for almost every subsequent EverQuest release. Prior to his death in 2005, Keith worked on the MMORPG Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Although he passed away before he could create the game’s box art, he did create the game's three 'mascot' characters: Jeric, Eila, and Idara. In line with Keith’s hopes, Donato Giancola would take over box art duties. The left side of Donato's painting would emulate Keith's personal style, as a tribute to him, transitioning to Donato’s style for the painting’s right side. As a further tribute to Keith Parkinson, Donato put a character resembling him into the painting. OVGA has included below Keith Parkinson's full known box art catalog: Xenocide (Micro Revelations, Inc. | Apple IIgs, DOS | 1989) Champions of Krynn (Strategic Simulations, Inc. | Amiga, Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS, PC-98 | 1990) first use: cover to Dragons of Desolation module (1984) DragonStrike (Strategic Simulations, Inc. | Amiga, Commodore 64, DOS, PC-98 | 1990) first use: cover to Dragons of Hope module (1984) Death Knights of Krynn (Strategic Simulations, Inc. | Amiga, Commodore 64, DOS, PC-98 | 1991) first use: Dragonlance Legends calendar interior as "Lord Soth's Charge" (1987) Pools of Darkness (Strategic Simulations, Inc. | Amiga, DOS, Macintosh, PC-98 | 1991) art first use: cover to Queen of the Spider adventure module (1986) Death Gate (Legend Entertainment Company | DOS | 1994) Operation Body Count (Capstone Software | DOS | 1994) Slayer (Strategic Simulations, Inc. | 3DO | 1994) EverQuest (989 Studios | Macintosh, Windows | 1999) EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark (Sony Online Entertainment Inc. | Windows | 2000) EverQuest: The Scars of Velious (Sony Online Entertainment Inc. | Windows | 2000) Wizards & Warriors (Activision | Windows | 2000) Everquest: Trilogy (Sony Online Entertainment Inc. | Windows | 2001) compilation of prior artwork EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin (Sony Online Entertainment Inc. | Windows | 2001) Summoner (THQ Inc. | Windows | 2001) EverQuest: The Planes of Power (Sony Online Entertainment Inc. | Windows | 2002) EverQuest: Gold Edition (Sony Online Entertainment Inc. | Windows | 2002) Firiona Vie image on front appears to be recycled from The Ruins of Kunark Keith's art for the computer game Xenocide was also used as the cover art for Jerry Pournelle's 1989 book Prince of Mercenaries, book 2 in the Falkenberg's Legion series. While some sites (Mobygames) list Xenocide's Apple IIgs release year as 1987, other sources (Wikipedia) have the Apple IIgs release as 1989. The latter is more likely, especially as it would allow for the art to have first been commissioned for the book cover and then reused for the game box, a common practice of the era. Similarly, Keith's 1988 book cover painting for The Burning Eye, book 1 in the Warworld series by Jerry Pournelle, was later reused for the 1994 computer game Operation Body Count.
  20. OVGA Database
    Tim White was a British painter, best known for his science fiction and fantasy book covers, record covers and magazine illustrations. Tim is recognized by game art enthusiasts for his box art for British publisher Psygnosis. Graduating from Medway College of Art in 1972, Tim would soon after embark on a career painting sci-fi novel covers for the likes of Lovecraft, Sterling and Heinlein. He would start designing box arts by the mid-80s for publisher The Power House and is likely responsible for many of the company’s fantasy covers until its demise in 1988. Tim joined Psygnosis’ already bulging roster of sci-fi/ fantasy painters in 1987 with Terrorpods (also with Roger Dean) and would go on to design originals for the publisher (Leander, The Killing Game Show) as well as have previously commissioned artworks reused (Infestation). His final cover was Ishar Trilogy (1995) after which he would do some design work for Microprose in 1997 before bowing out of the video game industry. OVGA has included below Tim White's full known box art catalog: Return of the Space Warrior (Alpha-Omega Software | Commodore 64 | 1986) Hercules (The Power House | BBC Micro, Commodore 64, Electron, ZX Spectrum | 1987) Splitz (The Power House | Commodore 64 | 1987) Terrorpods (Psygnosis | Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, DOS, MSX, ZX Spectrum | 1987) collab with Roger Dean The Enforcer (The Power House | Commodore 64 | 1987) The Equalizer (The Power House | Commodore 64 | 1987) Tomb of the Syrinx (The Power House | ZX Spectrum| 1987) Infestation (Psygnosis | Amiga, Atari ST, DOS | 1990) The Killing Game Show (Psygnosis | Amiga, Atari ST | 1990) Unreal (Ubi Soft Entertainment | Amiga, Atari ST, DOS | 1990) Amnios (Psygnosis | Amiga | 1991) Leander (Psygnosis | Amiga, Atari ST | 1991) Orbitus (Psygnosis | Amiga, Atari ST, DOS | 1991) Ishar Trilogy (Silmarils | Amiga, Atari ST, DOS | 1995)
  21. OVGA Database
    Adapted from BOX=ART Katsuya Terada is a prolific Japanese illustrator that has worked in every field from advertising to book illustration and from manga to video games. Though Katsuya has filled many roles throughout his career, he’s most at home with his identity as a scribbler, dubbing himself “Rakugaking”—an apparent portmanteau of the Japanese word rakugaki (meaning doodle or scribble) and the English word king. The artist posts actively on Facebook as Katsuya "t e r r a" Terada and has used a “TERRA” signature on many of his works, dating back at least to his work for Nintendo Power. Though Katsuya became famous in the West in the ‘00s through his high-profile character designs for movies like Hellboy (2004) and Blood: The Last Vampire (2009), work in the video game industry beginning in the late-’80s launched his storied career. In fact, as artists have become better credited for their game work, Katsuya’s name has perhaps since become more often attached to the Zelda series, some of his earliest work. Katsuya would start in the video game industry as the illustrator for the Tantei Jingūji Saburō (a.k.a. Detective Jingūji Saburō) series after receiving a call from animator Toshio Nishiuchi. Though Toshio Nishiuchi had painted his own concepts for the game, publisher Data East deemed them a little too cute, and Katsuya answered the call to design something “more hard-boiled,” doing the character designs, background illustrations, some art for the instruction manual, as well as the logo. Katsuya would go on to be a regular contributor to the long-running Tantei Jingūji Saburō visual novel mystery series, continuing to provide art for the series as recently as 2018 for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 releases of Prism of Eyes. Somewhat unique within the industry, Katsuya has remained involved with the series for more than three decades. By the early-’90s, Katsuya’s box art catalog would expand beyond the Tantei Jingūji Saburō series, illustrating the Japan-only Mega Drive title Blue Almanac in 1991, followed by three titles for the Super Famicom: Prince of Persia (1992), The Legend of Bishin (1993), and Maten Densetsu: Senritsu no Ooparts (1995). His highest-profile box art of this period though would probably be Sega’s Virtua Fighter Remix in 1995 for the Saturn in Japan. Between 1988 and 1994, Katsuya was a regular contributor for Nintendo Power, the promotional magazine for North American markets. An extensive list of Katsuya’s Nintendo Power contributions can be found in this VGDensetsu blog post. Among them, he drew a remarkable set of illustrations for The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Another set of Link's Awakening art was exclusive to the official German-language player's guide. These printed Zelda illustrations stunned players with powerful imaginations of Link's adventures—as the NES had a limited capacity to show details on a screen, a player's guide filled in the visual gaps by showing more elaborate details. Outside of his Nintendo Power work, little else of his game work contemporaneously made it to international audiences. As a result of the majority of his box art having been for Japan-only titles, his first box art to make it abroad may not have been until 2001 for Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land (in Japan: Busin: Wizardry Alternative). A Jake Hunter (the English localization of Tantei Jingūji Saburō) title for the Nintendo 3DS released in the U.S. in 2009 is another limited exception of Katsuya’s work being used outside of Japan. Katsuya has counted the work of French cartoonist Moebius—of comic book Métal Hurlant fame—among his inspirations, as Moebius, in Katsuya’s mind, combined the clean line art seen in book illustration with the dynamics of manga, opening up possibilities he did not see before. "Moebius was such an influence when I was a teenager, I'm kind of embarrassed by it now. You can really draw anything, if you apply Moebius' style. Because suddenly your manga character doesn't have to be as stylized (as was custom in manga at the time), but they can be much more realistic. In short, I found a lot of possibilities in Moebius' linework." The look of Métal Hurlant’s fantastical and dystopian characters may well have influenced Katsuya’s box arts for The Legend of Bishin (1993) and Sol Divide (1998) as well as other works throughout the artist’s career. Beyond his exceptional video game portfolio, Katsuya is particularly heralded for his fantasy manga series The Monkey King, originally published by Shueisha as Saiyukiden Daienō in Japanese in 1995, then translated into English in 2005 by Dark Horse publishing. The two full-color manga books reinterpret a well-known epic of Goku, who escorts the monk Sanzo on a perilous journey across—as the flap text has it—"a wasteland filled with weird, violent, and sexy demons." Widely seen as among Katsuya Terada’s finest work, one reviewer commented: "His artwork—every page is painted—explodes with energy, overflows with baroque lineation and voluptuous figuration, and exploits color like a chameleon with multiple personality disorder." Over the years Katsuya’s work has spanned a range of media, using water-based markers, paints, brush pens and pencils, as well as digital media. Presently, Katsuya says that he sketches nearly everything on a 13" iPad Pro, allowing him to work with speed and freedom. He has built up a following through his copious sketching and has described drawing as almost a physical need to him, comparing his daily routine to the preparations of a marathon runner, “The more time I spend on drawing, the closer I get to that line that I am imagining. Every day of practice prepares you better for that one moment." Cook and Becker published an exceptional artist spotlight on Katsuya Terada, which OVGA has referenced in supplementing this biography. OVGA has included below Katsuya Terada 寺田 克也's full known box art catalog: Detective Saburō Jingūj: Shinjuku Chūō Kōen Satsujin Jiken (Data East | Nintendo Disk System | 1987) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Kiken na Futari Zenpen (Data East | Nintendo Disk System | 1988) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Yokohama-kō Renzoku Satsujin Jiken (Data East | NES | 1988) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Kiken na Futari Kōhen (Data East | Nintendo Disk System | 1989) Blue Almanac (Kodansha Ltd. | Mega Drive | 1991) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Toki no Sugiyuku Mama ni... (Data East | NES | 1991) Prince of Persia (Masaya | SNES-EUR/JPN | 1992) The Legend of Bishin (Magifact | SNES | 1993) Maten Densetsu: Senritsu no Ooparts (TAKARA Lft Co. | SNES | 1995) Virtua Fighter Remix (Sega | Saturn-JPN | 1995) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Mikan no Rupo (Data East | PS1, Saturn | 1996) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Yume no Owari ni (Data East | PS1, Saturn | 1998) Sol Divide (Atlus | PS1, Saturn | 1998) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Early Collection (Data East | PS1 | 1999) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Tomoshibi ga Kienu Ma ni (Data East | PS1 | 1999) Busin: Wizardry Alternative (Atlus | PS2 | 2001) Nanatama: Chronicle of Dungeon Master (GAE Inc. | Sony PSP | 2001) Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land (Atlus U.S.A | PS2 | 2001) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Innocent Black (WorkJam | PS2 | 2002) Sword of Samurai (Majesco Entertainment | PS2-JPN | 2002) Busin 0: Wizardry Alternative NEO (Atlus | PS2 | 2003) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Kind of Blue (WorkJam | PS2 | 2004) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Shiroi Kage no Shōjo (WorkJam | Game Boy Advance | 2004) Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles (WorkJam | Nintendo DS | 2007) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Kienai Kokoro (WorkJam | Nintendo DS | 2008) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Fuserareta Shinjitsu (WorkJam | Nintendo DS | 2009) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Hai to Daiyamondo (WorkJam | Sony PSP | 2009) Jake Hunter Detective Story: Memories of the Past (Aksys Games Localization, Inc. | Nintendo DS | 2009) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Akai Chō (WorkJam | Nintendo DS | 2010) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Fukushuu no Rinne (WorkJam | 3DS | 2012) Jake Hunter Detective Stories: Ghost in the Dark (Arc System Works | 3DS | 2017) Detective Saburō Jingūj: Prism of Eyes (Arc System Works | PS4, Nintendo Switch | 2018)
  22. OVGA Database
    Description: Doom magazine cover art for EGM issue 64. Don signed the painting "Punchatz" on the space marine's gun. Originally sold on Heritage Auctions in 2008 for less than $300, on September 25, 2020 the painting was resold for $38,889 through Heritage's Make Offer to Owner feature. Year: 1994 Medium: Acrylic on heavy illustration board Image Area: 12" x 15" Image Source: Heritage Auctions Condition: Excellent
  23. OVGA Database
    Description: This is an alternative cover for the Super NES game, Imperium. Year: 1992 Medium: Acrylic on board Image Area: Width x Height IN/CM Image Source: Original Condition:
  24. OVGA Database
    Adapted from BOX=ART Yoshitaka Amano is one of the most revered Japanese illustrators of his generation; a legendary artist who defined the the long running Final Fantasy series. While visiting a friend in Tokyo in 1967, Yoshitaka boldly took his paintings to the famed animation studio Tatsunoko Productions. His talent was instantly recognized, and at the age of 15, his family reluctantly moved him to a company dormitory in the capital city. During his fifteen-year tenure with Tatsunoko, Yoshitaka prospered, carving out the then-unheard role of character designer, penciling such classics as Gatchaman and Casshan. In this period, Yoshitaka would develop his trademark style of delicate, wispy lines, bold comic book inspired coloring, and effeminate looking characters. After Tatsunoko, in 1982, Yoshitaka went independent and became a freelance artist, finding success as an illustrator for numerous authors, and worked on best-selling novel series, such as The Guin Saga and Vampire Hunter D. Yoshitaka illustrated the cover for the first Vampire Hunter D novel, and in creating the enduring design for the character D, Yoshitaka would find worldwide recognition with the titular character’s debut anime: Vampire Hunter D (1985). In 1987, Yoshitaka joined fledgling developer Square as a promotional illustrator and character designer for its latest game, Final Fantasy, with Yoshitaka also creating the game's debut box art. With the success of Final Fantasy, Square set about turning the game into a series and Yoshitaka’s artwork would be used on the Famicom releases of Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III (1988 and 1990). Strangely, Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy V’s box arts on the Super Famicom (1991 and 1992) eschewed Yoshitaka’s hallmark painted style in favor of character art reminiscent of their equivalent in-game sprites. Yoshitaka would however remain responsible for the title and logo design for these games in what would become an enduring tradition, as Yoshitaka’s title/logo designs have graced the boxes of every main-series release to this day. Among his work with Square for the Final Fantasy series, Japanese studio KSK enlisted Yoshitaka to illustrate the box art for Silver Ghost and First Queen, two titles that helped establish KSK’s newly invented "Gochyakyara" (ゴチャキャラ "Multiple Character") system, a unique hybrid between the real-time strategy, action role-playing game and tactical role-playing game genres that would later inspire such series as Shining Force and Fire Emblem. Yoshitaka would illustrate the next two entries in the First Queen series, after Jun Suemi was tapped to take the reins. For KSK, Yoshitaka would also illustrate the boxes for Duel (1989) and Kawanakajima Ibunroku (1992). Yoshitaka returned to illustrate the box art for Final Fantasy VI (1994), but it would be the last time until a plethora of compilations and remakes, from the PlayStation era onwards, started using his works. Amazingly, these compilations and remakes would be the first exposure for Western gamers to Yoshitaka’s original box art, as North America’s Final Fantasy I–III had little-to-no connection to his artistic vision and Europe didn’t receive the games at all. In 1995, Yoshitaka would lend his talents to another Square series in creating the box art for Front Mission followed by the art for its sequel Front Mission: Gun Hazard (1996). Beyond his long-running work with Square, in 2000, Yoshitaka teamed up with Capcom to illustrate the box art for all seven releases of its Japan-only episodic series El Dorado Gate for the Sega Dreamcast. While the depicted characters display traits familiar to those in Yoshitaka’s earlier box art, he would execute the art for these boxes with a distinct, anime-inspired look of heavier linework and shading in complement to the in-game cel shaded aesthetic of the franchise. Post-El Dorado Gate, his box art catalog has almost been exclusively for the Final Fantasy franchise, returning to the traditional painted style of the debut’s box art, using watercolor and ink. With his open appreciation for the western art that has inspired his works—from 60s comic books to art nouveau—Yoshitaka has astutely pointed out that he owes his global success over the past twenty years to his blurring of both eastern and western art styles. Moreover, beyond his own success, his resulting blended style was pivotal in distinguishing Final Fantasy as one of video games’ most enduring and iconic series. OVGA has included below Yoshitaka Amano 天野喜孝's full known box art catalog: Final Fantasy (Square | MSX, NES-JPN, PS1 | 1987) Final Fantasy II (Square | NES-JPN | 1988) First Queen | Kure Software Koubou (DOS, PC-98, X68000 | 1988) Silver Ghost (Kure Software Koubou | PC-88, Sharp X1 | 1988) Duel (Kure Software Koubou | PC-88, PC-98 | 1989) Duel II/ 98 (Kure Software Koubou | PC-88, PC-98 | 1989) Final Fantasy III | Square | NES | 1990) First Queen II (Kure Software Koubou | PC-98, X68000 | 1990) Ys (Nihon Falcom | X68000 | 1991) Kawanakajima Ibunroku (Kure Software Koubou | PC-98 | 1992) First Queen III (Kure Software Koubou | PC-98 | 1993) Final Fantasy IV | Square | SNES | 1994) Front Mission (Square | SNES, WonderSwan Color | 1995) Front Mission: Gun Hazard (Square | SNES | 1996) Final Fantasy IV (Square | PS1 | 1997) Final Fantasy VII (Square | PS1 | 1997) Kartia: The Word of Fate (Atlus Software Inc. | PS1 | 1998) Final Fantasy Anthology (Square Enix | PS1 | 1999) Eldorado Gate vol. 1-7 | Capcom | Dreamcast | 2000-2001) Final Fantasy Anthology: European Edition (Square Enix | PS1 | 2002) Final Fantasy XI Online (Square Enix | PS2-JPN, Windows-JPN | 2003) Front Mission 1st (Square Enix | PS1 | 2003) Final Fantasy XI Online (Square Enix | PS2-USA/EUR, Windows-USA/EUR | 2004) Final Fantasy IV Advance (Square Enix | Game Boy Advance-USA/EUR | 2005) Final Fantasy IV Advance (Square Enix | Game Boy Advance-JPN | 2005) Front Mission Online (Square Enix | PS2, Windows | 2005) Final Fantasy III DS (Square Enix | Nintendo DS | 2006) Final Fantasy V Advance (Square Enix | Game Boy Advance | 2006) Final Fantasy VI Advance (Square Enix | Game Boy Advance | 2006) Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition | Square Enix | PSP | 2007) Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition | Square Enix | PSP | 2007) Final Fantasy IV DS (Square Enix | Nintendo DS | 2007) Final Fantasy XI Online: Wings of the Goddess (Square Enix | PS2, Windows, Xbox 360 | 2007) Final Fantasy XIV Online (Collectors Edition) (Square Enix | Windows | 2010) Final Fantasy Type-0 (Square Enix | PSP | 2011) Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Edition| Square Enix | PSP-USA | 2007) Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Edition | Square Enix | PSP-EUR/JPN | 2007) Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Nordic Edition) (Square Enix | PS3, Xbox 360 | 2012) Final Fantasy XI Online: Seekers of Adoulin (Square Enix | PS2, Windows, Xbox 360 | 2013) Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn (Collectors Edition) (Square Enix | PS3, PS4, Windows | 2013) Final Fantasy XV: Deluxe Edition (Square Enix | PS4 | 2016) Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition (Square Enix | PS4, Xbox One | 2018) Final Fantasy The box art that debuted the enduring Final Fantasy series would also be the start of Illustrator Yoshitaka Amano’s career in video games. He would bring this delicate ukiyo-e style design to life through the use of his trademark wispy lines and vibrant colours, and flavour it with eastern romanticism. It was a cover art seeped in sorrow and anguish, setting the tone for one of gaming’s most epic adventures. The cover's artistry would be quite unlike anything seen on the Famicom at that point and would be a central part of the game’s - and series’ - early success. It was a style of fine art at odds with a great deal of Manga/anime inspired Japanese box art in the 1980's, of which is especially apparent when compared to the cover art to Final Fantasy’s main competitor, Dragon Quest. The art arguably allowed Amano to complement Square’s vision of promoting video games that could emotionally appeal to their audience through story and art. Unfortunately, as with much Japanese artwork from the late 80’s, Final Fantasy’s cover would be deemed unsuitable for the American market in 1990 and replaced. It would not see a western release until over a decade later.
  25. OVGA Database
    Adapted from BOX=ART Ayami Kojima is a self-taught Japanese artist recognized internationally for her box art for the Castlevania series. Although she is now best known for her video game work, Ayami established herself as an accomplished freelance artist and illustrator through early work illustrating novel covers, including all three covers for the science fiction trilogy Cluster Saga by Sayako Asaba, beginning in 1991. She also provided black and white illustrations for page content, in particular for the Majin series and a variety of other novels by Kikuchi Hideyuki, the creator of Vampire Hunter D. In total, Ayami would illustrate the covers for more than a dozen novels before breaking into the game industry. Ayami’s break into game packaging illustration would come in 1997 with Konami’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (SOTN) for the European and Japanese PlayStation releases; the front of the US box would not use her artwork. Ayami not only created the fan-favorite box art but also designed some of the in-game character art. Her renditions of Alucard and others were a new look for the series, giving the characters more delicate features and complex rendering and costuming that resulted in a more feminine look than previously seen in Castlevania releases. While this new take would contrast strongly with Castlevania’s previous aesthetic, the approach worked, not only with fans but also with SOTN’s more considered pace and story-driven gameplay, which helped make Castlevania critically relevant once again. The following year Ayami would be responsible for the SOTN’s Sega Saturn box art—arguably its best attribute. She would go on to create many other classic Castlevania box arts, with her final standard box art being the PSP’s Dracula X Chronicles (2007). All would follow the same art style first seen in SOTN apart from Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (2001), which would leverage a deliberate, more animated look as it set out to appeal to the Game Boy Advance’s younger audience. Although “download only” (and thus without a traditional “published” box art), Ayami also created the artwork for Castlevania: Harmony of Despair (2010) for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, which OVGA has included in Ayami’s box art catalog. Ayami’s non-Castlevania box art catalog includes two releases for KOEI: Soldnerschild for the Sega Saturn (1997) and Ishin no Arashi Bakumatsu Shishiden for Windows (1998) and Sony PlayStation (1999). Ayami also illustrated Chou-Denki Card Battle: Youfu Makai - Kikuchi Shuugyou for the WonderSwan (1999). Beyond box art, Ayami has provided character illustrations for Samurai Warriors (2009), Dynasty Warriors 7 (2011), and Dynasty Warriors 8 (2013). Although her game work appears to have slowed during the 2010s, in 2019, she illustrated the packaging artwork for limited physical copies for a spiritual successor to SOTN titled Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night; the game was developed by several key, former Castlevania staff members. Ayami’s art was only given to certain Kickstarter backers. To create her signature look, Ayami starts by sketching with conté crayon sticks before creating shadows with more conté and India ink. She then adds depth and texture, usually to the background followed by spreading and shaping molding paste with a palette knife. She next paints base colors into the work using diluted acrylics and finger smudging to create glows. To finish, Ayami uses metallic paint highlights enhanced with a gloss polymer. Ayami has leveraged these distinctive methods for all of her box art, an approach likely having developed out of her self-taught background. What may have begun as personal drawing techniques, Ayami's methods have since been featured in a number of art technique books. Ayami’s apparent reluctance to adopt digital techniques has been refreshing and revered by fans worldwide. OVGA has included below Ayami Kojima 小島 文美's full known box art catalog: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami | PlayStation-EUR/JPN | 1997) also the interior inlay art for the US release Soldnerschild (KOEI | Saturn | 1997) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami | Saturn | 1998) Ishin no Arashi Bakumatsu Shishiden (KOEI | Windows, PlayStation | 1998) Chou-Denki Card Battle: Youfu Makai - Kikuchi Shuugyou (Kobunsha | WonderSwan | 1999) Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Konami | Game Boy Advance | 2001) Castlevania: Chronicles (Konami | PlayStation-EUR/JPN | 2001) Castlevania: Chronicles (Konami | PlayStation-USA | 2001) second image Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Konami | Game Boy Advance | 2002) Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Konami | Game Boy Advance | 2003) Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (Konami | PlayStation 2-USA | 2003) Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (Konami | PlayStation 2-EUR/JPN | 2003) second image Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (Konami | PlayStation 2, Xbox | 2005) Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (Konami | PlayStation Portable | 2007) Castlevania: Harmony of Despair (Konami | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | 2010) download only; no "box" Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (505 Games | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, | 2019) Exclusive to $100+ tiers on Kickstarter
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