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by
Rowan "Sumaleth"
Crawford
hen
you think about it, we've been exceedingly lucky with the loonygames
covers for this season. As well as highlighting a range of incredible
talent - everyone from the movers and shakers to the new artists
just starting their careers - we've also had the chance to feature
some never-before-seen artwork from some of the best digital
artists around.
And
then we got Kenneth Scott.
Flashback
to about a month and a half ago; I'm looking through the list
of feature articles coming up and there, listed at issue number
5, is an interview with id Software's modeling supremo (and
loonygames columnist), Paul Steed. Being someone who doesn't
mind the odd chance to paint up some Q3A characters, I quickly
penciled my name in for that issue and moved on.
All
would have been well and good except that, left unchecked, my
brain has the tendency to iterate it's way through all manner
of "wouldn't it be cool" scenarios. It doesn't take
much - just some starting conditions and the occasional thought
here and there - but it's a process that once started has little
chance of being stopped.
The
first such connection in this story was made when the first
issue of season 2 went online, for which I had documented the
relationship between the cover artist, Derelict, and the project
he had just started working on - which was also that week's
feature article.
I liked
how there was a connection between that issues cover artist
and feature article; Wouldn't it be cool if one of the artists
at id Software actually did the cover image for the Paul Steed
interview?
Yes.
Yes, it would be cool.
I knew
it would be cool, but of course I was really keen to do the
cover myself, and besides...well, what would be the chance that
one of the id artists would want to spend time on a cover image
for our little ol' mag? Not likely, and just as well, too.
But
I did kinda know Kenneth Scott, didn't I? I mean, we'd worked
on that big interview from last season for pretty much a whole
year and maybe, just maybe, he'd remember me? I was the guy
that kept sending new questions, even though we'd been going
at it for 10 months already - that would be hard to forget,
surely :).
But
I wanted to do the cover. But it would be cool. But I
want...
But
it would be very cool. So I bit the bullet and emailed id Software's
lead skin artist on the recently completed Quake 3 Arena, asking
whether he'd like to do the cover for the Steed interview.
His
response; yes.
KENNETH
SCOTT SAID YES!
And
so, we now have a Kenneth Scott original adorning the cover
of this issue of loonygames, and I can't stop grinning. My mouth
hurts, but the grin won't dissipate! A Protofiend cover! Ack!
And
you know what? It is cool! The Paul Steed portrait alone
is incredible ("I managed to give his portrait a really
nice John Waterhouse feel, kinda sorry it's not on canvas,"
Ken said when it was finished), and then there's the multitude
of Q3A-style babes spilling out of his head. Cool!
In the
past, Under Cover has tried to give an overview of the cover
artist's life in art, but in the case of Kenneth Scott we covered
things about as thoroughly as they could be covered with the
feature article of loonygames 1.32, so we won't retrace trodden
territory.
Needless
to say, Ken and the rest of the team at id Software are currently
in the "afterglow" phase of a game project, having
recently completed work on Quake 3 Arena (in stores now!). Ken
produced more than 70 (probably a lot more) high quality
skins for the game as well as numerous environmental models,
so a bit of a break is well due.
Anyway,
you'll have to excuse me, but I want to go and stare at this
cover image for a while longer.
-
Rowan "Sumaleth" Crawford is loonygames' Supervising
Art Director.