loonygames presents: Under Cover - id Software's Kenneth Scott

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##### Vol. 2, Issue 5
December 6, 1999

##### Under Cover :
Kenneth Scott

Click here to download a high res ZIP file of this cover (350k)

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.

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Credits: Cover illustration © 1999 Kenneth Scott. Under Cover is © 1999 Rowan Crawford. All other content is © 1999 loonyboi productions. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited, you cartoonish villian, you.