Do you like the cover artwork for our April magazine (see below)?
I do, but then I would, because I commissioned it, and it’s by one of my favourite artists working in the hobby: Neil Roberts. Neil has been knocking out cover illustrations for us since October 2017, and we’ve managed to secure his services again for 2024. Not for every issue though, unfortunately. Neil now has a full-time job working in the video games industry, so he will just be providing us with six covers this year.
As well as our magazine covers Neil also did the brush (and tablet and stylus) work for the cover to our Medieval rulebook, Never Mind the Billhooks, and he will be doing the same for Billhooks’ little (skirmish) brother: Here’s the Ruckus, which we will be giving away with the magazine in a couple of months. Keep your eyes peeled for the final artwork and take a look below to see how it came about.
Following the initial brief from Wi’s James, Neil provided these two concept drawings. In response, we asked for fewer people in the crowd – Ruckus being a skirmish game.
Neil came back with this third concept. We decided that we would like the central figures to be adversaries, coming to blows, rather than comrades. We also missed the ‘over the shoulder’ view from the first concept. As a picture can say a thousand words (possibly a slight exaggeration!) I decided to supply Neil with a photograph of some minis in the position and poses we were after for the artwork.
We used minis as ‘models’ (pun intended!) and by supplying this photo to Neil we’re now moving to a piece of finished art. This is a method we have used before; for the Never Mind the Billhooks cover illustration we supplied Neil with a photo taken by Alan Perry (see below).
Including artwork, as opposed to photos of minis, on the cover of Wi is something we have been doing since 2009, it is often a point of discussion, (or even accusation; some odd folks have suggested we are ’embarrassed’ to include photos of figures on the cover, which is a bizarre take!), and we will continue to do so for the foreseeable future and hope that you, dear reader, enjoy it.
P.S. Win some Wi cover artwork for yourself by taking part in our monthly survey!
