Skyhigh 19 Covercruise

Covercruise



COVERCRUISE
COVERCRUISE
hosted by Chaotic/Atlantis/Netphreakers


WELCOME,
WELCOME,
here's Chaotic presenting you the second issue of MY
chapter in SKYHIGH,the chapter about papergraphics
in all their different styles,namely welcome to this
issue's COVERCRUISE.
As already mentioned by BIZ KID last time,the final
results of the ELECTRIC & DUCE - COVERCOMPETITION
have been put out;I got the (really great) resultmag
shortly after I sent my chapter to BIZ KID,so I could
not review anything last time.. Well,as Bizzie already
gave you the results last time,there's not really
much to report about this production anymore.
If you haven't got an issue of the previously
mentioned resultmag,you should really try to get in
possession of one,it's great!
Well,I see no real reason in reviewing the artworks
of the participants. Instead,I'll review some other
covers I got my  hands on this time...  Let's go!

RAVER #1/JABOLE done by Wacek/Jabole
RAVER #1/JABOLE for JABOLE DESIGN

FRONTSIDE:
FRONTSIDE:
We see a metal-looking girl's face,holding out her
hand to "carry" a RAVER #1-Logo upon it.
A whit stream  is floating beside this scene,and we
can spot a JABOLE DESIGN logo in the left downer
corner. This side is mainly black and drawn quite
clear,but doesn't look very complicated.
Anyhow,in its style it does look correct. Nothing to
add. RAVER somehow seems to be a ravebased mag
done by JABOLE DESIGN,I personally haven't seen it
up to now..have you ?!

BACKSIDE:
BACKSIDE:
A bended chessboard (...) in the left upper corner
leads us to a plain and  simple JABOLE logo in the
center of this side. The styles aren't too special,
also the fill-in is nothing to be crazy about.
A big "J" (chessfilled) has been placed above the
JABOLE-Logo,and beneath the JABOLE Logo we see
the (ripped) divercharacter of the Ravecompilation-
series called "RAVE BASE" which is obviously not
only avalaible in Germany,but Poland aswell ?! Hmm,
it's still a direct ripp-off,only a disk has been added
to one of the diver's hands. The rest of the side is
filled up with Wacek's address,the slogan
"Stay rave!" and a pseudo-sponsoring symbol.

Altogether I'd say that this cover is nothing very
special,probably only done to draw attention to this
publication I've never heard of before.
Atleast the cover was drawn precise in its style,no
major bugs or faults are visible. Perhaps Wacek
should try out some more complex charsets or
characters. Besides,the layout of the backside is a
bit confusing,I think. Anyway,I'd give this cover
40 PERCENT.
40 PERCENT.

MEGASTYLE by Zapotek/Afl
MEGASTYLE for MEGASTYLE

FRONTSIDE:
FRONTSIDE:

A "MEGASTYLE"-Logo in the (already too) well-known
Zapotek-style dominates this side. Nearly no fill-in,
only these Zapotek-like dots. But it looks okay in
its situation. Perhaps it's even better to have these
styles nearly unfilled,because the background is
really detailed,so it looks quite stylish.
Speaking of the background,we see a kind of ball,
placed above the logo,which looks a bit like a
tomato ?! Hmm.. A lot of pointed areas a furthermore
visible,I can't define it,but it looks good.
Beneath the logo,we see some iron girders and
hydraulic things. All in all this frontside makes a
good impression on me,also the flaps are looking
nice together with the design of the frontside.
Good Work.

BACKSIDE:
BACKSIDE:
Wow,quite cool... The face of a wild wulf is visible on
the left side and looks really mean. Next to it there
is a dwarf,standing on a kind of hill. He's holding a
ball (tomato?!) high above his head,as if he'll throw
it down sooner or later.. In the far background we
spot firtrees and a swallow flying in front of the
moon.. Furthermore,a small MSP-Logo is visible.

This cover again prooves Zapotek's graphical
abilities,which he improves from cover to cover..
Both sides harmonize quite well,and everything was
drawn really precise. But I'd like to see some other
styles from him,I'm sure he has the ability to do so!
I'd like to donate 70 PERCENT to this cover..get it!
70 PERCENT

DEBRIS/PANIC/EXTACY by Debris/Panic/Extacy
DEBRIS/PANIC/EXTACY for Debris/Panic/Extacy(...)

FRONTSIDE:
FRONTSIDE:
The whole cover was done on PC,using a Macintosh
LC II with the program ALDUS Freehand 3.O.
On the left side we see the Address of Debris,in
combination with the things someone usually writes
beside his addy.
The background is filled with PC-Plasmastuff
(fractals) and an open eye.
The right side is filled by a girl's face,partly
covering it with her hands. Anyway,the split between
these both parts of the frontside is too hard and
could have been probably smoother..

BACKSIDE:
BACKSIDE:
This side only consists of a smiling girl's face,
putting her right hand to her right cheek.
The picture is framed with black bars.

Hmm.. As this cover was totally done by using
computer technics,I'll just give some technical
comments.. The pics are either scanned by Debris
himself or were just ripped,I don't know.
Anyhow,the reproduction is quite well. Technically
spoken,the cover is quite good. But considering the
fact that this was really simple work for Debris
HIMSELF,this cover wasn't taken into competition,
that would be unfair.. But a nice tryout,and I just
wanted to draw your attention to the point that
there are also still other technics around to
produce a cover.. Well,so / PERCENT were given.
/ PERCENT

XLCUS by JJ and Eua/XL-C-US
XLCUS    for XL-C-US

FRONTSIDE:
FRONTSIDE:
Regarding a simple-styled XLCUS-logo in the left
upper corner,we see a strange-looking character
with big glasses and thin arms. He's controlling a
joystick. Right beside him we spot the words
"A Curious 8-bit Addiction". The character was drawn
quite "dotty",and also the words beside him have
this expression. It looks as if it was partly done
using a computer. The rest of this side is empty.

BACKSIDE:
BACKSIDE:
Here we have the simple reproduction of a photo
(supported by EUA),containing a part of a male face.
You see an open mouth (+teeth) and parts of the
nose. In the right upper corner you can spot JJ's
address. May it be that it is JJ's photo ?! Hmm...

Well,I don't know what you'd think of this cover,but
I find it complicated to give a voting on it.
It's definately ot hard to copy a photo,and I don't
know for sure if the character on the frontside was
drawn by hand. Regarding these facts,I'd like to give
25 PERCENT to this cover,but I don't feel satisfied
25 PERCENT  with that.. Anyway,shit happens! :)

ONSLAUGHT by Doom/Onslaught
ONSLAUGHT    for Onslaught

FRONTSIDE:
FRONTSIDE:
The main-point of this side is the ONSLAUGHT-logo,
consisting of a kind of dice as "O"  and a big
bubble-styled "N". The remaining chars were done in
a bold tag-style,and at the latest now we recognize
that DOOM is painting Graffiti-like,a fact which I
really like,because  there are only a few of those
coverdesigners left. By the way,the logo for the
VANDALISM NEWS Votesheet was also done by DOOM.
But back to the cover: the rest of the side is filled
up with  such things as for example a skull,fat
outlines,kind of stones and links. A neat ONSLAUGHT
tag is visible in the left downer corner.

BACKSIDE:
BACKSIDE:
I Think this side is far better than the frontside,
consisting of a large Graffiti-Character,smoking a
kind of joint.  The shadings are done well,and also
the outlines surrounding the character are faded
away really well. The joint's looking realistic,and
the expression of the character is quite mean-
looking. The same-styled skull from the frontside
is again placed in the left downer corner,wearing a
"D" (probably for DOOM) this time.

Although  the cover isn't filled up to the brim,it
really looks stylish;the character for example
reminds me of a sketch for a piece,really cool..
This is the second production I see from DOOM,and I
really hope that there'll follow some more,I see
talent,and that's rare.. :) For this production,I give
65 PERCENT
65 PERCENT... Ask your (o)-Contact to supply you
with this product..

"PIECES OF LIGHT" by Wacek/Jabole
"PIECES OF LIGHT" for JABOLE DESIGN

FRONTSIDE:
FRONTSIDE:
As  background-image,this side features the head/
face of a male person,painted in shadings,as if you
look at it through fog or sth. like that. The eyes and
the mouth has been zoomed to the front,so that we
are able to see more details. Beside these two face-
details (painted in boxes),there are some more boxes
with feature images  of a girl in stocking,a "Jabole"-
and a "design"-Logo,parts of a clock (?) plus a
slogan "We will tear you up to pieces".. (woah! :) )
The rest is filled up with blackfilled boxes or areas.

BACKSIDE:
BACKSIDE:
While looking at this dark side,we side a woman in a
spot of light. She's sitting on a stool. Beneath her
a teddy has been placed,looking somehow frightened.
From the clothes the woman  is wearng you can
mayble declare as a whore. Furthermore we see a
nice-styled Jabole-Logo in an interesting charset.
Below it you can read "Stay in the light". There's
also a box with the addies of Rap/Jabole (ed.Hi!) and
Wacek/Jabole. Plain and simple,clearly written and
looks souvereign. The rest of this side is filled by
a smaller "Jabole"-Image and black or white boxes,
being the logical follow-up to the front side.
Nice Work.
I must say that I like this cover more than the other
one from Wacek I reviewed some lines up here.
This one looks more professional and not so
slopperly as the first one. Both sides harmonize quite
well together,no major bugs are visible here.
I find it justified to give 60 PERCENT to this one.
60 PERCENT

REBELS by Cop/Faces/Chromance
REBELS   for REBELS

FRONTSIDE:
FRONTSIDE:
The viewer is confrontated with a really detailed
image of a futuristic-looking person,wearing a lot of
technical stuff on or near his head. You can
furthermore spot several tubes or similar things,on
one of those you can discover the chars that form
the word REBELS. At the top,You notice the words
"Hardcore Cyberpunks".  Looks really cool!

BACKSIDE:
BACKSIDE:

This side is even cooler than the frontside:Another
futuristic person dominates the scene,rays of light
coming out of his left eye,illuminating the scene.
A stylish dotty REBELS-Logo is placed at the top,in
combination with a lot more technical and spacy
elements..well,futuristic! The word "Cyberart" has
been added to the right upper corner.. Everything
was drawn very detailed and excact,really cool!

Well,it's easy to conclude that I think of this cover
being the best in this time's COVERCRUISE.
Cop again prooved that he's really a capable
designer,with a lot of experience.. Rating for this is
85 PERCENT,
85 PERCENT. The backside really would deserve a
higher rating,but the frontside isn't as cool as the
backside.. Nevertheless,respect to you Cop,really
good work...

coming to the final results and some last words for
this issue....

FINAL RESULTS for this issue of
FINAL RESULTS   COVERCRUISE

1) REBELS by COP/Faces/Chromance    85 PERCENT
1)   for REBELS                                       85 PERCENT
2) MEGASTYLE by Zapotek/AlphaFlight  70 PERCENT
2) for MEGASTYLE                                  70 PERCENT
3) ONSLAUGHT by Doom/Onslaught          65 PERCENT
3)   for ONSLAUGHT                                  65 PERCENT
4) "PIECES OF LIGHT" by Wacek/Jabole  60 PERCENT
4)   for JABOLE                                       60 PERCENT
5) "RAVER #1" by Wacek/Jabole         40 PERCENT
5) for JABOLE DESIGN                             40 PERCENT
6) XLCUS by JJ + EUA/XL-C-US              25 PERCENT
6)  for XL-C-US                                      25 PERCENT
(   )  DEBRIS by Debris/Panic/Extacy        /  PERCENT
(   ) for Debris/Panic/Extacy                  /  PERCENT

This concludes this chapter review-wise,but I have
still some things left,for example the only 'real'
reaction I got on this chapter up to now,coming from
England.. Word to JJ/XL-C-US:
JJ/XL-C-US:
HI JAN,
I enjoyed your column in SKYGHIGH about cover
designing.
Enclosed are 3 recent designs of my wnih you
may want for our column.
I havent seen many other covers,so I don't know
whether my own designs are up to standard or not.

Yours faithfully
JJ
DEAR SIMON,
at first thanks again for your letter and the works
you sent me. This time I chose one,the other two
will probably be reviewed next time.
It's nice to hear that you like this new column in
SKYHIGH,although  it's not basically a new idea.
But I'd like improve this chapter a lot to make it
something different,I hope you'll find that out soon.
Well,as you've probably already seen,your cover
didn't make it to the top,but that is nothing against
you personally,don't mind. Just take a look at the
other covers and you'll see what I mean.
I hope you like to keep on reading to chapter and all
the best for your designing future... Yours Chaotic.


Well,that was the only REAL reaction I got.. But I'd
like to get some more,for example,what do you think
of...

+ an addy section in this chapter,reserved for the
paperartists in this scene,and their adverts/
projects ?

+ Interviews with Coverdesigners that are a bit more
"special" than all those other interviews in the
mags ?

+ Some "what has become out of XXX" - Articles ?

.. and there's more I'd like to invent here which I
won't reveal this time,but I really like to hear what
you think of all this...
By the way,has someone of you (older) sceners the
address of ARNE (ex-ELEGANCE/ENIGMA etc..) who
used to be a really cool GraffitiCoverdesigner ?
Would be cool if you'd help me out here...

Okay,if you want to contribute to this chapter in
any way,feel free to mail something to:

Chaotic/Atlantis/Netphreakers (noe!)

COVERCRUISE       - SKYHIGH'S Covercruise
XXXXXXXX          - Papergraphics,Graffitiswap
XXXXXXXX          - Not (!) for normal swapping any-
XXXXXXXX            more,except you're real elite...
XXXXXXXX

Okay,some final "THANKS" to:BizKid,Neotec,JJ,Rap,
Vengeance and all others who'll hopefully support
this chapter from now on.. See you next issue!

/Chaotic


PS:For the next issue I plan something different
which I won't reveal now... Anyway,you'll see!




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