Ocean Software's iconic artwork creator Bob Wakelin - RIP

Neil79

Neil79

Neil79

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Rest in Peace Ocean Software's iconic artwork creator Bob Wakelin. Who sadly passed away last night :(

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Gutted, some of those games & covers were brilliant. Loved Mikie soo much.

The cover of Operation Wolf is what made me get a flat-top hair cut when I was a kid! :D
 
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His cover art is unforgettable, it will forever be imprinted on my brain.
People might not get this, but his creations literally sold you the game. It was a world of imagination back in the 8bit days, Ocean found a star in Waklin to make their games more than they ever were on a 14'tv.

A sad loss to the world of those that cherish the memories.
 
Wasn’t the Gryzor artwork inspired from Predator? I remember seeing a partial piece of documentary of it being discussed?
 
Shame.. very influential. The cover to renegade / target renegade got me drawing lots of kung Fu fighters as a kid! Had the poster from target renegade on my bedroom wall for years
 
Evangelion said:
Ocean was an icon of my childhood! Loved their games, and the cover art was always fantastic.
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Same. I remember every title mentioned on this thread as I grew up with the 8 and 16-bit era. I has no idea it was one man who did all that artwork. RIP.

Gryzor on the Amstrad CPC was almost a 16-bit looking game back then. It was truly stunning. Target Renegade equalled a lot of 1v1 scraps at my mates house!
 
V F said:
Wasn’t the Gryzor artwork inspired from Predator? I remember seeing a partial piece of documentary of it being discussed?
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To quote an Exotica piece -

Never much of a fan of videogames, Wakelin remained disarmingly down-to-earth about his contribution to the medium; in a series of recollections on the retro gaming site Exotica, for example, the artist simply said of his Gryzor/Contra cover, "A Predator/Alien rip-off is what the game appeared to be, so I supplied a Predator/Alien style pic - with ripped Arnie Predator poses."
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His artwork was an unforgettable part of growing up as a gamer, and we were lucky to have someone of his calibre contributing to the industry. RIP.
 
Had so many of those game, RIP Bob

I adore the artwork from this era, both on games and VHS covers etc.

There was often some disparity between the art and the actual game or movie. As a child this could be annoying, something cool in the art didn't actually feature in the content. Now I find the whole thing so endearing. Due to the limitations of the time there was a certain air of imagination required.

Digital art has definitely lost something compared to the commissioned works of old. I am a huge fan of Fighting Fantasy game books and the fantasy artists of that era too.

One of my favourites: http://www.lesedwards.com/
 
His creative skill and talent, and what you actually got most likely led to the tiny "Actual in-game screenshot" on the back cover where dreams were pre-shattered before you loaded the game after buying it.
 
Sounds like he led an interesting lifestyle - recreational substances obviously helped to create some of the more vidid imagery. :D
 
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