Backed Up

Cover Crazy - by Andrew Ellard

23 April, 2004

Well, it's far earlier than normal, but we couldn't resist letting everyone get a look at the two latest pieces of Red Dwarf DVD artwork. Created once again by Chris Veale - whose original sketches are also shown - these two images will form the backgrounds for Series V and VI's cover art.

Previous series have featured close-up views of Red Dwarf, Blue Midget and Starbug. But with the three most iconic ships now used up, we've switched our focus to other significant Dwarf settings. Series IV showed off the offw-white bunkroom interior, and now we have a chance to highlight the locations of two classic episodes. (Plus we were running out of colours...)

With discussion around the grey Dwarf/Starbug corridor swiftly booted out of the way, our attention was drawn to the strong underwater look of the SSS Esperanto - the ship which, you'll recall, became the starting point for fan-favourite episode Back to Reality.

The final art is based on that ship as it appears in the show (which is to say, nowhere near as yellow as the actual model looks in real life!). The original CG render has been augmented with rust, deep-sea plant-life and plenty of bubbles, plus a subtle stretch of dappled lighting from the ocean surface.

Moving on to Series VI, the Emmy award-winning episode Gunmen of the Apocalypse inspired this interpretation of the Last Chance Saloon. While both the sign and the 'Wanted' poster are directly based on those in the show, eagle-eyed fans will notice that this is not an exact recreation of the location. The obvious concessions - colour, shape and contrast - have been made so that the piece works as a background.

The end result is remarkably evocative, and both covers will certainly be eye-catching when they hit the shelves. (November '04 and February '05 respectively in the UK.) As ever, we'll be bringing you the full cover art later in the year, as well as versions of these two backgrounds to add to your desktops as wallpaper.

More DVD details will follow shortly...