Legendary illustrator Derek Riggs , responsible for creating the mascot Eddie and the album covers for Iron Maiden up to No Praying for the Dying , spoke with Wikimetal in Los Angeles.
Derek rarely gives interviews, and in a chat with journalist Jéssica Marinho , he revealed some easter eggs in his artwork, a trip to Brazil, his current work, and his opinion on Iron Maiden's current album covers.
Besides Iron Maiden, Derek Riggs worked with bands such as Budgie, Gamma Ray , Stratovarius, Impellitteri , and White Wizzard , among many others.
Wikimetal: How do you see the process of creating digital art today? Has AI made your work more difficult?
Derek Riggs : It's pretty much the same amount of work. Both have good and bad sides. Sometimes things that would be really hard to paint are really easy digitally. And sometimes you take something that's really easy to paint and try to do it digitally and it looks awful. So it's just another tool, really. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's terrible. But the brushes are the same thing, but sometimes you have to throw them away [laughs]. That's why I started painting digitally in the first place, because I got tired of trying to find good brushes and get the paint to work all the time. Sometimes it works and sometimes it kind of doesn't.
WM: What was the process like in creating the character Eddie?
DR : Eddie… Iron Maiden would give me a… Usually it was the title of a song or an album. They'd say, “This is the name” and “This is what it's about.” You know, they'd give me the subject and then it was up to me to create an image. Usually, the best image is the first one, because it's the most obvious and the most direct. And you can develop it further later if you want. But usually the first idea, the first concept, is the best. If you drag it out too much, it doesn't work.
Easter eggs in Iron Maiden cover art
WM: You've always included some Easter eggs on the covers, for example, in Somewhere in Time it was only recently discovered that it says Kim (your wife's name). And also the sky forming the shape of Eddie's eyes. Is there any that nobody has ever noticed?
DR : Yes, but 'Eddie Eye' was an accident. Everyone's talking about it now, but it was an accident. I just painted clouds.
WM: Seriously?
DR : Yes. There are things everywhere. There are stickers in the windows from the [1981 album] Killers. And in the back there's an eccentric sex shop. The sign is a little hidden. And there's also a Letraset . Letraset were "rub-on letters" that graphic designers used to use [they were sheets of letters and symbols transferable by dry decal, used before the digital age to create layouts and designs]. So, I put that in because I needed something in the window.
And there are cats on the rooftops and demons flying away. If you watch “Twilight Zone” [single from the album Killers ], there’s a Mickey Mouse jumping out from behind Eddie’s picture. Everyone said, “Don’t put Mickey Mouse on anything. Disney always sues.” So I put Mickey Mouse on and they didn’t sue. I just didn’t tell anyone I did it. If you look out the window, there are little bats and things flying around outside. Clocks explode in “2 Minutes to Midnight” [single from the 1984 album Iron Maiden], or something like that, because that’s Bruce’s time. Everything happens in the Iron Maiden world at 2 minutes to midnight.
WM: You participated in some conventions in the United States, and in 2019 there were rumors of you going to Brazil for Horror Expo, but it didn't happen. Are there plans to go to Brazil?
DR : Ah, I don't have any plans. We find out about a convention and try to get an invitation [to attend] and then we'll go there. We tried to go to Brazil once, but it didn't really work out very well. People invite us to Europe, but it's a long way for a two-day event, and I don't want to do that.
Derek Riggs' opinion on Iron Maiden's current artwork.
WM: Do you currently work with cover art?
DR : I work with many things. I paint pictures, I do drawings. Sometimes I make electronic music. One day, I'll make some music that someone else might want to listen to. I started messing around with 3D modeling, not virtual reality (VR), but physical, because there are markets where you can sell that kind of thing. And I was thinking of doing something along with that. And I was also toying with the idea of doing a big comic book. It wasn't about Eddie. Although I do have a story for Eddie.
WM: Wikimetal readers have voted their album artwork as the best Iron Maiden album covers . What do you think of Iron Maiden's current album covers?
DR : More or less. I don't really look at them. Most of the ones I've seen are kind of weak copies of something I've done. Either they paint something and paste Eddie's face on it, and it's like it doesn't match. Why don't you paint something else? But no, I don't know. I really don't like most of them very much. I don't really like the ones I've seen.
WM: Can you leave a message for your Brazilian fans?
DR: How many friends do I have in Brazil? I'm not sure. Hello, Brazil. Don't make me scream. That's the wrong line, isn't it? "Scream for me, Brazil!" Or scream for Bruce. Or just scream. Scream, Brazil!
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