". . . we call it the Last War, not because it was mankind's final battle, but because the world which started the war no longer existed by its close. It lasted forty years, and it saw the destruction of four mighty empires. Two generations never knew a world without conflict; few were not personally touched by its ravages, and fewer still remembered a world without Ogres . . ." – from "After the Long Winter: Roots of the New World" University of Melbourne, 2250

Saturday, 1 March 2025

"Barbarians at the Gate" Art designs

"Barbarians at the Gate" by Elartwyne Estole

On rediscovering OGRE recently, I found out that there was (a decade ago) an artwork contest to design the cover of the independently published "Barbarians at the Gate" OGRE supplement. "99 designs" ran it and while IMHO they selected the best one, some of the others were quite good also but perhaps didn't get the circulation they deserve

The winning pic above, which many may be familiar with, was used in a wrap around book slip style so the front cover was the right hand side of the image, thus:


Clearly it had a few adjustments, like adding the GEV's missile rack and removing the aircraft. Evocative, dynamic, and contains everything from a GEV to Battlesuited infantry, and of course a hulking OGRE in the background. Cracking stuff by "El art"

But there were other entries of varying appeal. I've tried to track down the original artists to get the original versions but given the elapsed time that hasn't been possible sadly. Here they are though:






I don't have a favourite, but I do like this one a lot...

Very interesting to see that GEVs feature in most entries and an OGRE in just one. Makes you wonder what the original design brief was.

No infringement intended, my purpose is to capture and promote some great OGRE inspired artwork I hadn't seen before and thought many other may have missed it also. The full details are available here:

https://99designs.com/book-cover-design/contests/create-cover-art-supplement-greatest-futuristic-tank-board-266502


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