Initial Sketch of SNES SM Box Art Revealed! (November 3, 2023)

[ChrisReid]

Today we have a truly incredible find! VGDensetsu shared this piece of art by Greg Winters. It's the source sketch for what eventually became the phenomenal box art for Wing Commander: The Secret Missions on the Super Nintendo. We absolutely love finding stuff like this under any circumstances, but there are some extra quirky elements here. One, it reveals that the first cut of the drawing depicts a more typical brown Salthi. In the final piece, the ship is tinted green, which is an excellent nod to the fact that the SNES version of the game replaces its Jalthi art with a green Salthi model. That's such a cool info bit. And two, this sketch is on the opposite side of a piece of paper with the SNES Wizard of Oz game. Wild! The original piece is up for auction throughout this month.

Greg Winters The Wizard of Oz & Wing Commander: The Secret Missions SNES Original Preliminary Box Art (Seta, Mindscape, 1993). Offered is a rare pairing of preliminary paintings adorning a single artboard, initially conceived for the production phase of Super Nintendo's The Wizard of Oz and Wing Commander: The Secret Missions. Crafted by Greg Winters, a prodigious video game box artist acclaimed for his work across the Mega Man series, the aura of these pieces, created with pencils and acrylics, is palpable. The poignant ensemble of both artworks spans an image area of 9" x 5." In excellent condition, they encapsulate a rich history of the gaming world's artistry.

The box art was also folded up and made into a posted included with the game. elend made the nifty version without crease lines above!

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Original update published on November 3, 2023