10 Computer Arts covers you may not have seen

We think we’re in love. This shaded siren tried desperately to draw you into picking up the magazine – along with the exclusive demo of Cinema 4D XL 6, that is. Other brilliant coverlines included ‘8 Monitors’. What could that be about?

We were a little obsessed with Bryce back in the 1990s, so much so we crafted this – which garnered responses of “Is it an eye or is it a landscape?”. We still don’t know to this day. Answers on a postcard, please.

How we cooed over the cover, which was specially commissioned from ‘The Attik’ (now just Attik). One of the best headlines from inside the issue was “Make video grainy, like film”. We considered submitting that one for a Pulitzer Prize but we couldn’t find any stamps.

Ah, the giant wasp issue. We were obviously trying to create a buzz around this cover. What could be more alluring than a huge alien wasp about to plunge its gargantuan stinger into your brain? Still, as far as using Nurbz in form•Z3 goes, it provided a nice modelling masterclass for the time.

Once again we got a little obsessed by eyes – this time presenting one, sans head, protruding from an alien flower with springs and Computer Arts logos. ‘Make your 3D skills bloom’ we said.

If it was digital photography secrets you were after, we weren’t about to disappoint. But, honestly, what the hell were we thinking? Sorry, but we just can’t get over this one – and doubt we ever will.

Rather bravely, the cover promises “All you need for realistic rendering” despite the image looking rather like Michael Jackson in a tutu. Our giveaway of Poser 1 prompted such madness, and we still get folk asking for this long-defunct back issue today.

Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, but no one could ever have loved the cover of issue 13, surely? Here we are, reviewing 3ds Max 2 and calling it “indisputably the greatest 3D package for the PC” – and how do we illustrate it? Why, with a comatose android-thing wearing lipstick, of course. Oh, and notice the substituted font on this jpeg – not intentional!

“Make dreams a reality with Bryce 3D” we boldly stated on our issue 23 cover. And if our dreams were like that, it was obviously a pretty bad time. An interesting surrealist beach scene littered with apples, clocks, chess pieces and a rather menacing stone head, showed just what was possible in the free copy of Bryce 2 on the magazine’s CD-ROM. 

Where it all started. Back in 1995 we were ‘The magazine of art, design and technology’ and featured this rather bizarre double-honkered redhead. We also showed you how to ‘Burn your own CD’ and interviewed Neville Brody. So not everything has changed (we're referring to the latter - we hope you can burn a CD).

Read the full interview with Neville Brody from issue one on this site from Monday 12 March.