Derek Riggs
1958– · British illustrator, creator of Eddie the Head, Iron Maiden's mascot
Derek Riggs (born 13 February 1958 in Portsmouth, England) is a British artist best known for creating Eddie, the mascot of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. His work belongs to the tradition of graphic art linked to rock and metal in the 1980s, and his name remains tied to the visual identity of one of the most influential groups in the genre.
Riggs is a self-taught artist, both in traditional painting and in his digital work. He began drawing and painting at a very young age. He attended art school but was expelled after complaining about the course.
His most famous creation grew out of a drawing he had made for a possible punk cover, originally titled "Electric Matthew Says Hello". Iron Maiden's management came across it while looking through his portfolio and asked him to add hair to the figure to make it look less punk. The resulting picture was used on the band's debut album, Iron Maiden, released in 1980. Riggs went on to work with the band through much of the 1980s and into the 1990s, creating many of its best-known covers. From 1992 onward the band began accepting contributions from other artists, and Riggs's input dropped considerably. His last work for Iron Maiden was the cover of Somewhere Back in Time, in 2008.
For a long time he painted with acrylics and alkyd, a fast-drying oil-based paint. After realising that the chemicals were affecting his health, he switched to digital painting in the early 1990s, using software such as Bryce, Strata Studio Pro and Photoshop.
His work extended to other bands. He designed the cover of Accident of Birth by Bruce Dickinson, the cover of Infinite by Stratovarius, the cover of "Once Upon A Time", the second album by the Spanish band Valhalla, and the cover of World's Only Female Tribute to Iron Maiden by The Iron Maidens. In 2003 he created Cuauhtemoc, the Latin American version of Eddie, for the album of the Venezuelan band Gillman.
His legacy is twofold: Eddie has become a recognisable icon of heavy metal, and his style has served as a reference for artists working on album art. He was inducted into The Metal Hall of Fame in 2021, and the 2009 video game Brütal Legend named its main character Eddie Riggs, a nod by Tim Schafer to his work.