Rare find: Alternate Doom box art by Don Ivan Punchatz!

[Trilinear]

(UPDATE: Gregor Punchatz explains later in the thread that this artwork was in fact made for a magazine cover, and wasn't a concept for the box itself)

I present to you a very rare find that has made it's way onto the internet in the wake of the late Don Ivan Punchatz's passing:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dmX6KzOItLI/TD_jkQby8NI/AAAAAAAAFeE/biZQiYuodXw/s1600/015+doom.jpg
Source: http://trixietreats.blogspot.com/2010/07/visions-of-don-ivan-punchatz.html

I came across this piece of memorabilia purely by accident, after having the idea to contact Gregor Punchatz regarding purchasing a print of the original Doom box artwork (the link to the source appears in the first few pages of Google results for Don's name).

This is a very interesting piece in many regards. The aspect that stands out most for me is that the overall design style is so different from the final art. This could be attributed to the fact that Don was known for hiring assistants to aid in the completion of certain works, or that this piece was a deliberate concept.

The concept theory may be evidenced by the poor perspective on the gun magazine (seems as if it's curving out from the weapon), and the "sketched" look of the demons (in particular, note the fourth demon barely visible in the background). Doomguy himself also seems to be slightly out of proportion (especially the position of the head, and the elongated helmet), as opposed to the almost photorealistic rendering in the final version.

Some design similarities with the final art:
- The blackness of space, hellish mountains, and fire;
- Doom marine's helmet design and uniform (note presence of backpack);
- "Thirsty" demons with tongues hanging out;
- Scratched Doomguy with ripped clothing - in this case, his shoulder rather than his stomach. Although if you look very closely below his arm, the uniform across his stomach is ripped here too;
- "Breaking the fourth wall" - here, Doomguy is looking at the audience, in the final art it is the famous grinning demon in the corner.
- Demon visual style, the use of green for eyes and blood, and the slime/fireball effect.

Don's rendering of the goat legs in this version is also interesting - the blackness of the hooves really completes the evil look of the demons in my opinion.

EDIT:
- Here's another curious work from Don that seems slightly Doom-esque: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ekgqN14jiCg/SuiuB4X5PaI/AAAAAAAAAjk/hFnhQMfIPxg/s1600-h/Don+Ivan+Punchatz+-+DV2.jpg

[D_GARG]

nice find ^^

maybe this was an idea of art he had before doom? or maybe jsut some alpha concept art

[printz]

Trilinear said:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dmX6KzOItLI/TD_jkQby8NI/AAAAAAAAFeE/biZQiYuodXw/s1600/015+doom.jpg

Wow, the guy does resemble Doom3guy somewhat.

[hervoheebo]

Pretty neat, but the final box art fits the game much better. This one has Doomguy going all "Hey, what're you doing here?". Gotta love the signature in the gun, though.

[kristus]

I've seen this before. I recall a Doom website used the marine from it for it's design. Can't quite recall which site that was though.

[Dee]

looks like what the cover art would have been if doom came out more around 1985. looks like some vintage commodore box art. Really nice

[Per-Scan]

I've never seen this before. I quite like it in a cheesy kind of way. :)

[Trilinear]

[Dee]

SWEEEEEET!!!

[Tetzlaff]

Interesting find.

hervoheebo said:

This one has Doomguy going all "Hey, what're you doing here?".

Somehow it would be more fitting with this expression if the devils would run away from him...

[Maes]

Yay. More "baboon demons" on Mars!

The black sky really reminds me of a 60s B-movie about space and aliens too :-p

[Texas Libra]

In that blogpost:

ROBOCOP FTW!

[Vaporizer]

.

[Scripten]

Has anyone else noticed the rather peculiar positioning of the left arm?

[Udderdude]

"Hey guys, can't we just chill out instead? Maybe get some coffee or something?"

[hervoheebo]

On another note: Doomguy has a backpack or a jetpack of some kind in the picture. Man, a jetpack WAD/mod would be the best thing ever.

[Vaporizer]

.

[Tetzlaff]

hervoheebo said:

On another note: Doomguy has a backpack or a jetpack of some kind in the picture. Man, a jetpack WAD/mod would be the best thing ever.

I think it's supposed to be an oxygen canister for the helmet, which is kind of an astronaut helmet.

[hervoheebo]

Tetzlaff said:

I think it's supposed to be an oxygen canister for the helmet, which is kind of an astronaut helmet.

Totally looks like a jetpack, though.

Also: what's up with the crazy submachine gun? Reminds me of the early Mega Man box covers in a good way.

[Gez]

Which makes the skin-showing armor all the goofier. Silly Doomguy, doesn't he know that chainmail bikinis are for girls? :p

[Use]

Marvelous!

[40oz]

hah as membrain said, his left arm appears to be jutting out right from his abs. Also his head looks like it's positioned a little weird too. However, I'm a huge fan of Don Punchatz artwork for Doom and seeing something doom related that isn't a fan pic is really cool. I'm surprised it wasn't used as a victory pic or something.

[darkreaver]

The picture isn`t very good, but its very cool

[Technician]

I'm saddened no one here has notice the marines treasure trail.

The final piece was definitely his best, but I would like a print of this piece as a large poster to go with the box art.

[Clonehunter]

Really cool find! The way the doom Marine is positioned though it remnds me of a Call of Duty cover (One of the first ones).

[Mr. T]

hervoheebo said:

Totally looks like a jetpack, though.

Also: what's up with the crazy submachine gun? Reminds me of the early Mega Man box covers in a good way.

It looks pretty similar to the gun in the final cover (lol)

[lupinx-Kassman]

That it just all kinds of awesome.

[Lizardcommando]

Membrain said:

Has anyone else noticed the rather peculiar positioning of the left arm?

Hmm... now that you mention it, it does look really weird.

Aside from that, it is a rather interesting picture.

[Enjay]

Nice find. I think it would have worked well on the back of the registered slimline box, keeping the front the same.

[GreyGhost]

Membrain said:

Has anyone else noticed the rather peculiar positioning of the left arm?

It's a little-known fact that Space Marines are an evolutionary development of Wolf3D's mutants, with that particular variant having a third arm protruding from his chest instead of a pistol. OTOH - DoomGuy has a universal weapon socket and storage locker built into his chest, his large arsenal would be difficult to juggle without it.