Derek Riggs

Derek Riggs (born 13 February 1958) is a contemporary British artist best known for creating the band Iron Maiden's mascot, "Eddie".
Born in Portsmouth, England, Riggs is a self-taught artist, both in his traditional painting and in his digital work. He began drawing and painting as early as he can remember. He also attended art school, but he was expelled after complaining about the course. Riggs' most famous achievement is his work with Iron Maiden and his creation of Eddie, the band's mascot and subject of their album and single covers. Riggs' first picture of Eddie was originally entitled "Electric Matthew Says Hello," and was actually painted for a possible punk cover. Iron Maiden's management came across it while looking through Riggs' portfolio, and asked him to add hair to the figure to make it look less punk-like. The resulting picture was used for the debut album, Iron Maiden,…