Gary Harrod - Art Editor

Gary was the guy responsible for the awesome character artwork that appeared in the magazine. He got his first big break by supplying freelance drawings for CVG - his first piece was an awesome tips section for Final Fight, complete with anime-style characters. When the idea for the stand-alone Mean Machines magazine was pitched, Julian Rignall decided to get Gary onboard to help design the magazine. Gary's cover artwork would become legend. Harrod worked on MM Sega and NMS too.

When the 32-bit generation hit the UK, Gary worked on Maximum (multi-format magazine edited by Richard Leadbetter, no less). The magazine was a failure, gaining a cult following but not the big sales figures EMAP were hoping for. However, whilst working on the magazine Gary created valuable ties with Dave Halverson in the US (creator of Diehard Gamefan magazine - the closest thing you'll find to an American version of Mean Machines). He eventually moved over to the US to work as lead designer on Hodgson's next project - Gamers Republic magazine. He was joined by fellow Brits Dan Jevons and David Hodgeson.

Gary worked for Computec in the US for the launch of incite, but came home when the magazine folded. Gary now runs his own design company as well as working with Richard Leadbetter's Digital Foundary studio. As well as producing artwork for videogame magazine, Harrod has also contributed many doodlings for UK tabletop gaming giant Games Workshop.