On March 13th, Art Whirlwind announced through a press release that it was bringing 26 original Street Fighter II sketches by Mick McGinty to auction. The pieces can be seen here. This artwork was created for marketing purposes in the United States. Capcom hired the ad agency Moore & Price to locate a suitable artist. They found Mick McGinty.
The most significant pieces of this set are the original inked cover sketches, accompanying the final painted versions. Mick McGinty produced the cover art for Street Fighter II Championship Edition for the Sega Genesis as well as Street Fighter II for the Super Nintendo, and also Street Fighter II Turbo for the Super Nintendo. Among the 7 cover sketches, there is also an inked alternate cover sketch for Street Fighter II Turbo. In this version, Sagat assaults E. Honda rather than enduring the sumo wrestler’s assault, with Dhalsim far more visible in the background than he is in the version that was ultimately used.
One painting, of Chun Li striking Vega with her legendary kick on her home stage, is a special commission produced for reasons not disclosed by Art Whirlwind. The remaining 18 sketches and paintings are of individual character art. 15 Sketches are available for Balrog, Blanka, Dhalsim, E. Honda, Fei Long, Guile, Ken, M. Bison, Sagat, Vega, and Zangief. 3 Paintings are available for Dhalsim, Sagat, and Vega.
These sketches were used for various purposes by Capcom, perhaps most notably in the advertising campaign for Street Fighter II Championship Edition which spotlighted that the four boss characters of the game, Balrog, M. Bison, Sagat, and Vega, were now playable. Other materials of note are available in the individual auctions. For example, a Sports Illustrated cover photo of Mike Tyson which was apparently used as a model for the Balrog sketch. Parties interested in owning any of these pieces of gaming history should inquire directly with Art Whirlwind.
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