Sci-fi illustrations by Shusei Nagaoka

Sci-fi illustrations by Shusei Nagaoka

In the 1970s and 1980s, the sci-fi art of Japanese illustrator Shusei Nagaoka graced numerous album covers and appeared in a variety of advertisements, magazines, and movie posters. Here is a small sample of his fantastic work. (Click the "+" under each image to enlarge.)

Munich Machine (album cover), 1977 [+]

Midnight Star: "The Beginning" (album cover) 1980 [+]

ELO: "Out of the Blue" (album cover), 1977 [+]

The Humanoid (movie poster), 1979 [+]

Close Encounter of the Fifth Kind [+]

Star Trek [+]

Conceive [+]

Airplanes are not as safe as you might think (magazine announcement) [+]

Earth, Wind & Fire: "I Am" (album cover inside), 1979 [+]

The Skyliners: "The Love Bug" (album cover), 1978 [+]

Station (illustration for Tsukuba Expo '85), 1984 [+]

Space Flower (illustration for Tsukuba Expo '85), 1984 [+]

Nuclear explosion over Tokyo (for NHK's "Earth After Nuclear War"), 1984 [+]

Monster Bird, 1972 [+]

Deep Purple: "When We Rock, We Rock..." (album cover), 1977 [+]

Sun: "Destination Sun" (album cover), 1977 [+]

The Sylvers: "New Horizons" (album cover), 1977 [+]

Hovercraft for leisure use, 1975 [+]

Humanoid (magazine cover), 1982 [+]

Bridge (poster for Mitsubishi Cordia XG), 1984 [+]

Station (poster for Mitsubishi Cordia XP), 1984 [+]

Birth (poster for Mitsubishi Starion GSR-X), 1984 [+]

Caldera: "Sky Island" (album cover), 1970 [+]

[Images from "The Works of Shusei Nagaoka" Part 1 (1981) and Part 2 (1985), NHK Publications]