You might not know who Tim Jacobus is, but you surely know his work! He’s an illustrator from New Jersey who became a legend for everyone born in the ’80s. He was the artist behind the Goosebumps series, creating more than 100 iconic book covers that brought the stories to life. Looking back, we can see how the series inspired many of us to start reading and introduced us to the strange joys of horror stories!
His universe of colors, shapes, and creepy characters contributed as much to the series’ success as the tales themselves. As Halloween approaches, we want to celebrate Tim Jacobus, the Goosebumps series, and those unforgettable books that were both scary and ironic, with the most legendary covers!
Tim Jacobus & R.L. Stine made Goosebumps Big
The creative process behind a Goosebump Book Cover
As the artist explains in his book It Came from New Jersey: My Life As an Artist, he rarely spoke directly with R.L. Stine about what to draw. He always claimed he felt lucky that the author would begin his story with the title. Each time, he would receive a title and a few sentences describing the story, creating the cover while the book was still being written. Jacobus would design about one cover per month, with each taking around 40 hours of work.
For Goosebumps, the process was always the same. He would sketch three potential covers: one based on his bosses’ requests, one from his own ideas, and one combining both, and the final choice was often a mix.
In an interview with Vice, he was asked how he came to develop the glossy, warped style that made him famous. He replied, ‘For Goosebumps I used a mixture of paint and airbrushing, which provided that sleek, finished look. Then the distorted perspective thing really started with the Goosebumps book Egg Monsters from Mars. It was a kitchen scene, which was going to be hard to make interesting, so I warped the cabinets and the tiles. Then that sort of became the look.’
He didn’t follow a specific plan; with each new title, ideas seemed to flow naturally, fitting the publisher’s needs. His covers featured a bright color palette, and all fans of the series remember this detail: many illustrations included Converse sneakers. The reason? Jacobus had a personal love for Converse shoes, while his mom absolutely hated them. As a playful nod, he would sneak Converse sneakers into his illustrations. Whenever he gave a Goosebumps book to his mom, she would eventually spot the sneakers and exclaim, ‘There’s those stinkin’ sneakers!’ Including them became Jacobus’s way of teasing her with every cover.
Some of the best illustrations for Goosebumps
Have you forgotten the magic of Goosebumps illustrations? Here we have a gallery for you, so you can enjoy Tim’s work— these artworks are great inspiration for your next creepy graphic design project, too!
The End of the Goosebumps Series
At the beginning of the 2000s, the Goosebumps series went on hiatus due to legal disputes, and no new Goosebumps books appeared until 2008.
One day, while he was working on a cover for Goosebumps 2000, Tim was called by a representative of the company, who plainly told him he did not need to turn in the cover—it was over. And when the books began being published again in 2008, he was not invited to create those legendary covers again.
According to the many interviews Jacobus has given over the years, he does not hold any grudges against either Scholastic or R.L. Stine. On the contrary, everyone is still good friends, and Tim moved on to work on new, different projects.
In an interview for the Daily Record, he admitted, ‘It was tough for a while. It’s like coming out of the ’90s in a hair band. Nobody wanted hair bands at one point, and everybody wanted grunge. But now it’s a great thing. A great thing to tell people, “Yeah, I did this in the past.” If you see my full portfolio, I can do a lot of different things. It’s not that I can only do one style, or I refuse to do anything else. I’m wickedly proud of being part of the Goosebumps series and doing what I did.’
One Last Gig: the Goosebumps Movie
For a long time there had been a rumor around the making of a Goosebumps movie. One day tho, the rumor became reality and in 2015 Goosebumps the movie, starring Jack Black was announced.
The movie is filled with references to iconic book covers from the original series, featuring monsters designed by Jacobus and Converse sneakers, winking at the audience who adored them in their childhood.
It was only at the end of the film that the production contacted Jacobus to collaborate on the final scene. If you have a look at the video, you’ll see Jack Black transformed into an acidic, ultra-saturated illustration on a book cover—just like the ones we love! The end titles are also animated in a way that unmistakably pays tribute to the visual world Tim created, amusing and terrifying children all over the world during the ’90s!
Goosebumps Prints & Charity
As mentioned earlier, the legendary Goosebumps illustrator no longer works for Scholastic or the Goosebumps series. According to many interviews, he is currently working as an art director at an animation studio and is quite happy with his career.
If you want to follow him and his work, we recommend checking out his Instagram account @timjacobus or visiting his website, jacobusstudio.com, where you can explore his complete portfolio for Goosebumps and also participate in his charity work. Tim has put some signed Goosebumps prints up for sale, with part of the profits going to a food charity organization. Kudos to him!
Keep reading and find more Inspiration!
We hope you enjoyed the story of the mind-blowing, iconic book covers of Goosebumps as much as we did! Whether you are here for the fun or to find inspiration for your next horror projects, keep exploring and discover more stories about great artists who worked on legendary projects!
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