Ron Cobb is my absolute favorite "hidden influence" on how 70s-80s sci-fi/fantasy turned out. He was a designer on Dark Star, Alien, Star Wars, Conan the Barbar

Ron Cobb is my absolute favorite "hidden influence" on how 70s-80s sci-fi/fantasy turned out. He was a designer on Dark Star, Alien, Star Wars, Conan the Barbarian and even the unproduced Dune helmed by Jodorowsky that has become a shibboleth with some nerds. Nothing he did felt dogmatic, referential or with ego, it was just the most appropriate thing for those productions. Even though he didn't work on Blade Runner, I'm sure a lot of the esthetic comes indirectly from him.