The artist who designed and drew the poster, as well as for the sequel
Any Which Way You Can, is the legendary
Bob Peak. Peak was one of the busiest and most influential graphic artists of his day, and his movie posters are some of the most iconic of the '60s, '70s, and '80s. Saul Bass, probably the most influential of his era, designed the
West Side Story logo and poster, but for some of the subsequent art and promotional material Bob Peak was brought in. That started him on the path to movie posters, where he quickly established his signature style with the stunning posters for
My Fair Lady and
Camelot. He is credited as one of the fathers of the modern movie poster, with his stylized portraits and use of collage and color. Some of his many posters include the Musicals
Thoroughly Modern Millie,
Mame,
The Great Waltz, Mahogany, and
Pennies from Heaven, classics of the spy and action genre in
Modesty Blaise, Our Man Flint, In Like Flint, Enter the Dragon, The Yakuza, and
The Spy Who Loved Me, Sci-Fi and Fantasy works including
Rollerball, Superman: The Movie, Excalibur, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and
The Dark Crystal, and on and on and on. Before he hit in the movies he was working a lot in advertising, including the (in)famous Marlboro Man campaign (don't smoke, Kids, it's not cool) and became as known for his magazine covers for
Time and
TV Guide as he did for the film work. His name may also be know to Star Trek fans. His
TV Guide cover featuring Kirk and Spock is much beloved, and it later led to him designing the posters for
Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the first four cinematic sequels.