Even if you don't know the name consciously, we are pretty sure the name "Mantus" rings you a bell. Effectively, if you launch Tibia and watch the background image of the main menu, on the leftmost part under the window you will see a engraving which can be read "Mantus". Mantus aka "Thomas" or otherwise, he is the author and subject of our interest today because he is the artist that has added a lot of his personal style into Tibia. Let alone his work on the tibian avatars, many of the monster animations and other miscellaneous touches here and there; Tibia's Splash Screen, like the cover of a movie, IS a very strong Symbol that everybody identifies with our favourite online game.

Hail Mantus! Thanks for this chance to learn more about Tibia's Splash Screen. :)
Hiho ^^

Did CipSoft gave you any guideline on how you should draw the splash screen, or you was mindfree?
I had the first idea of a new splashscreen when i was playing tibia version 4. Back then, the splashscreen was a blue planet with tibia on it. So i tried to draw with my poor skills the city of Thais. i sent the pictures to CipSoft with some GFX proposals but they didn't show interest for a new splashscreen. Long time after that, CipSoft decided to make the major update with DirectX and all, so that time they asked me for some works including a new splashscreen if possible. I remember to be mindfree so i tried to sketch some new tibia stuff. Guido took my old picture I did some years ago of somewhere so I started some new sketches of Thais, and I did the splashscreen you all know.

What can we see in the splah screen, seen through your eyes?
You see the north road of Thais. On your left you have the Frodo's restaurant. You see a guy (level 51). He is a knight and it looks like a french comic hero I like (guess which one ;) . On your right you can see the Gorn's shop. You see Lady Gwendlyn (level 9). She is a druid and it was my first char on Tibia :p . And very far in the image you see the great castle of King Tibianus, the north Gate and Sternum mounts.

Before doing this picture i had in mind some other ideas with dragon hunt, necro and desert sceneries. You can see them on the first sketches, but i didn't like them so I didn't continue :)

What about another splash screen? Any plans? :-)
Why not ? :) what about lots of noobs yelling in a crowded depot, with some PKs and lured giant spiders. Make a poll or something -- it would be a good idea to ask tibians what they want to have on another splashscreen.

As you said, why not :) But tell us... what are you doing currently? Any other CIP work ahead?
Nothing for the moment, because I'm really busy (working on my student 3d short animation) but i have managed to get some days without anything planned. Maybe I will draw some asiatic stuffs, it looks like lots of people are asking for this kind of stuff. But my prefered work is to redraw the huge amount of old crap in Tibia :) even if some oldschool gfx are very cool, but it's hard to keep them with the new gfx for the harmonie, it's also hard to keep the spirit of the old gfx when drawing the new ones.

Thank you very much, Mantus! May the Best be with you! :)

Here you can examine some of his old studies, plus step by step designs for Tibia's splash screen.