both albums' covers are the work of estonian-american artist mark kostabi. they consist of detail from raphael's painting "the school of athens". the highlighted figure, unlike many of those in the painting, has not been identified with any specific philosopher. the only difference in the artwork between the albums is the color scheme used for each album. "use your illusion ii" uses purple and blue while "use your illusion i" uses yellow and red. the original painting was titled by paul kostabi as "use your illusion" and also became the title of both albums. the album's liner notes hide the message "fuck you st. louis" amongst the thank you notes, a reference to the riverport riot near there at the hollywood casino amphitheatre in july 1991 during the use your illusion tour.