Who is the Quintessential X-Man Artist?

Mad props have to be given to Dave Cockrum. I don't own any of the issues he drew, but his designs for Thunderbird, Sunfire, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Banshee have lasted for YEARS. Warpath's old X-Force costume was highly inspired by TBird's, while most of the rest's "modern" looks are highly inspired by Cockrum's work. And personally, I haven't seen a redesign of Nightcrawler that I liked BETTER than the original.

Personally though, I do think it varies per book. For example, no one draws the GenX kids better than Bachalo did back in the day - and I still think he's the only one who does Chamber justice.
I can definately agree with Jim Lee for X-Men though. I know most fanart I see of the X-characters is them in their 90's outfits simply because it sits in our minds so well - the fact that X-Men: TAS also used them only helps strengthen the memorability.

While I'm not a particularly large fan, I also tend to think of Alan Davis for the X-line in general. He has such a classic, organic look.

Cockrum is definately one of the most important artists the X-Men ever had. His designs are just so amazing they'll nbever be topped.

And allthough he only drew 10 issues and a mini, the LOOK of the X-Men I always imagine in my head is that given them by Paul Smith. He re-designed Storm, gave us Maddy Pryor, The Morlocks, Lockheed. The feel he introduced was beuatyfully continued by JRJR, and apart from being my favorite period of stories (165-175), I think it also defines how the X-Men should look.

No matter how much I love Byrne's X-Men art, he'll always be Mister Fantastic Four to me. Why Lee, by the way? I'm not a fan, so I'm probably biased and don't see his contibution.

Lee was in his prime then. And if you look at his pre X-Men #1 stuff he hadn't yet made it to the super-uber sexy stuff he would later do. He just drew pretty comics.

His costume for Rogue, Cyclops, Psylocke, Jean, Storm, Bishop, and Jubilee (I think he did hers) are all iconic till this day.

Another thing that marks Lee's costumes as iconic is their use in the animated series and many of the games of that period, which kept those costumes in the public mindset even when they'd been updated in the books. 

Nope, Jean had ditched the Lee look for the Pheonix costume (when they went for a sabatical in Alaska).

Notice who isn't mentioned: Jack Kirby. It is odd that X-Men is arguably Lee and Kirby's most commercially successful legacy but neither of them really made it iconic like they did all their other superhero work.

Lee is not only the quintessential X-men artist, he's the quintessential modern comic artist. I would argue that comic art was generally the same style in the 80s until Lee brought a radical attention to form and beauty. Sort of like how Rennaisance painters brought it back into style, except in comics, Lee did it for the first time.

Interesting perspective, ajandrew.... and I'm not entirely sure I can refute that.  He certainly emerged from a period with several notable styles and rising stars (Portacio, McFarlane, Liefeld and Jim Lee) as the most enduring and influential of the bunch.  That in itself is a major achievement.  But if you want to talk about bringing a "radical attention to form and beauty", I think you have to take a step back a little and look at who paved the way for artists like Jim Lee.  I would argue that the likes of George Perez and a bit later, Art Adams had a lot to do with a broader appreciation for more detailed and dynamic artwork.  Adams in particular seemed wildly influential following his 80s heyday as seen in artists like Jim Lee and Joe Madureira, even Joe Quesada.

In fact, the early 80s were pretty rich with some strong signature styles ranging from the extremely stylized Sienkiewicz to the simplified but iconic Mike Mignola to Paul Smith's clean lines.... all alongside the likes of Art Adams who was pushing detail and beauty.  This level of variety broke the mold of the "traditional" comic art style set by the likes of Romita, Cockrum, Byrne, Perez and paved the way for a greater variety of approaches and styles.

I'm of two minds. I wouldn't put Jim Lee in my top five or ten. Even though he's an incredibly talented artist, he essentially created sleek edges around stories I don't consider canon-worthy. But he had the most important impact on the look of the X-Men. Because of Jim Lee, we have the animated series, which is largely responsible for a new burgeoning and rabid collective of X-Men fans who will forever associate the X-Men with what he created.

I think you can make an argument for why it's Jim Lee, but certainly not for me...and if you sat down these fans of Jim Lee's art and fed them issues where he was prominently featured with Claremont's stories, I doubt they'd be incredibly happy.

On the other hand, Paul Smith was the artist X-Men became the phenomenon that it was. He's just as responsible for manning the ship during success as anyone and his stories hold up as good as anyone's.

...and yet even as I type that, I was to say "except for John Byrne." Cockrum deserves a lion's share amount of credit for developing what the new/better X-Men would look like. But I've never felt that his art holds up as well it should. Compared with how intrinsically dramatic each of Byrne's panels are, I'm inclined to say that he and Claremont are the X-Men. When I think of the X-Men, I think of Byrne's jaws, Byrne's eyes, Byrne's musculature.

Compare Nightcrawler before and after Byrne. Before Byrne, he is a walking, surly demon. Afterwards, he is more human in his otherworldliness. Compare Colossus before and after Byrne. Byrne drew Peter Rasputin as a younger man. Before Byrne, he appeared simply as a strongman. Certainly Byrne deserves credit for fleshing out her character, but before Byrne, Storm was a distant exotic creation, and afterwards she seemed less (how shall I put this without offending?) native. She appeared stronger while maintaining her history. Look how ridiculous Banshee looks under Cockrum's pen! He still had his Silver Age hair. Byrne made him into a gentleman approaching middle-age. Look at his Beast! Look at his Professor Xavier! These are largely who they remain today.

I would also argue that before John Byrne, no artist had successfully made Jean Grey into a singularly attractive woman. She simply seemed The. Girl. The pleasing curves of John Byrne's jaws and his eyes is the Jean Grey we all know and the one that Cyclops loves, which is one of the most important, enduring linchpins of the saga. Jim Lee's Jean Grey always seemed a bit demure to me, and he is responsible for one of the most impractically illogical costumes ever, one that defied branding with a name.

I say John Byrne.

Jim lee, Chris B, and the brothers of Kubert

Lee. Kubert.