"Art is a Game" Art Show at Gam3rcon

Over Comic-Con weekend this year, there was a video game art show put on by my good friend Ben (aka "Mister Benja" of the 8-Bit Cubist.com. The venue was the top floor of the theater that featured Gam3rcon.Two of my 8-Bit Legends prints were among the awesome artwork displayed. More pictures of the event are on the 8-Bit Cubist Facebook page.

Bug-eyed at the "Art is a Game" show with fellow 8-Bit Cubist Ben.

New "8 Bit Cubist" interview podcast up

Myself and MisterBenja of the 8 Bit Cubist had a fun talk about video games, film, and staying focused on the long road to self-fulfillment over here at the 8-Bit Cubist site. Check it out and leave a comment.

"Shigeru Miyamoto: 8 Bit Legend" print and WIP shots

I drew several caricatures of Shigeru Miyamoto when I started out his piece, and decided on the one on the left. His world had to be Mario-related, and since Mario Galaxy was skyrocketing in popularity at the time, I decided to depict the Nintendo designer in space. The font for his name was in my head very early on, but at the end it was clear that it needed to be fleshed out in 3D.

The final print (I have one left for sale at my online store):

"Nolan Bushnell: 8 Bit Legend" print and WIP shots

The portrait of Pong designer Nolan Bushnell was always going to be done in a different direction. My initial ideas had him literally part of the game as the floating brick, possibly in 3D. In the end though, it was cooler to go with a "man in the machine" looking back at you. As the other prints became busier and more detailed, I added the Pong arcade cabinet around the border. The point being played for would end up making the score 2/5 (Bushnell's birthdate).

The final print (I have one left for sale at my online store):

WIP shots of the "8 Bit Legends" prints (Alexey Pajitnov)

Now that they're done, I thought it would be fun to show the work in progress files I made for each of my 8 Bit Legends prints. The objective I worked out with Ben at 8BitCubist.com was to show each of them immersed in the worlds of the games they created. To help things stay receptive to changes early on, I made greyscale sketches of each design, and polished from there.

Alexey Pajitnov's concept was clear from the start. I placed the Tetris skyscraper in Moscow, along with some of the other notable buildings in the city. This was definitely a fun way to refine my perspective skills.

The final print (I have one left for sale at my online store):