ZELDA by DONUTPLAINS
GAMING MINIMALISM
Ari Martínez transforms a few favorite franchises into picturesque prints that are as iconic as the games they represent. He not only invoked memories of when Sonic was fun, but I really love the fact that he included the oldie but goodie Carmageddon in the set.
ARTIST FOCUS: DEAN WALTON
This week for our artist focus we are extremely excited to be featuring the work of Dean Walton, a.k.a. MrShabba. You may have seen his renowned Video Game Travel Series among other fantastic gaming designs, now you can find out more about him in our interview with the man behind the designs, and his company, GamerPrint!
Tell us about yourself. Where are you from?
My name is Dean Walton and I’m born and bred in (rainy) England, from a place called Birmingham.
What is your day job?
My job title is Owner and Creative Director at GamerPrint which basically involves designing all of our products and promotional materials along with making day-to-day designs in running the company. I started GamerPrint back in 2009 with the intention of creating a source for video game t-shirts that were more subtle than what was available at the time. I liked the idea of gamers being able to represent their favourite games without the need to wear very obvious t-shirts that shout ‘I’m a geek!’ even though they (and we) all are!
How long have you been designing/illustrating? What got you interested in art?
I’ve been designing things as long as I can remember. I spent a large amount of my childhood drawing cars for some reason, I think that’s what I wanted to grow up to do for a long time. Then I discovered video games and my attentions shifted somewhat - I used to draw characters all the time and even illustrate my own Pokemon comics!
Who/what influences your art? Is there a particular person’s style that has influenced you?
Difficult to say really, there’s so many. There are a lot of artists I admired during my education from people like H.R. Giger to comic artists such as Todd McFarlane. More recently I’ve taken influence from artists such as Charles Demuth and Edward Hopper who are famous for their involvement in the Precisionist art movement. They definitely influenced my more recent travel poster designs for Zelda, Mario Kart and Skyrim
What medium do you typically use when creating art?
Most of my work is digital, although everything starts out as a sketch in my notebook and goes from there. I like to explore more traditional mediums too - I did a series of movie posters for some of my favourite films like Blade Runner and The Fifth Element which started life as watercolour paintings.
How do you tackle new projects? What’s your process?
Planning definitely isn’t a strong point of mine. Most of my design work happens on a whim - I’ll have an idea (often just before I go to sleep or when I’m in the shower - not the most convenient of times!) and then sketch it down as soon as possible. I then get started on the building the design and see where it ends up. Always difficult to judge how others will receive things though - sometimes a design I love wont do that well, and vice-versa.
You’ve done gaming travel-posters for Skyrim, Zelda, and a few more, where did the idea come from for those? Were you just playing a game and thought to yourself, “Man, I wonder what a travel poster would like for this place?”
With those it all started with Zelda - it’s no secret that Ocarina of Time is my favourite game. I was re-playing it one day, getting pretty overcome with nostalgic emotion when the idea struck - as I entered Hyrule Field at sunset I thought “who wouldn’t want to visit Hyrule?”!
The other designs spawned off the back of the Zelda ones - I knew the world of Skyrim would lend itself well to that format as soon as I began playing it.
What are your future plans for travel posters? Do you see a Bioshock series or adding the DLC locations from Skyrim? Ever thought about doing a series based off Fallout?
I am planning on creating more travel posters for sure - we’ve had a quite a few requests for some Final Fantasy themed ones along with locations from other games within the Nintendoverse. Bioshock and Fallout are both ideal candidates for posters like these - I personally love games like that which are set in rich, detailed worlds that really engage us gamers. We already have a popular Nuka Cola poster so I’m sure plenty more Fallout stuff would go down well…
Are you an avid gamer? If so, what are you currently playing?
I’m definitely an avid gamer and have always been a big Nintendo fan until more recently. My favourite console would probably be the N64 as I’ve got loads of fond memories from that period of gaming. Who didn’t love GoldenEye deathmatches or playing Mario 64 for the first time! More recently I’m into my Xbox 360, recently picked up Dishonored and loving that! Just wish I had more time to play - running GamerPrint keeps me pretty busy!
If you could be any video game character who would it be?
Great question! I think I’d have to be Fox McCloud - pretty cool job flying round space shooting things while having a toad, a falcon and a hare as your wingmen! I’d be barrel-rolling all day long!
What do you do for fun?
Eat. I love food! If I could eat a proper sit-down meal and play video games at the same time I would. Someone needs to invent a way to play games with just your feet.
If there’s one thing that you want people to know about you, what would that be?
That I’m really into movies too and as a side project I have a site selling original designs based on my favourite films!
What is your most memorable video game memory?
If I had to pick one it would be completing the first dungeon on Ocarina of Time where the Great Deku Tree sends you on your epic quest to save Hyrule moments before passing away. Oh the responsibility on young Link’s shoulders!
CONTACT INFORMATION
Want to follow Dean to stay up on his latest work? Follow him on Tumblr or Twitter, and stop by Gamerprint for purchasing any of his awesome work.
YOU’VE MET WITH A TERRIBLE FATE, HAVEN’T YOU?
Amazing Skull Kid amigurumi created by Aphid777
Check out her gallery for more of her work.
(via geeksngamers)
ARTIST FOCUS: AARON WOOD
Back by popular demand, our artist focus returns with an artist that we are absolutely thrilled to showcase today, the very talented and creative Aaron Wood!
You may have seen Aaron’s video game or social media propaganda series floating around somewhere on the internet, now you can learn about the man behind the brilliant artwork.
Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? Where do you live now?
My name is Aaron Wood. I was born in Western Massachusetts and I currently live in Feeding Hills, MA.
What is your day job?
My day job is graphic design and I create gift wrap. I’ve been doing this for just over 5 years.
How long have you been designing/illustrating? What got you interested in art?
My Mom was an artist, so she definitely got my interested in art. I’ve been drawing since I was 4 or 5.
Who/what influences your art? Is there a particular person’s style that has influenced you?
Movies, books, pop culture, music, TV, my friends all help to influence my art. No one in particular has influenced me, but I do enjoy the work of a lot of artists.
How would you describe your style?
Eclectic. I change styles frequently.
What medium do you typically use when creating art?
Digital. I fell out of practice long ago with using traditional mediums. I do like to revisit watercolors and pen and ink from time to time though.
How do you tackle new projects? What’s your process?
I’ll come up with a concept. Sometimes do a quick sketch to lay things out and then jump right in! I like to finish a piece in one sitting.
Your Propaganda series of designs capture the feel of WWII propaganda posters perfectly, where did you get the idea to do these? Do you plan to do anymore?
I got the idea from the “war” that goes on over on Google+. People over there generally dislike Facebook, Twitter, anything Apple, etc. I felt that if they wanted to make it a virtual war, I’d make up some propaganda to go with it. I definitely plan on making more. Always have something in the works!
Many of your designs have a retro familiarity to them, mixing modern themes (i.e. movies, commercial brands, etc) with visuals from the past, where did this idea come from?
People seem to love anything retro these days. When I chose the war theme, the old propaganda posters of WWII just seemed to fit as a jumping off point.
Tell us about your current projects. What are you working on? Any upcoming art shows?
Currently I’ve started a line of video game propaganda posters. Working on a space invaders one. I’d love to work on another webcomic at some point. I’ll be doing M.I.C.E. (The MA Indie Comics Expo) in September in Cambridge MA.
Are you an avid gamer? If so, what are you currently playing?
I used to play a lot of World of Warcraft. I also love the Rock Band series.
What do you do for fun?
Read, go to the movies, watch TV, play Rock Band, go out to eat with my girlfriend/friends, draw.
If there’s one thing that you want people to know about you, what would that be?
I’m a kidney transplant recipient.
What is your most memorable video game memory?
When my friend and I simultaneously finished Ultima IV while on the phone. This was back in 1986 so there was no Ventrilo or Teamspeak.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Want to know what Aaron is working on? Check out his Etsy Shop for the latest and greatest prints of his work.
INSTAGRAM USED TO BRING VIDEO GAMES INTO LIFE
We’ve seen plenty of 8bit IRL before, but Mel Marcelo’s series brings a new twist.
He uses Instagram to take the photos and then photoshops in the 8bit awesome, creating some really impressive images that look stunningly realistic.
Some personal favorites are Link in the Apple store and the characters from Wild Gunmen hanging out in the Taco Bell. Both are great examples of the subtle details Mel infuses into his designs, like creating pixelated shadows, to make the images look virtually realistic.
Visit Mel’s Instagram to see his complete collection of 8bit goodness.
