SURREAL ARTS OF SLENCE

Hailing from Indonesia, Slence creates somber worlds for his characters to inhabit, ever-looming in constant darkness, though they all seem perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.

Artist: deviantart / posterous

(via ianbrooks)

STEAMPUNK MEGA MAN by YIN SAKAMOTO

I’ve been on a quest to find the perfect steampunk version of Mega Man for a while and I kept finding versions close to what I was looking for but just kept missing the mark. Queue up the Survivor because I think my “Search is Over.”

RETRO by MIKE SEKOWSKI

(via gamefreaksnz)

ASSASSIN’S CREED 3 ART AND SCREENSHOTS

Ubisoft’s latest lump of screenshots are a mix of old and new. Old if you caught some of them when they leaked, new if you didn’t. I’m kidding (partly anyway). The concept art appears to be brand new.

I’m really loving the different destinations that Connor will be able to explore in the next game and I’m a mildly curious why some of the British soldiers are donning “masks” like they are bandits.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what it all means when Assassin’s Creed 3 releases in October.

IT’S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE by CARLOS LERMS

DEATH COMES TO ENEMIES OF ALL SIZES

These latest Darksiders II screens are showing off some huge opponents. Based on trailers there’s going to be a lot more quick attack/retreat fighting as opposed to War’s head-on, guns-blazing style which should pair well to taking down these behemoths.

It’s the last screenshot that’s the most exciting though because it showcases Vigil Games’ work on giving the landscape a facelift.

Darksiders II releases on June 26th for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

SUPER GENTLEMARIO

Matt Cummings shows that Mario is a true gentleman by using his fireballs to clear a path through the snow for Peach. Aw, thanks Mario!

PRINCESS PEACH AND THE PEA by KEITH P. REIN

Available on Society6

(via insanelygaming)

AMATERASU by ROYAL PUFFIN

(via dotcore)

ARTIST FOCUS: JOLBY (JOSH KENYON AND COLBY NICHOLS)

The talented duo known as Jolby (Josh Kenyon and Colby Nichols) joins us this week for our Artist Focus. Designing together since 2005, this duo co-curated the recent Triforce Tribute art show with Always with Honor and have an extensive portfolio ranging from designing and illustrating a Muppet Joke book to designing and illustrating trading cards that teach bicycle safety.

Who is Jolby? Where are you from? Where do you live now?
COLBY: Jolby is a Design and Illustration studio in Portland, OR comprised of myself [Colby Nichols] and Josh Kenyon. We’ve worked together since 2005.

How long have you been designing/illustrating?
COLBY: I’ve been drawing since I was a kid! They were awful drawings, but I kept at it and haven’t stopped since. I went to the Art Institute of California-San Diego for design which is where I learned that craft.

JOSH: Since I was a kid I wanted to work for Disney. It was my dream and when I went to school for animation I quickly learned that it wasn’t for me. I changed over to Graphic Design. I stopped drawing for 4 yrs and then once I met Colby he pushed me to find a style or really just to explore illustrating and drawing again.

What got you interested in art?
COLBY: Oddly enough, both Josh and I wanted to be animators before we discovered design and illustration. If I had to pinpoint it though, I’d have to say that discovering the web comic Penny Arcade when I was young helped to shape my interest in the art world.

JOSH: Disney movies and comic books.

Who/what influences your art? Is there a particular person’s style that has influenced you?
COLBY: Currently I’m obsessed with Tim Biskup, Steven Harrington, and Invisible Creature.

JOSH: Charley Harper, Jim Flora and Alexander Girard are huge influences for me.

What was your inspiration for your pieces that you contributed to Triforce Tribute? Favorite Zelda game?
JOSH: When we first started talking about the show and concepting the image for the collaboration piece with Always With Honor, the first thing I saw were all the bushes Link has to swipe through. It turned out exactly how I saw it in my brain. The piece we did as Jolby was inspired by Link’s inventory. We tried to sneak a lot of little details from various games in there. Both Colby and my favorite Zelda game is Link to the Past.

Was this the first art show that you hosted? If not, is this your first show you co-hosted?
COLBY: This is the first art show we have co-curated (or even curated for that matter). Josh and I have exhibited solo art shows and have been a part of other group shows, but never put on our own. We knew this show would be perfect for collaborating with Tyler & Elsa Lang (Always With Honor) who we co-curated the show with and did a piece for the show with.

What is your day job?
COLBY: During the day Josh and I run Jolby as a studio creating work for clients big and small as well as our own personal projects.

Are you an avid gamer? If so, what are you currently playing?
COLBY: I’m definitely the gamer between us. I just wrapped up Skyrim and started Mass Effect 3. I love playing games that take me at least 30-50+ hours to complete. I feel like anything shorter isn’t worth the investment both emotionally and financially.

If you could be any video game character who would it be? Why?
COLBY: Probably Shepard from Mass Effect. I feel like I make all that dude’s decisions anyway, so I might as well be him. Plus, having sex with aliens is pretty cool.

JOSH: Yoshi mainly because he eats stuff and I like food a lot.

What do you do for fun?
COLBY: Gaming is something I do to unwind after a stressful day, so there’s that. Nights and weekends are usually spent with my fiancé and our friends.

JOSH: Mushroom hunting, fishing, getting out in the woods.

Legend of Zelda is awesome but were there any other video game series on the table for the art show? Talk about other future art shows? Castlevania, perhaps? <hint> <hint>
COLBY: A Castlevania show would be awesome! I still think about how badass SotN was, but the latest in the series was pretty sweet, too. So far there are no official plans for another game-themed art show, but we’re throwing around ideas of what that could possibly be.

We all know Link saves Princess Zelda, which video game character would you save?
COLBY: I’d still save Zelda.
JOSH: Still Zelda

If you could have lunch with any video game character past or present who would it be and what would you talk about?
COLBY: It’d probably be my character in Skyrim. We’d feast on some mammoth cheese and drink mead. I think we’d spend most of the time talking about all of the cliffs I threw him off of.

If there’s one thing that you want people to know about you, what would that be?
COLBY: I don’t take myself very seriously and I love to laugh.

JOSH: That I hunt for mushrooms.

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