A couple of Katamari Damacy + Solitiba doodles for anyone who cares

So, I recently started doodling again.

Not that I ever meant to stop, mind you--or not that I made some sort of specific pact with myself to stop, at least.

In fact, I can't remember when my "doodling" trailed off, although I'm pretty sure it was more than a year ago.

As for why this happened, I can only guess at this point, but I have a feeling I simply ran out of ideas. 

My brain recently became flooded with ideas, though, thanks to a project I'm working on for the technical writing certificate program I'm taking through the Seattle branch of the University of Washington. 

Specifically, I'm working on a "quick-reference guide" for the weird Game Freak-developed and -published 3DS (and iOS) title that has gotten so much attention here in the last six months or so, Solitiba. 

Although the focus of this document is its text--which is supposed to help people understand and remember the nuances of the various "phases" associated with Solitiba's racing segments--I want to make it visually appealing, too, so I decided a couple of weekends ago to whip up a few drawings that could be snuggled within all of the letters and punctuation.

My first creation wasn't a total success. (Check it out here, if you're feeling adventurous.) Later efforts were a lot better, though, if I do say so myself.

I don't know if I'd say this is an example of the latter, but I also wouldn't call it a complete turd. Granted, it was a quick-and-dirty sketch produced as a sort of placeholder image for my guide's cover. (In the end, I decided to go with something else.)

I like the doodle, above, a lot more. Of course, what's not to like about a cute little horse with a sparkly mane and stubby legs that's attempting (not very successfully, mind you) to play solitaire?

This drawing, on the other hand, is supposed to depict a similarly stylized undulate teetering atop a house of cards (or, "Horse of Cards," which is the name I gave to this image when I published it on deviantart a couple of days ago).

Had enough of my Solitiba-inspired illustrations (if they can even be called that)? How about a Katamari Damacy-inspired illustration? I concocted it after one of my new colleagues wore a Katamari-branded t-shirt to work last Friday.

I have a feeling Katamari Damacy's denizens usually don't alter their antennae like this one has, but what can you do?

Anyway, if you like any or all of the doodles shared here, you may want to head over to my deviantart gallery and take a gander the handful of others I've generated in the last few years.

See also: previous posts about Solitiba

EarthBound on the brain

You know what I'd like to play on my 3DS sometime soon? No, not Fantasy Life--although I'll definitely be ripping into this role-playing game's packaging and popping its cartridge into my pink-and-white XL as soon as it arrives on my doorstep late next month.

In fact, the game that's currently topping my 3DS wish list isn't even a retail release; rather, it's a digital one--or it would be this time around.

As for which digital title I'm talking about: it's EarthBound--although I kind of gave that away in the header above, didn't I?

In any case, why has Nintendo made its classic RPG available to folks who own a Wii U but not to those who own a 3DS? I have no idea, but I hope they rectify the situation in the near future.

While all of us Wii U-less EarthBound fans wait for that to happen, we may as well content ourselves by ogling the following pair of illustrations that were inspired by this Shigesato Itoi-made masterpiece.

This first piece was produced by Orioto and is called "Night Visitor." (See it in all its original glory here.)

The colorful creation above ("Psychic Kids"), on the other hand, was concocted by Ry-Spirit. (Take a closer look at it here.)

See also: 'Thanks to my recently completed EarthBound playthrough, I can't get this tune out of my head'

'Ugh'

OK, so the actual title of the colorful piece of pop art, produced by deviantartist melonjaywalk (aka Francis Gordon), that serves as the focal point of this post is "Hero." I really love the speech-bubble-wrapped "ugh" that appears in its upper-left corner, though, so that's what I went with when I came up with the header above.

Anyway, should one or more of you fine folks know which game the sprite showcased in "Hero" was pulled from, I'd greatly appreciate being enlightened as to its name in the comments section below.

'Yr Surprising No-One'

I'm not entirely sure what inspired artist melonjaywalk to produce this lovely piece of art, but I think it may have been Far Cry 4's controversial cover imagery.

Of course, it's possible I'm just reading too much into this quote, which Francis (melonjaywalk's actual first name) posted alongside his pixelated painting:

"I feel lame to the max seeming as the only way I could identify a character as 'gay' in this is via the colour pink, but I guess being obvious is better than abstraction at this point."



The sprites included in this acrylic-on-canvas creation were pulled from 1995's Super Bomberman 3 (SNES/Super Famicom), by the way--which is one of the few Bomberman games I've yet to experience.

Anyway, if you'd like to check out more of melonjaywalk's stuff--and why on earth wouldn't you want to do that?--saunter over to his deviantart.com gallery at your earliest convenience.

See also: 'Don't get yr hopes up'

'Sweet dream' indeed ...

I don't know about you, but I haven't run into many examples of NSFW-ish fan art devoted to Nintendo's pugilistic Punch-Out!! series over the years--which, in my humble opinion, is a crying shame.

Sadly, the piece of saucy fan art below (titled "Sweet Dream") doesn't include Little Mac, but it's so appealing even without his presence that I won't spend too much time complaining about the oversight.

This drawing was produced by the hand of artist Pauli Kohberger (aka madamluna), by the way. To see more of her stuff, check out her deviantart gallery (which contains a number of additional Punch-Out!!-inspired pieces) or her site, Electric Stories.

See also: 'Kirby and Meta Knight en fleur'

Kirby and Meta Knight 'en fleur'

I may be an odd Kirby fan (my first two Kirby experiences were with Kirby: Canvas Curse and Kirby's Epic Yarn), but I'm a Kirby fan nonetheless.

As such, I'm always down for great pieces of Kirby fan art--like the ones below, for instance.



Both were created by artist Pauli Kohberger, aka madamluna, for the soon-to-be-released Kirby’s Dream Zine.

For more on the latter, click on the link above. To see more examples of Kohberger's work, on the other hand, go to madamluna.deviantart.com or electricopolis.net.

'Don't get yr hopes up'

I know I tend to present myself as a rather peppy and positive person on line, but believe me when I tell you I have a cynical side. (Just ask my husband if you want confirmation.)

I share that to explain both why I like the painting below--the title of which serves as this post's header, by the way--as well as why I've liked pretty much every piece of art New Zealand-based deviantart user melonjaywalk has produced.



It also should help explain why I got such a kick out of a note melonjaywalk published along with the painting, which was inspired by a scene in Sonic the Hedgehog 3: "Was originally just a landscape before I decided that I just needed to ruin it somehow. So, text."

To see more of melonjaywalk's stuff, go to melonjaywalk.deviantart.com or melonjaywalk.tumblr.com.

Paper Pokémon

Screw Paper Mario. Thanks to that series' last two entries, I've lost a lot of interest in the IP. (That said, if Nintendo can return it to its former brilliance--say, with a Wii U-based sequel that picks up where The Thousand Year Door left off--I probably could be swayed to give it another chance.)

I've far from lost interest in the idea of Nintendo games that feature a paper-y aesthetic, though. I'd love to see a The Legend of Zelda spin-off that stars characters and locales that look as though they're pieces of origami, for instance.

Would I like to play a Pokémon game that uses some sort of Paper Mario-esque art style? Until fairly recently, I would've responded to that question with a resounding, "Hell no!" Now that I've seen this deviantart gallery, though, I'm not so sure.

After all, artist Paprik-a's creations are as awesome as they are unique--or at least that's my opinion of them. Case in point: his take on Pokémon X/Y's Chesnaught.

His Delphox is pretty sweet, too:

As is his Greninja:

To see more of Paprik-a's inventive Pokémon portraits, check out paprik-a.deviantart.com or paprik--a.tumblr.com.

Speaking of Pokémon X and Y, by the way: which starter are those of you who are picking up one or both of these titles this weekend (or at some point in the future) planning to select?

Ever since I decided to buy a copy of Pokémon X, I've been leaning toward Fennekin as my starter (and Bulbasaur as my Red/Green/Blue starter).

A few days ago, though, I changed my mind and decided Froakie and Bulbasaur may be better picks--what with a special version of Torchic being made available to early-ish adopters.

Will any of you be taking a similar route, or will you be going with a different duo of starters?

'Dreamy Mushroom Munchers'

Sorry for the art inundation as of late. I guess I've just been in an artsy kind of mood. (Another possibility: the headlong sprint into winter--here in Seattle, at least--has temporarily sapped me of the energy that's usually reserved for writing blog posts.)

Anyway, the focus of this particular art-centric post is the following illustration, created by a deviantartist who calls himself "Luce in the Sky."



The piece's title is "Dreamy Mushroom Munchers," appropriately enough, and it was produced in honor of Luigi's 30th anniversary.

To see more of Luce in the Sky's stuff, check out his deviantart gallery or his brand new (and as such still sparsely populated) tumblr.

Vandrell's fabulous Alex Kidd, Burning Force, Golden Axe and Valis fan art

As much as I love many of Nintendo's games and systems, I'm no "Nintendo fanboy." After all, I also love many of Sony's games and systems--and in the past I loved many of NEC's (maker of the awesome PC Engine) and Sega's games and systems, too.

Why do I bring that up? Because I want you to understand at least a bit of why I'm so drawn to Barcelona-based and Sega-obsessed (or so it seems) artist Vandrell's digital illustrations--beyond the fact that they're drop-dead gorgeous, I mean.

Here (and here), for instance, is a piece he created to honor Sega's earliest "Mario killer," Alex Kidd:



And here is a piece that pays respect to Namco's 16-bit shoot 'em up, Burning Force:



The classic brawler Golden Axe gets the "Vandrell treatment" in the following concoction:



While Telenet Japan's Valis series gets a well-deserved nod in this one:



If you're looking for something even better and more fabulous, by the way, be sure to check out Vandrell's blog, which features, among other things, a number of mock-ups that turn the illustrations above into full-fledged Sega Mega Drive (aka Genesis) box arts.

Matthew Elliott x Pokémon

Warning: I've spent a lot of time perusing deviantart.com lately, so you should expect a number of upcoming posts to focus on fabulous game-related drawings and the like.

Cases in point: the following Pokémon illustrations, produced some time ago by Matthew Elliott (aka pseudonymjones).

"Team Rocket Grunt F + KOFFING"

"HAUNTER used Sucker Punch"

"MAGIKARP used Splash"

I came across the pieces above after stumbling across Elliott's take on everyone's favorite closeted game character, Tingle, by the way. Check out that illustration here, and check out his tumblr (which he seems to use more than deviantart these days) here.

Sexy Shy Guy

I'm not entirely sure why, but awesome, Atlanta-based artist, Drew Green, recently decided to draw a "sexy Shy Guy."

I found it completely adorable when I came across it on Facebook, so of course I had to share it here.

To see more of Drew's work, be sure to check out his deviantart gallery and his Tumblr at your convenience.

Oh, and check out his wonderful comic, Ross Boston, too, if you're into that sort of thing.

Poor Luigi

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride--or maybe in this case I should say, "Always the sidekick, never the star"?

Regardless, given the backseat nature of Luigi's life, it's easy enough to imagine that he may not be the most cheerful and positive chap. Is it possible, though, that his brother's annoying omnipresence has pushed him to contemplate suicide? I, for one, hope not, but New Zealand-based artist SUIKA seems to think otherwise.



Granted, SUIKA also believes Mario to be teetering on the edge (see this similar piece from earlier this year), so maybe I should take his thoughts on the matter with the proverbial grain of salt.

By the way, the Luigi painting above is 400 mm by 550 mm in size and was made (with acrylics) using a 17-mm-by-17-mm and 5-mm-by-5-mm hand-drawn grid.

To see more of SUIKA's works, check out his blog and his deviantart gallery at your convenience.

I want Animal Crossing 3DS baaaaaaadly

Ever since the Animal Crossing-branded 3DS LL was announced for Japanese release (alongside the game on Nov. 8) and the Tobidase Dōbutsu no Mori-focused Nintendo Direct was broadcast (on Oct. 5), I've spent more time than I'd like to admit daydreaming about the next entry in this adorable, world-conquering series.

As if that weren't bad enough, I'm so obsessed with the game right now that I've even taken to sites like deviantART in search of Animal Crossing-inspired illustrations.

The first piece of such fan art that I came across is the one you see above (and here), which features Cheri, a bear cub who only appeared in the first Animal Crossing, and Chevre, a Francophonic goat who has been featured in every Animal Crossing title thus far.

It was created by Japanese artist who goes by "Marys-Lamb" by the way. Also, it prompted the punny headline above.

I also came across a few holiday-themed illustrations that were inspired by Animal Crossing, including the one above (conjured up by Thai artist DC9spot).

This effort, produced by US-based artist Rin, caught my eye, too:

Sigh. The next few months are going to be tough for those of us waiting for non-Japanese versions of this game, aren't they?

Donkey Kong x Japanese Ukiyo-e

How would some of gaming's most cherished characters look if they had been conjured up during the latter half of the 17th century rather than the late stages of the 20th?

Artist Jed Henry tackles that rather curious question in a recent series of illustrations (like the one below and here) that suggest how, say, Donkey Kong and Mario, would have looked had they been painted or printed in the ukiyo-e style that came to life in Japan in the 1600s.

A number of other classic game franchises are given the same treatment in a series of pieces that can be found in Henry's deviantART gallery. Among them: Kirby, Metroid, Pokémon and Star Fox.

See also: 'Looks like I'll have to add Soul Bubbles to my DS wish list'

If only Nintendo's Takashi Tezuka had such fond memories of Super Mario Bros. 2

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but in case I haven't: Super Mario Bros. 2 is my favorite of the two-dimensional Super Mario Bros. games. (Note: I don't consider Yoshi's Island to be a "mainline" Mario game.)

I'm not alone, apparently. Although he doesn't say so in the description he penned for the work-in-progress painting (below and here) that he posted on deviantart.com earlier this year, I have to imagine WayForward's Austin Ivansmith has similarly fond memories of the game that's known in Japan as Super Mario USA.

(By the way, I have to admit that I very much like Ivansmith's painting as is. I love that I knew, the second I saw it, which characters, and which game, it was supposed to bring to mind--despite the fact that it's made up of just outlines, noses and eyes. OK, and a pair of pixelated mustaches.)



Another person who seemingly prefers Super Mario Bros. 2 to the rest of the classic series' releases: Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto. At least, that's what "the man who made Mario" says in this recent ign.com article.

Sadly, it seems unlikely Miyamoto's colleague, Takashi Tezuka, feels the same way. In the aforemented article, for instance, Miyamoto says, "The Mario games of that type are really in the hands of Mr. Tezuka at this point. Because he didn't work on [Super Mario USA] ... he doesn't have memories of developing it that he would draw on to re-create concepts in the New Super Mario Bros. series now."

Are any of you as crushed as I am to hear that it's unlikely Nintendo will be making another Mario game that's akin to Super Mario USA/Super Mario Bros. 2 anytime soon?

Manly, muscly Wario

When I think of Wario, I think of an annoyingly lovable mischief-maker. I don't think of a Tom of Finland-esque muscleman.

Thankfully, artist Pauli Kohberger (aka madamluna) is more imaginative than I am. Otherwise, we wouldn't have access to the following illustration, which is rather appropriately titled, "Greed is Good."

To see more examples of Kohberger's work, check out her blog, Electric Stories, and/or her deviantART gallery.

Dear Capcom: Please make Mega Man look like this in his next two-dimensional platformer

This is, without a doubt, the cutest Mega Man plush I have ever seen. Actually, it may be the cutest gaming-related plush I've ever seen, period--although these Metroid plushes are pretty darn precious, too.



Anyway, back to the adorable Mega Man plush above: It was made by Michele Legendre (aka deadly_sweet on Flickr and misscoffee on deviantART) for an upcoming gaming-themed show at Santa Monica, Calif.-based Gallery 1988.

Somewhat-silly aside to the creative folks at Capcom: Please use Legendre's plush as inspiration for your next side-scrolling Mega Man game. (Think Kirby's Epic Yarn.)

'All you do is blow a whistle and watch them die'

The quote in the headline above is a pretty apt description of the following, rather dark piece of Pikmin-inspired fan art, produced by deviantartist Fenryk, don't you think?

Speaking of Pikmin, I don't know about you, but I was a bit disappointed when I heard that Shigeru Miyamoto said, during the recent E3 event in Los Angeles, that the much-anticipated Pikmin 3 will be released for the Wii U and not the Wii. I know the Wii is all but dead at this point (thanks in no small part to Nintendo's lack of software support), but a third Pikmin title would have made for a fine swan song for the system.

Oh, well, at least this means we'll get to see Captain Olimar and his precious, plant-like companions in HD sooner rather than later.

Buy: New Play Control! Pikmin

Super Studly Mario Bros. 2

Admittedly, the illustration below isn't even half as hot as the photo splashed across the cover of the soon-to-be-released issue of MUTO Manifesto magazine that was highlighted in my previous "Super Studly Mario Bros." post.

Still, there's a certain, strange appeal to Angela Zavala's cheeky, Super Mario Bros.-inspired drawing, isn't there? (To see more of Zavala's creations, check out her deviantART gallery.)