Fabulous Fan Art: 8-Bit Labs Gives Shape To Photorealistic Game Icons
Such is the case with today's fanart study, brought to you by Kalapusa of 8-Bit Labs. He's been making clay characters for years, but only recently turned his attention to video game models. As he puts it:
Each piece is based on a classic videogame character as seen through the prism of real-life anatomy. They are rendered in clay, painted with acrylics and sealed in resin to give the appearance of a specimen preserved in formaldehyde.
This lends the model credibility--what's the only way a living being can keep its color and shape while being inanimate? Preservation. This adds to the myth of, say, Pac-Man or a Pirhana Plant being parts of our world simply misplaced for a while.
Images like this beg the question: what is fascinating about seeing a gaming icon made real, pseudo-biology and all? Maybe the connection comes from those natural daydreams that plague anyone who grew up idolizing their adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom or trying to break high scores in Ms. Pac Man. Even at the age where such fantasies are a fitting filler for our imaginations, we've parsed enough science to know that floating yellow heads who subsist on dots aren't exactly a natural occurence. Taking this idea to its extreme, finding a physical species (in this case, Pakku rotundus) that has these properties merits the white-glove attention that follows in these snapshots.
Kalapusa's full gallery is definitely worth a look, especially if you like what you see here. The grim versions of Mushroom Kingdom's residents are especially resonant if you've seen the recent wave of realistic Mario paintings ravaging the internet. You'll find some highlights below, but feel free to check out the full body of works, and remember to catalogue your findings.
faePuck
Posted to Fan Art Gallery, Video Games on 6 October 2010
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: 8-bit labs, fan art, Kalapusa, mario, pac-man, sculpting
Those Piranha Plants almost gave me a heart attack.
I've always wanted to visit the mushroom kingdom since I was a kid. NOT ANYMORE! o_O;