I loved the "ancient Pac-Man" concept so much, I was inspired to do another piece. This one is an attempt to merge my style with an old Japanese print style complete with faux-antique paper. Took me a bit longer to finish than I thought it would. Even though the color scheme is very flat, achieving that authentic old and worn look to it was a real bear. It's not a technique I'm used to utilizing in my work, and it's much more complicated than scanning in an old beat-up piece of paper and converting the artwork to "multiply" on top of it.
Er... what I meant to say is -- here's a recently discovered rare Japanese print which is rumored to have contributed to Toru Iwatani's inspiration for the genesis of Pac-Man. It was a print that had been in his family for generations, but had been lost in a warehouse shortly after his tragic suicide.
This piece, too, will be featured in the upcoming "Big Trouble in Little Gainesville" show at GORILLA RIOT'S STORE 101 this Friday (6/06/08). If you're in the area, come on by and tell me how full of it I am, and marvel in amazement as genuine concern nearly creeps in at the corners of my eyes.
PRINTS OF THIS PIECE ARE AVAILABLE!! $10 (plus $5 for US shipping), 11"X 17" 100# cover stock paper. EMAIL ME FOR MORE INFO!!
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36 comments:
Hah, wow. xD I need to see that game get made.
That picture is fantastic. It's currently my computer wallpaper and I would love to get it on a t-shirt. Do you have any plans to do something like that?
Hmm... A shinobi style kind of game. Killing ghost of old samurais. Sounds good.
Thanks for the kind words. I think this is the first time any of my pieces have been stolen and made into wallpaper! I'm famous!
Prints are available, so contact me for info. Shirts may be coming, if enough demand is heard.
Oh, and be sure to send desperate emails to Namco (or whoever) begging them to hire me to give Pac-Man a blasphemous, but inevitable face-lift!
Um no one stole your image - last time I checked right clicking an image and setting to background wasn't a crime.
I would love to buy a copy. That is the awesomest thing I have seen in a while. However, while I see your phone number I have yet to fin dyour email addy even after clicking around a bit.
Help me, I am inept!
Relax, "Anonymous". It was a joke. When was the last time you checked, by the way?
Thanks for sticking up for poor r:tag, though. I'm sure he appreciates it. And thanks for having the courage to use your real name. It's a brave thing you've done.
I'm sold on the print - you will be hearing from me shortly!
Let me know if you proceed with the t-shirt.
Cheers!
Um, er... in response to "Anonymous #2" (Who I hope is not the same person as Anonymous #1), just click on the link at the blog to "view my complete profile" on the right hand side at the bottom. That should take you to my profile page where you can click on the "email" link.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have further difficulty. And I fully support your decision not to use your real name ;)
is it possible that you would ever run out of prints for this? I would absolutely love to have this but lack cash at the moment.
Thanks, r:tag. I'll let you know. Thanks for not taking offense to my crack about "stealing" the image for your desktop. It was, as I explained to Mr. Anonymous, a joke. I certainly don't mind, as you're not making money off of it, and it's done out of appreciation. Thanks for your support!
Fernando, I can make the prints myself on my super-nice large-format photo printer, so there's no chance of me running out of prints. The quality of the prints is extremely nice, so as long as my printer stays healthy and I don't lose the file, I can get you a print. No hurry.
Please make a shirt!!!
I'd definitely be in for a shirt. If you don't want to have the hassle of the setup, try working with Threadless or another shop to distribute your design.
Nice nice work buddy!
Another vote for a shirt, and judging by the response you've been getting on the gaming blogs, I'm sure you wouldn't find yourself short of orders ;)
Will the print have the watermark?
I'd buy a shirt with this on it. It's pretty badass!
Ray, the prints absolutely DO NOT have the watermark on them. That's simply something I add to all my digital images.
love this...call for a woot shirt!!!!
I'd like to order a print, where is your email address?
nm, found it via clicking on your comment name.
Shirt
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SHIRT!
That is absolutely incredible! I shall be emailing you posthaste for a print (and telling other people too!).
Brilliant. He needs to be wielding a cardboard tube, though — then you'd definitely get bought out by Penny-Arcade and make a mint =)
Hmmm....
That's the second time I've heard the "cardboard tube" reference. Is that what it's from, Penny Arcade? I don't follow the strip, so I don't get the reference. Can anyone send me a link or something so I can see for myself?
Cardboard Tube Samurai!
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/3/3/
Regarding the cardboard tube samurai:
Um, so beyond the obvious pac-man design on the back of his kimono, what's the connection to Pac-Man? Am I missing something? What's the significance of the cardboard tube -- is it some sort of in-joke for Penny Arcade fans?
was it inspired by 'the madness of mission six' I designed for threadless? I'm just saying.
Travis (if that was actually you), the similarity is purely coincidental... and yours is better. I was planning a series of these with different genres, so I suppose I'm going to have to pay attention to avoid further similarities (especially when I get to the sci-fi piece), now that your illustration has been pointed out to me.
If that doesn't help, here's a quote from a fellow over at GoNintendo.com:
"It’s not as good as the spaceman one. Samurai don’t run round mazes, take pills or run from ghosts. Samurai Pac Man would just bust those fuckers down, pills or no. Hence, not Pac Man. Even the maze idea works better for a space station. The artwork may be great, but the concept is nowhere near as well thought out."
hey there,
i was interested in a copy. just wondering if you got my email i sent on tuesday.
thanks!
The Cardboard Tube Samurai is an inside joke at Penny Arcade that inexplicably turned into a phenomenon (as most phenomena are inexplicably born).
The Penny Arcade fellows had commented amusedly on the inevitability (and boyhood joy) of a wayside cardboard tube, once found, becoming brandished as an imaginary sword. The idea coincided with a yearning to create a story with continuity rather than random strips with jokes about video games. Thus the Cardboard Tube Samurai was born.
As for a Pac-Man connection, the Gabe character --who roleplays as the Samurai-- is a well-known devotee of the game. It isn't quite the ever-present topic of discussion it once was in the comic's earlier days, but it still remains a relevant part of Gabe's wardrobe even in his Samurai garb. I'd wager that among younger gamers, playing word association with "Pac-Man" would bring up "Penny Arcade" within five words.
How are we able to buy a print of this?
Just contact me at the email address listed on my contact info in my profile page.
Got the print today - love it! Will be framing it soon. Thanks, Jared! Hope you end up doing a t-shirt for that one as well.
Have you or anyone else seen the actual shirts printed by CafePress and have an opinion on them? I'd love to buy one, but I've heard nothing but bad shirt tails (har har) regarding their direct to garment prints. Apparently Zazzle makes better shirts, and I know T-shirt Hell / Torsopants make good gear, but don't know how your intellectual property rights would stand up to that.
Love it !!
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