Every year experts from the fine art world and the interactive entertainment industry bestow upon video game artists the highest honor they can receive — inclusion in the Into the Pixel art collection. Let’s take a look at the seventeen pieces that made the cut this year.
The Into the Pixel collection is a joint effort between the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and the Entertainment Software Association to highlight the fine work of the countless video game artists working in the industry today. From concept art to marketing pieces, countless works of striking visual art are crafted each year in the name of gaming. Into the Pixel seeks to give the creators of this work their due.
“Into the Pixel is the industry’s premier showcase for the art of computer and video games and celebration of the artists whose talent creates these stunning images,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers and the owner of the E3 Expo. “ESA is proud to partner with AIAS to facilitate this valuable intersection between the traditional and digital art worlds.”
This year’s winners hail from all corners of the industry, from smaller games like Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull to the big-budget blockbusters Dragon Age II, God of War III, and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Each piece will be inducted into the collection, now in its eighth year, and will be on display in a place of honor during E3 2011.
Click through the gallery to discover this year’s winning artists and the games that inspired them.
Amorphous Drake
Artist: Lucas Graciano
Game: Legends of Norrath
Company: Sony Online Entertainment
Cronos Battle
Artist: Tyler Breon
Game: God of War III
Company: SCEA/Santa Monica Studio
Dead Walking
Artist: Chris Moffit, Brad Crow, Nathan Stefan, Bart Tiongson
Game: Orcs Must Die!
Company: Robot Entertainment
Good Friends
Artist: Matthew Halpin, Andrew Matthews, Matthew Preece, Radek Walachnia, John Laws
Game: Kinectimals
Company: Frontier Developments
Grim Exploits
Artist: Colin Foran, Claire Hummel, Ryan Wilkerson
Game: Trenched
Company: Microsoft Game Studios/Doublefine
Incident at the Workshop
Artist: Ivan Simoncini
Game: Alien Swarm
Company: Valve Software
Market Fire, Columbia
Artist: Ben Lo
Game: BioShock Infinite
Company: Irrational Games
Normandy
Artist: Mikko Kinnunen
Game: Mass Effect 2
Company: BioWare
Oktonok Cay Cannery
Artist: David Guertin
Game: Ratchet & Clank: All for One
Company: Insomniac Games
Paper World
Artist: Say Oh and Damian Kim
Game: Paper World
Company: Namco Bandai Games
Stahl Arms
Artist: Jesse van Dijk
Game: Killzone 3
Company: Guerrilla
The Bridge
Artist: Erik Zaring and Anders Gustafsson
Game: The Dream Machine
Company: Cockroach, Inc.
The Cottage
Artist: Hamzah Kasom Osman
Game: Drawn 3
Company: Big Fish Games
The Dragon Play
Artist: Brian Thompson and Hamzah Kasom Osman
Game: Drawn: Dark Flight
Company: Big Fish Games
The Pelican Inn
Artist: Andrew Kim
Game: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Company: Naughty Dog
The Swamp Skull
Artist: Jeff Haynie
Game: Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull
Company: Big Fish Games
Flemmeth
Artist: Matt Rhodes
Game: Dragon Age 2
Company: BioWare
