Case Study - GFW

I'm starting to add "Case Studies" to the Artwork section of my website. These entries will describe some of the artwork and processes on particular project. Below is the first Case Study, about my relationship with Games for Windows Magazine. Enjoy.

Games for Windows Magazine, 2007 branding article Machinima Article in GFW GFW Words Spread

I was lucky enough to work with Games For Windows Magazine (fomerly Computer Gaming World) on more than a dozen double-page spreads with accompanying spot illustrations. Every issue was a different challenge to communicate something visually to an audience that's been oversaturated with visual stimulus for years. They were really open to different ideas and styles. Below are some of the projects that we worked on together.
Galagato, 2006
This was the first spread that I did for CGW. The article was about the swarm of online PC games freely available on the internet. The direction was to depict some sort of swarm. I had just returned from Portland, OR where I spent a lot of time at Ground Kontrol Retro Arcade. The place is loaded with fully retored game cabinets from the 80's and I was pumped to make some vintage arcade inspired art. The art director graciously tolerated my insistance for this style and we went with it.

Invaders, 2007
This illustration was about the onslaught of in-game advertising in PC games. I was still interested in exploring imagery from the roots of video games, so this piece features space invaders. It was important to the article that we include as much branding as possible in the spread. Unfortunately, the final,printed image was cropped and obscures the Funyuns bag.

Midnight in the Garden 1

Midnight in the Garden, 2007
One of most interesting articles during my run with GFW was a feature on "The Hidden World of Christian PC Games". Apparently, Christian bookstores often carry exclusive video games specific to the Christian Faith. The function on the article was to be impartial and just unearth this subset of games to a wider audience. I decided to illustrate the idea by showing a scene in the Garden of Eden at night time.

Eagle with Baby Dragons

Eagle with Baby Dragons, 2007
This spread was for an editorial about American games companies moving operations to China and nurturing those new jobs.The art direction called for some kind of chinese dragon and maybe an eagle. I chose to depict a mother eagle tending to her surrogate dragon chicks.
Stormcheaters, 2007
This was a spread for an article about cheaters in massively-multiplayer games. Some people will go to great lengths to gain power in a game, even if it means taking advantages of flaws in the system, or preying on newbies. The original direction of the art was to use fantasy-based characters cheating on a test, but it evolved into something more universally familiar and was a lot more fun in the end because of it.
More of my artwork for Games for Windows Magazine can be seen by visiting my Artwork by Client collection on Flickr.

Porkchop Express


Porkchop Express, originally uploaded by joshuaellingson.

I made this for an upcoming art auction benefiting the Hell's Belles car club, here in San Francisco. I had this idea for last year's auction, but I dusted off the sketch and finished it up for this year.
I've always been a huge fan of John Carpenter's, "Big Trouble in Little China" and I love the classic Big Daddy Roth hot-rod illustrations. It just seemed like a natural fit.
Special thanks to COOP, for posting a gallery of Roth memorabilia. It was great for inspiration. Also, if you are a BTILT fan like I am, you'll want to head over to The Wing Kong Exchange website for lots of fun Big Trouble in Little China stuff.

Vice


Vice, originally uploaded by joshuaellingson.

One of my favorite things to do when I was a kid, was to make bootleg nunchucks on my grandpa's workbench. He had a great shop in the barn behind the house for refinishing antiques. When he wasn't fixing a chair or refinishing a cabinet, Grandpa had a duck decoy going. There was a box of dowels in the shop and my cousin Jason and I were always scavenging for the best ninja weapon parts.

New Art - Den 1


Den 1, originally uploaded by joshuaellingson.

This is another piece in my series about growing up at my grandparents' house. The house is full of taxidermy. In the den there are some deer mounts being used as hat racks. The boar had a plastic tongue that would come out if you pulled on it. There also used to be a really big goose hanging from the ceiling in the attic. Grandma has since remodeled the attic, and the goose is long gone.

Roscoe's Ascension


Roscoe's Ascention, originally uploaded by joshuaellingson.

When I was a kid, my Grandpa rescued an abandoned baby raccoon. We named him Roscoe and he was our pet for a little while. Eventually Roscoe couldn't stay in the house any longer so we made a house for him out of an old chicken coop. One day Roscoe was hit by a car on the busy street near the house. A neighbor friend of mine helped me bury him in a field under some rocks.
Behind my grandparents' house is a statue of Mary and some cherubs. The statue used to belong to my Aunt Mary Lou and it's close to where the old chicken coop was. Anyway, this is my portrait of Roscoe.

1800 Tequila Ad in Sept. '08 Maxim

Maxim that has the 1800 Tequila ad in it
Hey look, I made the inside front cover of MAXIM this month. My art is part of an ad campaign for 1800 Tequila. The "1800 Essential Artists" campaign features nine different artists from all over the country. Limited edition bottles featuring the art from the campaign will be available at some point.

There's more about the 1800 Essential Artists campaign at 1800's website, www.1800tequila.com.

Carrying Home


Carrying Home, originally uploaded by joshuaellingson.

Here's how the color is coming with that crab drawing. The house on top is my grandparents' home. It's where my aunts and uncle grew up, and it's where I have my most vivid childhood memories. My grandparents were antique dealers and the place is filled with amazing furniture, sporting gear, and other decor from another time. I think about that house a lot and wonder who will be occupying it a hundred years from now. I wish I could carry it around with me.