Check out these tiny little clay versions of video game consoles and their controllers. They’re so small that they’ll literally fit in the palm of your hand.

These tiny consoles may look like the work of Dr. Shrinker (or maybe Dr. Reducto), but the teeny weeny Xbox, Xbox 360, NES (and matching controller earrings) are actually the product of polymer clay artist Lauren of TheClayCollection. They may be just a hair larger than a penny, but each manages to capture the distinct styling and colors of these classic consoles.

Don’t see your favorite console here? That’s okay, because Lauren can custom make mini consoles, controllers and even mini-games based on your special requests. Me? I’d like to see her crank out a tiny Vectrex, or maybe a Fairchild Channel F.

You can find Lauren’s current clay collection over on Etsy.

[via ALBOTAS]

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Here’s another photo that proves the equation Craft + Pac-Man = Awesome. You’ve got to hand it to the artist who created this amazingly precise cross-stitch version of the characters from the 1980s Namco arcade classic.

Created by Flickr contributor EverySpoon, the tiny cross-stitch features detailed renditions of Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Clyde, Pac-Man and some delicious cherry treats. Made with surgical precision, every little stitch is a pixel-for-pixel perfect rendition of the original game characters. 

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You may think you know Mario and Zelda, but you’ve never seen them like this.

Artist Jimi Benedict (a.k.a. “Jimiyo”) created these 8-bit game inspired images which combine the pixel-blocky forms of the game’s original characters with a surreal mix of natural textures and literal illustration styles. 

Not into video game art? Jimi has many more tricks up his sleeve. He’s produced numerous professional illustrations for t-shirts, skateboards and has even done work for NASCAR. He even got into politics with his brilliant 8-bit Barack Obama.

For more illustrations, merchandise, illustration tips and more, check out Jimiyo.com.

[via Drawn!]

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This might look like a curtain of randomly assorted lighting fixtures. But it’s actually an interactive video display that can detect movements of passersby and mimic them using light.

Entitled Space Invaders 2008, the light installation uses a grid of 176 unique lighting fixtures to work its magic. When a person passes in front of a video camera connected to the display, custom software and electronic dimming systems automatically translate movements into adjustments to the intensity of the lights.

The curtain of lights measures over 1600 square feet, and the illusion doesn’t seem like much of anything until you stand back a ways. But from a distance, in a darkened room, you really can see the effect. The system can also use other input devices such as audio signals, to turn it into a huge spectrum analyzer.

Designed by interactive artists Rainer Kehres, Sebastian Hungerer and Friedemann Wolpert the display on exhibit at ZKM Center for Art & Media in Karlsruhe, Germany through February 13, 2008.

You can find more images and information over on commonlights.

[photos: Marc Walthieu]

This incredible art installation records the tiniest human breathing patterns and magnifies them into a room-filling blast of wind.

Created by interactive artist Scott Snibbe, Blow Up is comprised of two main pieces. On one side of the room is an array of 12 small impellers which act as a breath-controlled input device. On the other side of the room is a wall with a dozen powerful electric fans.

The impellers are electronically synchronized with the fans, which automatically adjust to match the direction and velocity input on the tiny controller. In addition to playing real-time “amplified” wind patterns, the system stores the most recently captured breath patterns and replays them in a loop until someone breathes a different pattern.

To really understand how it all works, be sure to check out this cool video clip Snibbe recently posted.

 Blow Up was commissioned by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco back in 2005. Even though it’s no longer on exhibit, this is the first time we can all see it in action, all thanks to the magic of YouTube.

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I was surfing around over on Flickr today, when I came across this great Pac-Man display made entirely out of cans.

Photographer eyesplash Mikul captured this image of the giant Pac-Man and ghosts installation. The display was one of several made from thousands of brightly colored cans for a show called Canstruction Vancouver. You can check out the entire exhibit between now and March 2 in the Cruise Ship Terminal at Canada Place.

All of the cans and entrance fees collected will go to the Vancouver Food Bank, so it’s all for a good cause.

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I think some of us in the world would be likely to 1) get frustrated and/or 2) discard a broken handheld electronic game pretty quickly if we couldn’t fix it. Or is it just me? Whatever the answer is, I know the resourceful Josh Burker would bust a different move. Check out how he modified an old Nintendo Game Boy into a fun shadowbox art piece! He removed the guts from the case and crafted a smaller scale version of a Super Mario papercraft diorama wall he found, et voila! (Almost) instant art!

Read more about this clever example of recycling/upcycling right here.

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This cool fabric curtain may look like a tree from afar, but once you’re up close, you’ll see that it’s made of tens of thousands of tiny ASCII characters.

Created by Dutch designer Nienke Sybrandy, the huge (18′ x 11′) curtain panel was digitally printed with dot matrix characters to give the impression of intricate tree branches from a distance.

Now if only I could get her to make me one with some real ASCII art on it, I’d hang ‘em all over my house.

[via NOTCOT]

Looking for a way to make your game room really special? Look no further than these original 3-dimensional arcade artworks by sign maker Melissa Jones.

Melissa creates original wood carvings of classic arcade characters, then creates a resin casting of the original and hand paints each one with bold acrylic colors.

Her arcade designs include classics like Donkey Kong, Galaga, Robotron 2084, Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Q*Bert and Burgertime among others.

Prices for individual castings range from about $20 to $60 a piece, but complete sets with a matching canvas backdrop run from $225 to $375. But for about $2000, you can deck out your entire room with this complete collection.

She’ll also do custom orders on request. Check out Melissa’s entire collection over on her site NiceCarvings.

[via Flickr]

What if Mario weren’t a cartoony video game character? Artist Pixeloo set out to answer that question when creating this “realistic” rendering of Nintendo’s little Italian plumber.

While it’s some pretty amazing graphic work, “real” Mario isn’t quite as endearing as he’s been in previous incarnations. Created by compositing a variety of real facial details and textures in Photoshop CS2 on top of a 3D model from Nintendo, the guy is just plain creepy.

I can’t decide if it’s the scraggly facial hair or the bulbous, slightly bloodshot eyeballs that will keep me up tonight. This is definitely not the kind of Mario that you’d want your kids playing with.

[via TechEBlog]

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