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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Are you a Mario fanatic? Here’s a couple of new desktop toys which are a must for any serious Super Mario collector.

These excellent Super Mario Sofubi (soft vinyl) figures stand 9.5-inches tall and look great in your cubicle, living room, standing on top of your horizontal Wii, or even glued to your car’s hood as an ornament.

They’re $18 each from the Giant Robot Store and available in both a Classic Mario and white Fire Mario versions.

Tired of the same old bare floors? Why not cover them up with a little Mario magic? These plush mats lay down on your floor and feature icons from the classic Super Mario Brothers series.

Each squishy floor tile measures 40cm x 40cm (15.74 x 15.74″), and if you’re willing to spend some serious dough, you can cover your entire floor with ‘em. At $23 a piece, they’re more expensive than some schmancy Persian rugs, but for dedicated Mario fanboys and fangirls, money should be no object. After all, you should have plenty of extra gold coins lying around?

They’re made in Mario, Shroom, Goomba, Question Mark Block and Brick patterns, but the bricks are currently sold out, so my dreams of recreating the entire Mushroom Kingdom in my living room have been dashed for now. Made by Banpresto, they’re available from NCSX.

[via Level Select]

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Mario meets LEGO in these fun stop-motion clips hand animated by Nintendo fan Michael Hickox.

Michael painstakingly shot thousands of individual frames to recreate the first two levels of the classic Super Mario Brothers game. The levels are surprisingly accurate reproductions of the game. You’ll want to crank up your sound to get the full impact with the original game music as accompaniment. 

Mario too cute for your taste? Be sure to check out Michael’s headbanging LEGO Megadeth concert.

[via Laughing Squid - thanks for the tip PDW !]

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When you sleep, do you dream in blocky 8-bit graphics? Are your sleepytime thoughts filled with visions of Link rescuing Zelda? Instead of counting sheep, do you count Koopa shells? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need a pair of these on your bed.

Designed by Nintendo fan Penguinotic, these handcrafted giant NES controller pillowcases are perfect for anyone who got their start button-mashing on Nintendo’s classic 8-bit console.

Each pillowcase is stitched from machine washable super-soft fleece, keeping you warm and cozy as you dream of Mario and Princess Peach walking off into the sunset.

A single NES controller pillow case will set you back $40, while a pair is $70. You can find them over on Penguinotic’s Etsy shop. They should fit most standard pillows, but she can custom sizes on request.

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Oh man, is it still Valentine’s day? I would have completely forgotten if I hadn’t seen this awesome handmade cross stitch Mario card from the rubbishknitter.

Sadly, this crafty goodness was made for someone special and isn’t for sale, but I wonder if I could get a special one made for next year if I get my act together now… I think my sweetheart would be most impressed!

[via Sprite Stitch]

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Ever wonder what a Mario game would have looked like if it came out on the Atari 2600 instead of the NES? The guys over at Geekstir dug up this great clip which shows off what that serious visual downgrade would have done for the game.

Imagine a world where you can barely make out the difference between the blocky little plumber and his squared off foes. Beavertron Entertainment’s re-imagining of the classic Super Mario Brothers does a pretty good simulating what the 2600 version might have looked like.

While it’s not perfectly accurate (there’s no way the 2600 could have produced those original NES sounds or the relatively crisp text at the top of the screen), but it’s still fun to watch.

Next up, Bioshock on the VIC-20.

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If you’ve got a serious Mario addiction, you might just have to break open your piggy bank for this. This fun quilt features the likenesses of Mario and his foes in the context of the NES platformer that really put the little Italian plumber on the map.

It looks like Mario just hopped out of his green drain pipe, only to have to face a tough decision. Should he go for the gold coin, flip the Koopa and toss his shell, or squash that Goomba? Oh, life’s little decisions. Why not go for all three in a spectacular display of dexterity? 

The 64-inch square quilt was sewn by the fine folks at Carolina Patchworks (makers of the most-excellent Galaga and Zelda quilts). If you just have to have this on your bed, gather up your gold coins ($350 of ‘em) and jump on over to Etsy before its gone. 

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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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With all of the casemods I’ve seen for the Nintendo Wii, I’m surprised that I haven’t come across any Mario-themed designs in my travels. I guess it was only a matter of time before everyone’s favorite little plumber got his due.

The hand-painted Super Mario themed Wii features a scene from the classic platformer, including a 3-dimensional Mario busting out of the side of the console, courtesy of ample quantities of modeling clay and Bondo.

The grass-covered base conceals an additional USB port, and an LED illuminated mushroom that changes colors to indicate system status. There’s even a Wii-mote charger built into the green drain pipe on the side of the console.

Mario fan BeerBellyJoe has posted a tutorial over on Instructables, showing you how to embellish your own Wii with the same Super Mario theme and features. But if you don’t want to go through the trouble of building your own, keep your eye on eBay, since Joe says he’ll probably be putting this one up for auction in the next week to raise some cash.

[UPDATE 3/17/2008: Looks like Joe followed through with his threat, and has posted his Wii on eBay. With enough money, and a bit of luck it could be yours.]

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