Friday, February 20, 2009

Classic Game Characters + updated

Since I've had the last week off due to reading week, I felt it would be a good time to relax and have fun. I also wanted to practice inking, so I decided I would redraw a bunch of video game characters from my past that I'm familiar with. Gotta draw SOMETHING, right?

These are the ones that started it. From Earthworm Jim


Psy-Crow (get it?)


Peter Puppy


Peter Puppy when upset


Here's Fox McCloud from Star Fox. I've never played these games for more than 20 seconds, because I'd been spoiled by flight simulators I liked a lot more, but I always thought the character looked cool, so that's probably why he came to mind.


Here's Duke Nukem, as he would be designed today.


This is a monster from Duke Nukem 3D. It would shoot energy or something at you


Here is Sonic and Knuckles


So you wanted to play a game about a brilliant, british, female archeologist, huh? Well, knock yourself out


Here's Ken and Ryu from Street Fighter. Did you know that Ryu is supposed to be Japanese??


Here is Mario. The overalls gotta go, I'm afraid.


Here's Yoshi


A Goomba and a Koopa Troopa (I think that's what they're both called). That array of little black dots are eyes


Update:
Took some time off from doing these over the weekend, and classes start back up tomorrow, so if I'm going to be doing any more of these redrawings (which I would like to), then they'll be trickling in slowly. But anyway, here's 2 more

Here's Bub and Bob from Bubble Bobble. This game was really fun. The drawings are a bit of a copout. I've always just interpreted these guys as little plush dinosaur things, so I just redrew them with more blatant dinosauroid bodies. If I redrew Gon, he wouldn't look far from this, other than his face being more "bad ass and cool"


Gordon Freeman. I've noticed a lot of nerd artists tend to draw G-Dawg here as this brave, heroic, smirking bad ass crushing alien faces with a crow-bar, but if there's anything my life has taught me, it's that nerds aren't bad asses, and the way the first Half-Life game was played was far from bad ass action hero. It was a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants game of ammo-management, with really suspenseful silent parts, and frantic action parts. If anything, Gordon Freeman would look like this:


Feb 25th Update

Here is one of the Battle Toads. I should've given him scars and shades. Not battley enough


Here is Donkey Kong


The Pong paddles


The Blue Bomber, MegaMan himself


Thanks to everyone for the suggestions! I've got a big list that I'm going to whittle away at. Also, I wish I knew how to say how blown away I am by the response these are getting. I've read all your comments and I appreciate them all. Thank you VERY much!

103 comments:

Edward Kwong said...

I'm so glad you did more. That Ryu and Ken image made me laugh out loud! Well played my friend!

Jaime said...

So good, this is an amazing series. Hope you keep doing them. Like Kwong said, had me laughing out loud with the new batch.

Andrew Olson said...

Oh man these are awesome! I'm putting my vote in for some of the Zelda characters. Really funny stuff

Kate said...

ken's shirt is perfect.
Love to see some Katamari stuff (always up for Katamari stuff)
reminded me a bit of this
http://www.mathewkumar.com/2007/04/10/320/

Marty Alchin said...

I always find it fascinating when artists manage to reimagine something so familiar, and you've done an excellent job here. If you could get the requisite permissions/licensing to sell posters of these. I'd certainly buy a few, especially if you add in some Zelda or Metroid variations.

Björn said...

They are absolutely brilliant. All of them!

My favourite however is Gordon Freeman. Simply fantastic :)

davor-m said...

These are all great! nice job!

Anonymous said...

Is that Gordon Freeman or Adam Savage?

Joyce said...

I am loving these! Awesome work.

marky said...

These are wonderful. I'd definitely love to see some takes on Samus from Metroid or even more of the Street Fighter Universe. Mortal Kombat, perhaps?

Mukpuddy said...

Wow dude, these are awesome!!

.tiff said...

Awesome work. I love it! Have you tried any classic LucasArts characters?

EFF said...

Lara Croft and Ken's outfit are tied for the funniest thing I've seen all month. These are all wicked.

Bill Robinson said...

Terrific stuff!!

Mikey~! said...

These drawings look amazing. Put this site into my favorites list to see what you will draw next. Really, really good :)

Anonymous said...

sam and max pls.

Steve said...

So glad to have found your blog Tom. Your work is so inspirational, as well as informative. I can't wait to try out some of your marker techniques, thanks so much for the GREAT tutorial, and all the KILLER artwork =]

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed this. The image of Lara is now my desktop background. Your style really reminds me of Oliver and Company.

A few have already said this, but, yeah, I'd love to see Samus or Link (from Metroid and Zelda, respectively).

If you've played any of the Dragon Quest games, do you think you could manage Ragnar McRyan or Torneko Taloon? They're hilarious loking characters already, so any twist you could add would probably just push them over the edge.

Once again, man, this stuff is great.

Jelle Gijsberts said...

Extremely well done! These are just magnificent!
I really enjoyed the way you illustrated Gordon Freeman. It's axactly how I would imagine him.

GOGOPEDRO said...

Some brilliant work..

Ii think I'd like to see you tackle the BLUE BOMBER.

P

Guspaz said...

You know, if we assume that the characters still accomplished what they've accomplished in canon, Gordon Freeman's more realistic interpretation just makes it all the more impressive that he was able to do what he did :)

Philip Willey said...

Great stuff!
How about Roger Wilco?

Ben Mauro said...

bubble bobble is amazing!

nyzm said...

I like the one of sonic and knuckles. And Freeman's one is kinda really realistic. Great work! What about bomberman in a spacesuit?

George said...

Tom, I've only just recently found this blog and love it. :)

Mind if I link ya?

Robert said...

That Sonic and Knuckles picture is one of the most adorable things I've ever seen. And Gordon Freeman really made me chuckle.

Can't wait to see more, keep up the good work!

veence said...

There is a man who works at the Petsmart near my house who looks EXACTLY like your rendition of Gordon Freeman, it's uncanny.

Wil said...

Great art, man. I'm particularly fond on the Sonic & Knuckles picture myself, and it nearly made me spit by breakfast all over the monitor lol.

I'll be sure to check out your blog from time to time; what little I've seen is very impressive. Best of luck to you in all your endeavors! Take care.

Tommy DAy said...

Awesome!

I'd like to see some Mortal Kombat characters like Sub-Zero/Scorpion, or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Borja said...

Amazing gallery! i love yoshi's picture

Anonymous said...

Isn't Ken a Japanese living in USA.. He has black bushy eyebrows n dark eyes.

Richard said...

Gordon Freeman... magic.

Top work! :)

Anonymous said...

As an archaeologist that picture of Laura Croft is scary. You must hang out with a lot of archaeologists because the men always joke about that and I've seen a lot of women that look like that. Our paleoethno-botanist for one. (shudder)

Drew Gilbert said...

Mega Man!
Simon from Simon's Quest
Bonk from Bonk's Adventure
The Contra guys
Crash Bandicoot
Spiro the Dragon

I can't believe I thought of this many. You're doing fantastic work. I love these.

EB4Life said...

Keep up the AMAZING work!
I hope you could one day make Lucas from Mother 3 into a photo, that would rock!

Anonymous said...

Starfox games terrible? The early ones? Some gamer you are.

Leon Harmon said...

Great works you have here, I love the Lara Croft and Freeman pics! Truly realistic depictions of them both.

Tiller said...

nice work man. You've definitely got great illustrative talent, but come on, Star Fox is awful? Please tell me you're kidding or it's just a reference to the voice acting.

phreakindee said...

Most awesome depiction of Duke! Dead-on as what I'd see him possibly being.

What about Mortal Kombat characters: Raiden, Sub-zero, Jade?

Gears of War dudes?

Or Commander Keen? Now THAT would be epic!

Thanks4yourTaxes said...

do anything warcraft and your page views will go through the roof.
surprised no one has said Halo. some real armor like what 'future soldier' is wearing now.
any square enix game would be funny, they'd be so gay.
also team fortress. all grit balls.

Anonymous said...

I would buy that your Mario as a t-shirt any time :D. Seriously, you should put these on some tees and make some cash :).

superblur said...

All the images are awesome. You have really started something that people are going to want more of, which is now your responsibility to the internet. LOL. I created a post on my blog in support. It's on www.superblur.com. Keep them coming!

Robert said...

Ken & Ryu = Owen Wilson & Jackie Chan ?

Dereks said...

Duke Nukem wouldn't be designed today, because he isn't relevant today.

banji said...

Really cool !
As an inspiration, I can suggest you :
- Donkey Kong
- Prince of Persia
- Solid Snake
- Characters from Final Fantasy
- Characters from Zelda

Ned said...

Excellent work, man. Cuteness overload on sonic and knuckles. I have but one suggestion for future renderings: Leon from Resident Evil. Seems people covered the rest of my ideas in earlier comments.

Jeff Gill said...

These are great! Any chance we might be seeing some Katamari Damacy characters? Fantastic stuff!

Eric said...

Nice work

K. J. Ellis said...

Just got sent your way from Kotaku and I'm absolutely IN LOVE with these! I was wondering if you're gonna have any of these available as prints? I'd LOVE to have Gordon Freeman and maybe mario hanging out over my desk.

Grimlocke said...

First of all, these are totally great. I just stumbled upon your stuff and I am really impressed. Also, I think I'm missing something. What is the medium you used for these? Just ink? Markers, like your great tutorial? And what do you usually use for a surface?

Thanks alot, from a fellow illustrator!

-Grimlocke

Francis Hwang said...

We need a rear shot of Mario so we can see his plumber's butt.

Anonymous said...

how about ratchet from ratchet and clank?

joseph said...

Sonic and Knuckles are priceless!

If you're looking for suggestions, how about Crash Bandicoot or Guybrush Threepwood?

spookysqueak said...

Your Freeman is how I've always pictured him.

Any chance of Samus Aran?

Saulo Silva said...

Man... Those are brilliant! If you don't mind, I'll post some of them on my blog (and give you credit, of course)!

Anonymous said...

omg the ken and ryu are just priceless ^_^

the next ones you should do should be okami or zelda or maybe even disgaea or donky kong with didy kong.

Tooled! said...

haha.

dude.

56+1 comments.
you can never go back, this is now your "thing".

Schmidty said...

Man, I usually don't comment on this kind of stuff, but these are just PHENOMENAL!! I can't pass up an oppurtunity like this, I have a few suggestion haha:

-Dr. Robotnik
-Any of the 3 main characters from the Golden Axe Series
-Princess Peach (Maybe not, but you might think of somthing
-Megaman, Bass, Zero, Protoman, Roll
-King Koopa/Bowser
-Donkey Kong

I can't really see you changing up Samus or Link though because...they are not really that cartoony, so there's not much to change in that sense. Anyways, good job man, hope to see some more

Rob Layton said...

Definitely brilliant work. I'm looking forward to more. Maybe you can expand and reinterpret the world they come from as well. You know, like a realistic version of a mario bros. level, one screen of it of course.

Anonymous said...

ratchet and clank please! its a mercenary weasel thing and his deadpan robot sidekick. what's not to love?

metrogamer said...

Oh wow, these are just awesome. I wonder how you'd draw Samus. :o

Niceman said...

awesome

Brandon said...

zelda and link?

Do Yeah Media said...

amazing work - brilliantly illustrated whilst being freakin hilarious to boot. i dug your lara croft and gordon freeman interpretations!

Mikey~! said...

The Pong paddles are pure gold, I had a good laugh :)
Keep up the great work.

Michael E said...

great stuff, love it.

Anonymous said...

I nearly died laughing seeing Ken with a wolf shirt on. It's just too prefect with USA flag pants.

Animelove35 said...

can you please do some furry art, maybe make amy rose or krystal from starfox really really sexy.

Schmidty said...

Hey man, I'm not very artistic...at all haha, I was wondering if you could put all the drawings into a desktop wallpaper? That would be epic!! 1920 x 1200? haha, just a thought. I would love to have these guys as my background!

Brian said...

Hahah the Pong Paddles are CLASSIC!

Anonymous said...

You are obviously a talented artist. The only thing you got right though on the archaeologist are the tan lines. Women can be drop dead gorgeous and choose a career that doesn't involve exploiting themselves in the pages of playboy or as dumb twats on the Hills.

dubD_dino_digger said...

anonymous is obviously laura croft! i think what tom was going for was a type of realism that does not include double "E" boobs and a badass attitude.

Eric Webb said...

These are awesome man! how come i never saw these in class?

Anonymous said...

I understand dino digger that he was trying to be more realistic - at first I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be offended. I just think it sucks that the way a person looks automatically makes them more or less intelligent. The problem with Croft is not her looks but her complete disrespect for ancient artifacts. Where is his depiction of an ugly old Indiana Jones who can't get it up? I would laugh at that!

joseph said...

Hey, anonymous! Look here about Lara, A) It's funny, and B) That's what most archeologists look like.

Anyways new doodles! Mega man is creeeeepppyyy :D and those pong guys are too classic.

GiromiDe said...

You are an amazing artist. You have inspired me.

Anonymous said...

WOW! the pong paddles are the best picture second would go to sonic and knuckles. Bravo! Spyro or banjo-kazooie pleaasssseeee

The Beaner said...

man this stuff is gold. fox mcloud reminds me of the fox-hound logo. Love ken and mario the most.

Dalia said...

I loved the Donkey Kong!!!! Hillarious character!!!

Lincon said...

Man i loved sonic!
Look this blog:

more awesomes untooneds

www.mataleonebr.blogspot.com

UnManuel said...

Please make one of Old Snake! According to the game, he is like 130 years old... God he's a senile Snaaake!!!

AxemGreen said...

Great work. I think I have a crush on Duke.

Kiddo said...

wow! I can´t stop laughing and be fascinated at the same time. Is the best !

Anonymous said...

My god, you're right! Ms Sabeti is gorgeous.

But I'm pretty sure that was meant to be a joke...

Anyway, great stuff Mr Rhodes! I especially liked Sonic and Duke... and Yoshi... Pong and the Kooper Trooper were also great. And Bub and Bob... (you get the idea)

bt

Nige said...

I can't believe no-one has mentioned your Bub and Bob. You've captured the essence of the characters so wonderfully.

Yuse said...

The Megaman was Great...Like a Cheesy Puppet lol...

metric152 said...

These are amazing! Have you thought about putting these on t-shirts? Are there any copyright issues that might come along with that?

Gez Fry said...

wow these are awesome. you got pretty amazingly good!

Gringo said...

great tributes... greetings from ecuador"

Jenn said...

Awesome stuff. Putting in my vote for Earthbound and Zelda. Hope to check back and see more of your work soon1

nosebruise said...

my god, tom, this is absolutely genious.

Loner Gamer said...

My favorite here is Sonic and Knuckles. I like that you added the pot-belly look from the original Sonic game to both of them.

Shaun McAvoy said...

hahaha Great Tom! Unprecedented talent and creativity. You capture the characters exactly the way the writers intended on having them look before the marketing team took over (ie; Laura Croft, Gordon Freeman)

I would love to see Commander Keen, Kirby, Link as the adolescent boy that he is that just does every thing hes told while keeping in mind that hes an abandoned child that probably has no conscience or discipline....
Ness and the Ice Climbers.

website design nyc said...

Nice post

Doom said...

Wow these pictures are amazing. The detail is top notch, has the total comic/video game sorta feel going on. Love it!

ɐɔıɹnʇsnʞ opǝloʇ oƃıɹpoɹ said...

It's Beautiful Collection is Original and I hope to see more characters, I suggestion you draw The King Of Figthers Characters

Gold Guide for World of Warcraft said...

good post :)

esmilodonte said...

excelent work, try with wonder woman please or bobby from bobby's world :p XD

Mars said...

The Pong Paddles actually made me want to play PONG - the game that started and nearly ended it all. Nice trick!

hnut said...

nostalgia overload, these are awesome!

Barry said...

Hi, tom
Your post affected an intrinsic. I like how you have presented your information in excellent detail. I saw these yesterday. These are all great. I really enjoyed this. I love the bubble bobble one. Aww... I think sonic and knuckles look much cuter this way. I think the game that started and beautiful collection I hope to see more characters. Dude This classic game characters is bomb and all my friend love. Yes your blog really surprise anybody. thanks for the wonderful entry.

Eric said...

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Kiara said...

Cool Dude! Stunning imaginations. The post are excellent. I long to see more characters in any of the well-known
Download Games of today.