Into the Pixel Art Collection 2019 Winners

Into the Pixel Art Collection 2019 is revealed. We’ve gathered the works of the artists and comments from some of them for you.

June 4, 2019 – WASHINGTON, DC and LOS ANGELES – The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the trade association that represents the US video game industry and owns and produces E3, and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) announced the official selections for 2019 Into the Pixel collection. ITP is a collection of 11 pieces displayed during E3 2019 that honors the best artistic works of the year from video game artists.

“Congratulations to all the winning artists, developers, and publishers for 2019 Into the Pixel collection,” said Meggan Scavio, President, AIAS. “Recognition of game makers has always been central to the mission of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and Into the Pixel allows us to shine a spotlight on the incredible, diverse talents of the hard-working visual artists in the games industry.”

“ITP showcases some of the best visionaries of our industry. These are remarkable examples of creativity and artistry,” said Stanley Pierre-Louis, CEO of the ESA. “Each piece embodies the spirit of innovation, interaction, and storytelling – the hallmarks of our industry.”

The 2019 ITP jurists are:

Nora Dolan, Independent Curator
Matt Hall, Zynga/Rising Tide Games, Principal Artist
Patricia Lanza, Independent Curator and Consultant
Jane Ng, Valve, 3D Artist
Glenn Phillips, Getty Research Institute, Curator, Modern & Contemporary Collections
Bob Rafei, Big Red Button Entertainment, Founder, CEO and Visual Director
Seth Spaulding, Blizzard Entertainment, Senior Art Manager

And here’re the talented winners and their pieces:

Mold-1 by Oliver Ödmark

Game: Control
Developer: Remedy
Games Publisher: 505 Games
Software: Photoshop

The Hub by Remedy Art Department

Game: Control
Developer: Remedy
Games Publisher: 505 Games
Software: various

Mender Tower by Lee Petty

Game: RAD
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Games Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment
Software: Photoshop/Oculus Medium

Author’s comment: “Mender Tower was made during the early concept phase for the video game RAD, of which I am the project lead and art director. It is being
published by Bandai-Namco and comes out on Aug 20.”

“Visually, the look of RAD was influenced by many things, including 80s graphic novels and comics, the ones you might find in the pages of Metal Hurlant or Moebius. RAD takes place in a future after TWO apocalyptic incidents. The first incident was Nuclear Armageddon, which occurred in the 80s. Hundreds of years later, a second civilization, The Menders, rose up, before suddenly disappearing in a second mysterious apocalypse.

Little is known of the Menders, except that they possessed advanced technology, and that their civilization appears to have been organized around an unknown religious structure. They left behind lots of effigies, statues, and atmospheric conditioning machines on the wasteland.

Mender Tower is one of those structures which also acts a gateway to the “Great Underground”, an interior world full of horror and mystery.

I created this piece using Oculus Medium and Photoshop.”

People of Gunncity by Valentin Seiche

Game: Samurai Gunn 2
Developer: Teknopants
Games Publisher: Double Fine Productions
Software: Big Pen/Photoshop

Stormland Reveal Robot by Dave Guertin

Game: Stormland
Developer: Insomniac Games
Games Publisher: Oculus Studios
Software: Photoshop

World Serpent by José Cabrera

Game: God of War
Developer: Santa Monica Studio
Games Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Software: Photoshop

Farmstead Mongols by John Powell

Game: Ghost of Tsushima
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Games Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Software: Photoshop

Author’s comment: “I find that as I get older, I gravitate more towards black-and-white images. It’s an interesting challenge to see how readable you can make an image when you aren’t using color. It also frees me from needing to rely on photos when I do more production-oriented concept art. You can get away with a bit more here since it ends up having a looser style. I’m definitely inspired by the work of Sergio Toppi and Katsuhiro Otomo, which gives me that itch to try work like this. Lastly, making your own photoshop brushes helps a ton with achieving certain textures.”

Rampaging Ogre by Ahmed Aldoori, Wizards of the Coast

Game: Valor’s Reach
Developer: Seismic Games
Games Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Software: Photoshop

Jaelan: Warrior in Wait by Mingchen Shen

Game: Hearts of Valor
Developer: West Studio
Games Publisher: –
Software: Photoshop

Developer’s comment: West Studio is primarily a concept art and design house focused on IP development and worldbuilding. Since we often help build worlds for clients, one of our future growth goals for the studio is to begin developing our own IP for games, film and beyond.

Jaelan is part of some development work we’ve completed when we aren’t busy on client projects. It is part of an original IP conceived by West Studio’s Art Director Mingchen Shen that centers around a pair of monster-hunting sisters.

The project is still under development.

Lazy Days by Krist Miha

Game: Apoc
Developer: West Studio
Games Publisher: –
Software: Photoshop

Terrain Overlook by John Liberto

Game: Astroneer
Developer: System Era Softworks
Games Publisher: –
Software: Photoshop

Author’s comment: “I tried hard to get the colors right and render the image to a level that hopefully made it look like its an actual screenshot from Astroneer. It also had to tell the story of exploration, expandable base and changes in the landscape as you explore (different plants and ground colors) multiplayer gaming and it had to be possible to crop the image while still having interesting elements in every format. I started with many sketches with different layouts, eventually we picked this one and took it to a finished state. It was a close collaboration with the guys at System era”.