Images: Art of the video game

Into the Pixel is a juried exhibition that recognizes video game artists for their creative achievements. The exhibit, now in its third year, was on display May 10-12 at the Los Angeles Convention Center as part of the E3 game trade show.

\r\nPictured is “Titan’s Head” by Eduardo Gonzalez. It was the artist’s ticket to a job in a games unit at Sony, but the art never appeared in the “God of War” title for which it was created because the game play it needed could not be delivered with existing technology.

Tyler West’s “Rooftop” from Electronic Arts’ “The Godfather” game appears to be a run-of-the-mill aerial view of a building. But a closer look reveals a man looking from a rooftop to a man dead on the street below.

“In the Garden of Eva,” by Japan’s Yuji Shinkawa, recalls Japanese wood-block prints and ink drawings in a piece inspired by Konami’s “Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence” game.

“Aegan landfall,” by Radoslav Javor of Slovakia, was made for “Elveon,” an elvish action epic by 10Tacle Studios.\r\n

\r\nThe jury’s 16 selections this year showcased game artists’ work from the U.S., U.K., Japan, Poland, Germany, France and Canada. Some of the works appear in actual games; others were just inspired by them.

Dylan Cole created “Alin Glass Desert” for the game “Rise of Legends.” Video game artists have put their stamp on everything from films and advertisements to toys and emerging art forms.

Brian Dugan, aka Chippy, created “Darkness,” for the game “B-Boy” by FreeStyleGames. This year’s ITP collection featured a breadth of genres, including single-figure character art, landscapes and fantasy.

“The Road” by Damian Bajowski. The current mandate for digital artists is to turn out “hyper-realistic” graphics that are a key selling point for Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3.