COMING SOON! LIMITED EDITION NUTENDO PLAYING CARD SET; PRE ORDER

It's been a long time coming. When I started this satirical series of Nintendo Nudes three years ago I had no idea what kind of monster I had created- nor how massive an undertaking it would become. Sure I had the goal of 52 paintings from the get-go, but little did I know how much effort, iteration, and energy it would take to complete. In the end I look at the wall of shadow boxes holding my tiny embarrassed creations and I have to say it's extremely satisfying.

So here we are! After a couple years of hearing requests for a playing card set of these characters (in addition to the Trading Cards already available) I have decided to go all-out in a sort of celebration of the completion of this project. And boy did I go a little overboard with the final product!

First of all lets get into the card faces a little bit. When I first set out to convert my paintings into playing cards my initial idea was to just slap the poor naked guys and gals onto a card (similar to the Trading Cards), give it a suit, a number and call it a day. But something about it didn't feel special enough. If a person wanted a simple portrait of the figures they could easily purchase the Trading Cards at a fraction of the cost. I needed something different. Something special. Something that eventually turned into a monster all its own.

I grabbed a character at random from the pile- which turned out to be Mega Man- and started playing with executions. This is ultimately what I came up with:

In the time-honored tradition of Poker Playing Cards I decided to make the design a 180 degree mirror, with each character weaving in and out of its flipped doppelgänger. But unlike most Face Cards I had to make use of the entire body (not just the waist up) or else I would lose the idea and message behind the series. All dongs and lady bits had to be accountable in the final face card for each character. And so that's what I did. In addition I designed new artwork and props, as well as cut existing pieces apart and mesh them back together to create an entirely new composition for each character. To add to this mountain of work I wasn't just creating twelve Face Cards- this whole deck would be Face Cards for every character in the series. It was a massive undertaking I wasn't planning on- but the result is something that I'm extremely proud of.

I then went ahead and created four brand new suits. Hearts, Clubs, Spades and Diamonds wouldn't cut it for this playing card deck. The suits had to be iconic, as symbolic of Nintendo's storied history as the characters I was portraying. I eventually settle on Icons from four of the most beloved series in the Nintendo Universe: Mushrooms for Mario, Rupees for Zelda, Metroids for Metroid, and Barrels for Donkey Kong:

I tried to simplify each symbol down to a fun, color-coded suit to help with what was ultimately going to be a dense, graphic-heavy deck of playing cards.

But where to put each character? And what number should each one receive? I sat at my work table with the full set of trading cards, laying them out in various orders and combinations. Some were easier to place than others. Of course Mario and Peach would be King and Queen of Mushrooms, Link and Zelda King and Queen of Rupees, Donkey Kong King of Barrels, and Samus Queen of Metroids- but what of all the other characters- many of whom do not come from any suit? After a bit of experimenting I came up with a system: Mario Universe characters would go into Mushrooms (with a couple exceptions since there were more than 13 Mario Universe characters in the series), medieval/fantasy characters would go into Rupees, anthropomorphic/creature characters would go into Barrels, and Space/Science Fiction/other would wind up in Metroids. This wasn't a full-proof system (I had to make some tough choices of where to place characters that would fit in more than one suit) but in the end I'm satisfied with the placement of each character.

The last step has been by far the hardest: getting these into production. I had grandiose plans for this deck: limited edition, the very best materials, special box, gold foil. All of this made for a complicated, pricey object that not just any printer would be willing or able to accommodate. Luckily in the time since Dragon Con (where I first debuted the prototype deck and began taking pre-orders) I have found an excellent printer willing to accommodate my laundry list of incredibly picky desires.

I am hoping to get them into production this coming week and get the decks out to those who pre-ordered them by the end of the month!

FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING THIS LIMITED EDITION DECK OF CARDS:

• There will be around 300-400 decks of cards (depending on the minimum I'm allowed to create), each signed and numbered by me. Once they are all sold that is it. I want these to be as much a collectors item as a fully playable set of poker cards (they will be both).

• Each deck comes in its own high-quality, shiny gold box.

• Each card will have a Gold Foil back.

• The current price for pre-orders is $50.00. I'll be putting up a shop item for this soon.

If you are interested in ore-ordering email me at AedanCRoberts@gmail.com and we can work out a paypal. Otherwise stay tuned to my website- once they are made I will be creating a Shop Page where you can order them directly from the site!

OCT 4 2015

BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS

I'm going to make this quick seeing how I'm running around like a headless chicken getting ready for the event: THIS WEEKEND IS BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS!

Below is all the info you need:

What you want to do:

Step 1: Call this number: 603-305-5235. I'll answer and send my lovely assistant to let you in the building if you haven't been able to get in. He will escort you to the studio.

HOWEVER! If you manage to get in the building without him or needing to call me here is what you need to do:

1. Walk through the entrance, down the main flight of stairs into the lobby. At the back of the lobby, next to an installation of a drafting table is a door to the courtyard. Go through that door.

2. Walk down the length of the courtyard until you reach the back (photo reference above)- the entrance to my studio is there on the left-hand side of the building.

I hope to see you all! Come see my work in the environment in which is was created!!!!!

I HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE!

JUNE 4 2015

Drew Green hits it Out of the Park, as Per Usual.

Last year at Dragoncon I had all of thirty or so minutes total to escape my booth in the Artist Bazaar to explore the Comic side of the gallery. I did so with one specific purpose: to find and purchase a piece by a friend whose art I've been growing increasingly obsessed with for years now- Drew Green. His work is whimsical, streamlined and comes off effortlessly fluid. He brings a playfulness and joy to his pieces that I would kill to be able to bring into my own, and his colors are always perfect. Even more impressive to me, however, is his ability to translate likenesses into his signature style- something I've always had a mental block with.

I knew what I wanted before I even got there: a commissioned Drew Green piece of my very own. I didn't care how long it would take, but I not only wanted the sketch that he was offering at the convention itself, but a piece with background and color (something that, due to his incredibly busy schedule, would take much, much longer to complete). This way not only would I own a true original (the line work he does by hand) but also the completed digital product. Luckily he was game for it, and I gave him the topic: not just of me, but me in my Slutty Finn cosplay. Something so ridiculous felt like a perfect match for his animated style. And now, finally, I have the final product. BEHOLD!

The result is even greater than I was hoping for. Thank you, Drew, for such a wonderful piece for me to cherish forever.