Saturday, April 28, 2007

My Custom Xbox 360 Monster Machine Art


In support to my previous painting tutorial post I'd like to show what my own decorated console looks like. It's been chill white up until today when I thought - heck, if I do it for my clients why don't I indulge myself a little with my own artistry (kidding).

Click on image to enlarge and guess where this character came from.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Video: Painting Xbox 360 Faceplate In 3 Steps


iPod ready video (Save Target As)

If you are looking to customize your Xbox 360 console with art (perhaps giving your new shiny Xbox 360 Elite a personal paint touch) you may find my how to video useful. I made it instructional and a bit entertaining. The idea may not be new but it would help new console owners. That faceplate paint job was commissioned by one of my clients from U.K. who wanted a particular scene from Capcom game Dead Rising. All of my faceplates are hand painted and come signed and numbered. Check them: [faceplates] and [fan album]

The 3 steps are:

  1. Preparation: sand the surface first with #180 and #220A sandpaper, then mask the power button with vinyl application tape and cut the shape of the ring of light and the power simbol with X-acto knife (you can mask the infrared port before sanding). Prime with 4000 series base coat sealer (from airbrush paints) and let dry. [pic]
  2. Painting: it's all yours, make styled graphics with aerosol spray or paint cool art with acrylic paints. [pic]
  3. Finishing: remove tape from the ring of light, clean around the button and apply 2-3 coats of Krylon Clear Glaze in a steady motion 10-12 inches from surface in well ventilated area. Make sure you wear filter mask . Let dry, unmask the infrared port and enjoy your artwork! [pic]

Brief history:

It all started in early 2006 when Live user 'altdelete47' came up with the idea of bringing my wall gaming art onto a hardware. My first custom faceplate was born and thanks to Brian Crecente it later saw the world on Kotaku. I'd like to say painting faceplates is not really profitable for me in terms of the price vs. hours and the fact that I'm setting the bar high in painting realistic images, but it lets me meet many wonderful people and inspire other creative members of community to express themselves. That makes me happy. Thanks to all editors of their respectful websites, who have highlighted my faceplate art in the past year:

[gamerscoreblog.com],[kotaku.com], [xbox360.qj.net], [aeropause.com], [thexboxcollector.com], [arstechnica.com], [xbox360fanboy.com], [maxconsole.com]

You can order your own custom faceplate at paveldolgov.com/faceplates


Wednesday, April 18, 2007

DeVore and Diana Night Show On Maxim Radio Sirius 108

My self-employed work schedule gets pretty hectic leading me to stay and paint in later hours. This is when my favorite show "DeVore and Diana" kicks in! "Eighty proof radio for men who love women, and the women who put up with their crap". Hosted by John DeVore who likes to be "b*lls deep in women" (former Maxim magazine Senior Writer) and completely opposite co-host Diana Falzone who is a delicate flower of Maxim radio, a good looking intelligent young woman who's voice heating up the airwaves every night, go check her Maxim photo shoot! Whatever they talk about, like news, relationship, weird stuff, just turns into fun. D&D style keeps my work hours and driving full of energy. Tune in Monday through Friday 7 pm - 11 pm ET if you have Sirius or sign up for free trial online.

Official website: [devoreanddiana.com]
Maxim photo shoot: [maximonline.com]
Diana's website: [dianafalzone.com]

John, you're the man of Dudocracy and the king of Bad Newzzz brodawg! (along with Dan Falzone)

Sunday, April 15, 2007

My Newest Art Influence: Craig Mullins

I simply can't stop gazing at pages of this artist's portfolio. The impressive part is that Craig Mullins is the master of all media, he has strong traditional art background and he does stunning digital art for gaming and move productions. He did matte paintings and illustrations for the following titles: The Matrix Revolutions, Armageddon, Apollo 13, Need for Speed, Marathon, Halo and many other (in fact he is legendary in the Bungie community).

From what I learned, Mullins was introduced to digital art back in 1987, then he entered the digital age with the purchase of 33MHz Apple Quadra 700 with 36 MB RAM in 1993. He started from scanning his hand drawn sketches and editing them on an early version of Photoshop. I appreciate the ease and power of today's technology providing tools for all types of artists. My current expansion to digital medium has now became a passion. I'm sure Craig Mullins' art will inspire you too:

Craig Mullins art: [goodbrush.com]
Halo-related art: [nikon.bungie.org]
Interview: [ballisticpublishing.com]

Halo ©Bungie Studios and Microsoft
All artwork in this post ©Craig Mullins

Friday, April 13, 2007

My Love, My Muse, My Inspiration!

This the first portrait of my fiancée I painted. It was done on the third week of our dating and has special meaning to me (this is one of the romantic moves artists do to impress the lady!) I love the beauty and serenity of the moment hiding her true sexiness. I will be painting new portraits of her, it contributes more nuanced memories to our history.

...and now the real her, posing with the above portrait (you may know her from the movies). She is heavenly beautiful hottie with smooth long legs, luscious smile and golden personality, trust me, girls like this come from "over the rainbow":

Paris Hilton Meets Gears Of War Comic Strip

Click to enlarge.

*ahem* It's actually "Bears" not "Gears"! Since my blog contains posts about Paris Hilton, Gears of War, and I wanted to introduce you to the comic artist I like a lot, I think this picture fits the blog well. Presenting you the series of parody comics "Bears of War" by Mr. Herring. Now, if you have special feelings for Winnie the Pooh, don't look the rest: [bears of war]

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Covino and Rich "The Show" On Maxim Radio Sirius 108

Photo: Steve Covino, Fergie, Rich Davis at Maxim Super Bowl XLI Party in Miami.

If you are on the market for satellite radio (Sirius vs. XM) then look no further. Maxim, the best magazine for men, has expanded to a radio format on Sirius. My studio time flies by while listening to "The Show" by Covino and Rich. Those highly professional national radio personalities from New York talking about what the Maxim lifestyle is all about and how you can maintain your game and date hot ladies. It all comes from personal experience, they actually go out and live the life, interviewing A-list celebrities and most gorgeous women, covering the biggest events like Super Bowl Party in Miami so their topics are always fresh and relevant to what you really want to hear. Mixed with humor, parody songs and listeners' calls it makes an all around great show. Tune your satellite receiver to channel 108 at 3pm-7pm Eastern if you haven't done so or sign up for a free 3-day online trial at sirius.com/maxim

Official website: [covinoandrich.com]
Fan website: [whatdatmean.com]

oh .. and this month's issue Fergielisious Maxim cover girl. Would you?

Don't Cha Wish Your Xbox Was Hot Like Me

I bet you've seen many pictures of girls posing with their boyfriends' consoles, but how often do you see a good looking brunette lying on a bed wearing nothing but xbox 360 controller?
The second pic is creative too, it involves PGR3, Halo 2, and Call of Duty 2, any guesses? [flickr.com]

Note: pictures were randomly found on the net, they were not taken by me.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Paris Hilton "Stars Are Blind" As Fine Art

This artwork was inspired by debut single from heiress, actress, and singer Paris Hilton. Painting resembles the monochromatic feel and sexiness of the music video "Stars Are Blind". Paris' publicist is aware of this work thanks to my friend, a talented actress, model, TV Show host and poet from L.A. Mary L. Carter who occasionally enjoys my art. I've been also commissioned to create six paintings for the main lobby of the new Hilton hotel in Toronto.

The original acrylic painting is available on eBay.
You can also watch the short video I made upon completion of the painting no, not another Paris Hilton sex tape.

Monday, April 9, 2007

Kids Drawings Turned Into Professional Art

Great Renaissance master Leonardo Da Vinci was looking for ideas watching wet fresco plaster, ancient Greeks were designing architectural details after natural flower forms proving that the timeless ideas are the ones provided by nature. But what is the best source of creativity in contemporary saturated world with constant demand for fresh ideas for games and movies? Artists from The Monster Engine turned their views on simple children drawings and repainted them with professional skills, look at them, the result will surprise you:

Drawings [drawergeeks]

Hey, game developers, looking for a killer character design? Check what your kids are expressing with crayons.

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Xbox 360 Elite Sent From The Future (Shop)


User 'viewdrix' from digg.com have noticed an unusual Xbox 360 Elite description on Canada's biggest electronics chain store website futureshop.ca (owned by Best Buy). It refers to 1984 Sci-Fi movie classic "Terminator" about humanity's one last fighting chance in it's war against the machines. This move franchise gets the first place on my list of the most captivating stories of all the time (T, T2). So according to Future Shop website editors Xbox 360 Elite is pretty much a steel hearted cyborg sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor.

Link [futureshop.ca]

Screenshot: via [digg]

5 Gears of War Weapons Tutorial Videos


The youtube user 'nismojoe' who seems to record every minute of his skilled gameplay regularly uploads his stunning montages. Whether you play GOW multiplayer from day one or you just got the game and want to catch up you will definitely learn something new about your weapons from those videos (like taking that perfect headshot with the sniper rifle by feeling the target rather than aiming) I'm sure we all had great shots but the fact that he nicely puts them in continues timeline makes them easy to watch and learn. (just a reminder - active reloads only last 10 seconds)

Gears of War special weapons:

1. [sniper rifle]
2. [boomshot]
3. [torque bow]
4. [hammer of dawn]
5. [grenades]

P.S. (that enhanced Crimson Omen avatar is a little creation of mine, feel free to use, just remember Epic doesn't like it).

Saturday, April 7, 2007

Video: 16 Blocks Movie Behind The Scene

Back in 2005 I was lucky enough to work for a number of major Hollywood movie productions as a scenic artist including this top notch thriller "16 Blocks" starring Bruce Willis. More to that my friends and I were actually in the movie. The set was located in downtown Toronto with traffic blocked for the weekend. We were not allowed to film on set so unfortunately there's no Bruce Willis in my clip. What I can say being a fan of this actor for many years I've been really glad to meet Bruce in person. The beginning of this sneaky video shows the bus crash scene set and me driving the cub. The prop was a real yellow N.Y.C taxi with greasy dashboard and meter, I had hell lotta fun driving it around the block for two days. Bus driver stunts were truly professional. The rest of the video is just us having fun on the break between shoots. Enjoy:

16 Blocks Movie Set16 Blocks 005.jpg16 Blocks 001.jpgCubDrive 001.jpg16 Blocks 010.jpg16 Blocks 003.jpg16 Blocks 013.jpgCubDrive 003.jpgtaxi.jpgCubDrive 004.jpgCubDrive 005.jpgCubDrive 006.jpgCubDrive 007.jpg16 Blocks 016.jpgThe image “http://farm1.static.flickr.com/234/520345336_29fa2c24a0_s.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.Generation.jpg

Friday, April 6, 2007

Turn Your Vacation Memories into a Painting

ah.. don't we all wish we were at the beach now escaping the office routine like on this picture. The relaxation and fun of your summer vacation might be behind you, or it could still be on the horizon. Whatever the case may be, turning your vacation photos into original oil paintings would save your precious moments in the most timeless way. This is the second painting I've done for the same client and if you think you have that perfect picture you wanted to show in the living room fill out a commission request on my website.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Gears of War Fan Art Story


I got really inspired by Epic's game Gears of War and created the above hand painted artwork. Soon I've been told by Epic Games Inc. to take it off my website and also to destroy the original. The "destroy painting immediately" part was a bit harsh but the rest was somewhat fair considering the painting was up for auction.
The story appeared on kotaku.com, I received support from community and fun drawings. Some of the quotes:

The guys artwork is pretty damn good (I like how he paints tree’s) and it seems that his soft spot for video games has gotten him in a bit of trouble. Cmon Epic, you guys should be proud that your game has inspired quality artwork.

[thehappygamer.com]

Take a look at the awesome creation above. This hand-painted acrylic masterwork was created by Pavel Dolgov. Within days of releasing images of his baby to the Internet, he has already received a very crude warning from Epic Games requesting that he either destroy the piece, or send it to them.

[younewb.com]

I for one smell a collectible item and should Pavel be reading this we feel the painting would look great in the MobyGames offices and Epic need not be the wiser.

[mobygames.com]

Mr. Rein's official reply.

Unique Call of Duty 2 Xbox 360 mod


Since I occasionally paint Xbox 360 custom faceplates I like to watch what other people do. This unique Call of Duty 2 themed case mod first shown in January has really grabbed my attention. I mean we have seen many great mods with leds and paint but seeing a complete three dimensional miniature world with terrain tanks and soldiers is truly unique, kudos to artist!

More mods [fresh pics]

Introducing Gaming Art Prints!


Remember this xbox 360 seductive girl?

Finally! By popular request I found a good print-on-demand website from which I can sell prints of my original artworks. I just got myself a sample and it looks great! Online framing can be fairly expensive so I would suggest buying a poster and getting an affordable frame later if needed. On the website you have a choice of mat, gloss and other textures, I think gloss looks best, check out my entire gaming art poster gallery (includes one Halo 3 inspired artwork) :

Print & frame my art at Imagekind...

My current biggest print size is 16"x20", however I can resample the image to 24"x30" with maybe a little loss. Just send me request if you would like bigger size.
The original painting is currently available on eBay for $600. A low price for the original painting in the fine art world but may be high for a gamer fan since it costs more than console itself...

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Thanking Friends

Now starting my blog I would like to use opportunity to thank all my friends who supported me for the last few years. I met hundreds of wonderful people through my art business and I wish I could include all of them in this post. Let's start with gaming art:

Thanks to Chris Erickson owner of 360style.net for discovering my art on the Internet and further supporting me in the world of gaming business until present day (someone make this guy an MVP for all he does for community), to John Porcaro from Microsoft for bringing it to the world, to Brian Crecente for constantly highlighting my art on one of the most popular gaming blogs, to Richard Windsor from Aeropause for posting most positive reviews of my art, to Zeus from Maxconsole for bringing me business, to Louis Wu for constantly keeping an eye on my Halo inspired art.. and to guys from mastersfew.com for keeping the gameplay fun and friendly.

Edit: special thanks to Gino D. for his article about my Halo 3 faceplate [xbox360.qj.net]

Gaming vs. Work, Sex, Life


Fellow gamers, I don't know how you keep the balance between gaming, work and family but after I've noticed that my work productivity has been greatly reduced and the fact that I miss some of the benefits of real life (like quality personal life) I had to take the break and stick this note to my console (below). So far things are only going uphill:) I'm sure many people have gone through this.


My beautiful fiancée (main pic) who works two jobs, takes classes and does occasional modeling and movie jobs is not so happy about my gaming habit and I kinda understand. So my Xbox Live buddies I'm officially on the break till at least my career goes next step up, I'm sure I'll see you!

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Working Orders

Your faceplate orders are posted in priority sequence by newest on top, please bookmark this page and check on the status of your order. Pictures shown on this page are mockups only, complete works go here. If you want to keep your custom art private, please let me know. Shipping normally takes 5-10 days. Please, send me some pics of your newly received faceplates, I really enjoy them, they go to special album:

Done. Shipped June.23.09:
jordan_faceplate.jpg image by artistpavel

Done. Shipped Feb.09.09:
jordan_faceplate.jpg image by artistpavel

Done. Shipped Nov.12.08:
jordan_faceplate.jpg image by artistpavel

Done. Shipped May.06.08:
jordan_faceplate.jpg image by artistpavel

Done. Shipped May.06.08:
cog_faceplate_logo.jpg image by artistpavel

Done. Shipped Feb.24.08:
jordan_faceplate.jpg image by artistpavel

Done. Shipped Feb.24.08:
cog_faceplate_logo.jpg image by artistpavel

Done. Shipped Nov.11.07:
jordan_faceplate.jpg image by artistpavel

Done. Shipped Sept.26.07:
cog_faceplate_logo.jpg image by artistpavel

Done. Shipped Sept.15.07:
ironman_faceplate_mockup.jpg image by artistpavel

Done. Shipped July.11.07:
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Done. Shipped July.11.07:
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Done. Shipped July.5.07:
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Done. Shipped June.19.07:
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Done. Shipped May.30.07:
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Done. Shipped May.25.07:
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Done. Shipped May.23.07:
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Done. Shipped May.11.07:
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Done. Shipped May.11.07:
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Done. Shipped May.11.07:
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