The walls of our home won't be complete until one of them sports a pixelated portrait of Ellen Ripley from Konami's Aliens arcade game

I've had a bit of a "thing" for the Alien and Aliens films since I watched them for the first time as a teenager.

You'd think that would mean I've long had a similar thing for games inspired by those flicks, but it doesn't.

There have been a few exceptions, of course. Sega's Alien Syndrome and Alien Storm are two examples. Xenophobe is another.

None of the above compete with Konami's Aliens quarter-muncher from 1990, however. OK, so it takes some liberties with the source material. It's such a blast to play, though, that I don't have any problems overlooking those "creative differences."

It's also gorgeous, of course, with wonderfully detailed backdrops and sprites that evoke the 1986 movie that spawned it.

Apparently Atlanta-based artist Ashley Anderson agrees with that last tidbit. After all, he recently referenced the above-mentioned Aliens arcade game in the acrylic painting that can be seen below.

Before you go and think this is just some paint-by-numbers copycat, consider what Anderson said about it on Instagram:

"I limited my palette this time to traditional portrait colors, prussian blue (to mix with umber to make chromatic blacks), titanium white (for opacity), and zinc white (for warmth and translucence)."

As much as I like this piece, I like this next one, which Anderson calls "Ellen (Withering Heights)," even more.

For the curious: Anderson made "Ellen (Withering Heights)" using color pencil on toned paper.

I'm also quite fond of the similar "Sigourney Weaver," below, from 2010:

Anderson produced it using graphite on paper.

As for what prompted him to go down this particular path eight or so years ago, the artist shared the following explanation on Flickr:

"In keeping with my interest in pixellation's relationship with painting and its mechanics [and] traditions, I have begun collecting images of recognizable personalities as they are depicted in games and drawing them as one might create a portrait drawing from a photograph or a live sitter."

Want to see more of Anderson's pixelated depictions of the Aliens protagonist? Check out "Ellen (Ms X #1)" and "Ellen as April as Ellen."

Consider scouring his Instagram and Flickr photostreams, too. Both are filled with fascinating, game-inspired works of art.

A fairly gay Q&A with Aedan Roberts (aka the artist behind the 'Nüdtendo' portrait series)

Although scores of people have produced illustrations, paintings and other pieces of art that depict Nintendo's characters in various states of undress, few have done so with the kind of whimsical verve that's on display in each and every one of Aedan Roberts' "Nüdtendo" portraits.

You see, all 18 of the portraits Roberts has completed so far render the Japanese giant's extensive stable of colorful protagonists and cohorts as both naked and, to varying degrees, surprised and embarrassed.

Roberts recently agreed to answer a handful questions about what prompted him to start the series, why he decided to focus on Nintendo characters, how many more he plans to produce and much more.

The Gay Gamer: When did you start creating these "Nüdtendo" portraits, and what prompted you to do so?

Aedan Roberts: I began creating this series back in the summer of 2012. Up until that point, all my gallery work was intentionally devoid of work that contained other people's intellectual property. I was still trying to figure out a way to do it without falling directly into the "fan art" category while also doing something fun and original.

At the time, I was doodling some of my favorite characters and was up to Mario. I tend to draw my characters naked when I'm working out their proportions and then add the clothes in a later version. But before I could progress, my boyfriend stopped me and told me I had something with this stout, squat, embarrassed creature I had just doodled. So I finished him up, painted him, and then did another two vignettes (Link and Samus). The results were so popular that I decided to go whole hog and make it into a series.

The Gay Gamer: Why did you decide to focus on Nintendo characters?

Aedan Roberts: The decision to concentrate on Nintendo characters was both because I love the long, storied history of Nintendo intellectual property and because it gave unity to the project.

I grew up as a fan of Nintendo. Our very first console was an SNES and from there I have owned every single generation (barring the Wii U at the moment). I have such an emotional attachment to these characters, and if I was going to create a satire where I reproduce a famous series of characters, I wanted it to be these.

The Gay Gamer: Was your plan all along to create a series, by the way, or did that just come to you after you'd made a few?

Aedan Roberts: I decided to turn it into a full-on series after the original three proved to be so popular. I then gave myself a goal--52--that I don't know if I'll reach, but I'll definitely try.

The Gay Gamer: Can you tell me a bit about how they're created? Based on the descriptions you've included on your etsy shop, I'm guessing they're paintings? Regardless, what kind of process do you go through to produce them?

Aedan Roberts: Each character is drawn out so I can translate it into my style. After that, I try to make sure the proportions are in line with the previous characters and then I re-draw the sketch onto hot press watercolor paper. I then glue the paper to a small wooden board, paint the character and then place the board into a custom-painted shadowbox. The color of each shadowbox is made to coincide with the character within. That way, when the shadowboxes are placed together, it forms a pixel-like color grid.

King Boo's balls and Birdo's bits

What would King Boo, Birdo and all sorts of other Nintendo characters--yes, including Mario, Luigi, Link, Peach and Zelda--look like in the buff?

Brooklyn-based artist Aedan Roberts answers that question in a most amusing way via his recent "Nüdtendo" portrait series--two pieces of which can be seen below.

Here, for instance, is King Boo--and, er, his "bits":

Unsurprisingly--given the above, at least--Birdo's bits also are on display in Roberts' humorous portrait of the much-loved Super Mario Bros. 2 baddie.

To see the rest of Roberts' Nüdtendo series--my current favorites are Wario, Tingle, Peach and Link--check out his site, aedanroberts.com.

If you're interested in either of the pieces shown above, by the way, the King Boo one can be bought here (for $275), while the Birdo one can be bought here for the same price. (A few others also are for sale via Roberts' etsy shop.)

(Via boyculture.com)

Yep, another art post: 'Bombs Away,' 'Hyrule Intentions' and 'Tale of Two Brothers'

Like any respectable gay gamer, I've long had a soft spot for female protagonists. In particular, I've had a soft spot for Nintendo's leading ladies--Peach, Samus and Zelda, especially.

All of which should help explain why I went a big gaga after I came across artist Kasey Tararuj's uniquely styled portraits (above and below) of the above-mentioned women this past weekend.

Each piece was produced for the 3NES Show ("a tribute to three of Nintendo's most popular games") held at the Bottleneck Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, a few weeks ago.

If you like any or all of them as much as I do, I'd highly recommend checking out Tararuj's blog, One-Eyed Girl, for closer looks at them.

Specifically, additional shots of her take on Peach (titled "Tale of Two Brothers") can be seen here, while more shots of her Samus and Zelda portraits ("Bombs Away" and "Hyrule Intentions") can be seen here and here, respectively.

And if you're really interested in them? Head on over to the Bottleneck Gallery's online shop and buy one or more of them. ("Bombs Away" can be purchased here, "Hyrule Intentions" here and "Tale of Two Brothers" here.)

See also: 'Cherry on Top' and 'Dreamy Mushroom Munchers'

Cherry on top

Dublin-based Twitterer (and YouTuber) MechaGamezilla made my night (no, not in that way) last week when he drew Animal Crossing: New Leaf villager portraits for five of his followers.

My favorite of the bunch was his rendition of the punk-ish pup, Cherry:

His Ankha and Snake portraits (below and, er, below-er) are pretty awesome, too.

As for how they were created: MechaGamezilla shared with me that he began with pencil drawings on paper, then scanned them and colored them using Photoshop's pen tool.

To see his takes on Gaston and Muffy, check out the "photos and videos" section of MechGamezilla's Twitter page.