Partager l'article ! Interview of Winona Nelson, painter of the realistic Super Mario Bros 2: Today, our blog is proud to interview a great illustrator: Winona Nel ...
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Interview of Winona Nelson, painter of the realistic Super Mario Bros 2
Today, our blog is proud to interview a great illustrator: Winona Nelson. We talked about the
work of Winona last year: in spring 2009, her painting of Super Mario Bros 2 in a realistic style was admired by geeks and surfers all over the world! For us, this is an opportunity to return to this event but also better
publicize the work of this young and very talented designer!
mariomario.over-blog : Winoma,
first question : Why Super Mario?
Winona Nelson : I played a lot of Mario games as a kid and I loved Super Mario Bros 2. It's extremely weird and I loved that about it.
Winona Nelson : I played a lot of Mario games as a kid and I loved Super Mario Bros 2. It's extremely weird and I loved that about it.
"It's extremely weird"
mariomario.over-blog : Okay for
Super Mario Bros 2 but ...why realistic?
Winona Nelson : One reason is that I usually paint realistically, so it's what I'm better at. The other is that I really wanted to show how weird the ideas in Super Mario 2 are (throwing turnips, short creepy guys in masks following you), and by making it realistic it makes people think about these things in terms of reality, where the strangeness and creepiness of it is really obvious.
Winona Nelson : One reason is that I usually paint realistically, so it's what I'm better at. The other is that I really wanted to show how weird the ideas in Super Mario 2 are (throwing turnips, short creepy guys in masks following you), and by making it realistic it makes people think about these things in terms of reality, where the strangeness and creepiness of it is really obvious.
"by making it realistic it makes people think
about these things in terms of reality, where the strangeness and creepiness of it is really obvious".
mariomario.over-blog : That's
right ! This Mario is really strange, different. Are you a gamer?
Winona Nelson : Yes. Games are a huge part of my life. I used to be much more of a gamer than I am now, I don't have a lot of time to play anymore. I still play a lot of RPG, FPS, and fighting games, though I play old ones a lot of the time. I really hate the way games are made nowadays, where they're such big productions that it always feels like too many cooks in the kitchen, everything seems shallow and watered down... There are a few exceptions, most of which come from the studio Valve. I've also worked as a character designer in games, which was my dream job since I was 14.
Winona Nelson : Yes. Games are a huge part of my life. I used to be much more of a gamer than I am now, I don't have a lot of time to play anymore. I still play a lot of RPG, FPS, and fighting games, though I play old ones a lot of the time. I really hate the way games are made nowadays, where they're such big productions that it always feels like too many cooks in the kitchen, everything seems shallow and watered down... There are a few exceptions, most of which come from the studio Valve. I've also worked as a character designer in games, which was my dream job since I was 14.
"There
are a few exceptions, most of which come from the studio Valve"
mariomario.over-blog : Your
dream job ! How it was ? It seems so mysterious for us, the gamer !
Winona Nelson : I really like designing characters. It's a great fit for what I like to do, because I get to draw people and their costumes and accessories, and try to tell their life story in one image. Hellgate: London was fun because it was a very realistic style, and closer to my interests than the more cartoony style of Drawn to Life.
Winona Nelson : I really like designing characters. It's a great fit for what I like to do, because I get to draw people and their costumes and accessories, and try to tell their life story in one image. Hellgate: London was fun because it was a very realistic style, and closer to my interests than the more cartoony style of Drawn to Life.
"Hellgate: London was fun because it was a very
realistic style"
But Drawn to Life was more silly and free and the humor was fun. But I haven't yet gotten the chance to work on my
favorite type of game, classic-style RPG.
"But Drawn to Life was more silly and free and the humor was fun"
mariomario.over-blog : What's
your favorite game?
Winona Nelson : I can't whittle it down to just one... There are two that made a very big impression on me and inspired me to get into art as a career - Final Fantasy 7 and Xenogears.
Winona Nelson : I can't whittle it down to just one... There are two that made a very big impression on me and inspired me to get into art as a career - Final Fantasy 7 and Xenogears.
"There are two (games) that made a very big impression on me and inspired me to get into art as a career"
And I didn't own Xenogears, my brother did, so I didn't get to finish it and to this day still haven't seen the ending...
One of these days I'm going to buy them again.
"I didn't own Xenogears, my brother did"
And then there's my favorite fighting game franchise, SoulCalibur. I played so much SoulCalibur on
Dreamcast! I miss the Dreamcast... And Portal was really great. And Left 4 Dead! And Mario Kart for DS.
Soulcalibur (Namco, Dreamcast) and Super Mario Kart DS (Nintendo, Nintendo
DS)
mariomario.over-blog : On this
blog, i'm always surprised by the excessive popularity of Super Mario all over the world. Is the realistic Super Mario more popular than your other paintings?
Winona Nelson : Yes, very much so. I have a lot of other work that people like, but the Mario piece is the only one that gets passed along the internet by itself. Strangers often come up to me at conventions and know that piece and none of my others. It's a good way for people to find my work though :)
Winona Nelson : Yes, very much so. I have a lot of other work that people like, but the Mario piece is the only one that gets passed along the internet by itself. Strangers often come up to me at conventions and know that piece and none of my others. It's a good way for people to find my work though :)
Illustration of Winona, click to enlarge
mariomario.over-blog : This
realistic Mario was a real succes but I think you had never paint other videogame mascots or characters... it's a choice, isn't it? You doesn't want to get locked in this particular
way..
Winona Nelson : Yeah, I love video games but I don't want to be a game artist only. If I was going to paint another game piece, I'd want to have a strong idea again, because that's the reason to make a painting. I would rather work on my own projects than make art of other people's works, unless there's an idea there I want to show like with the Mario piece.
Winona Nelson : Yeah, I love video games but I don't want to be a game artist only. If I was going to paint another game piece, I'd want to have a strong idea again, because that's the reason to make a painting. I would rather work on my own projects than make art of other people's works, unless there's an idea there I want to show like with the Mario piece.
"Work of Winona, click to enlarge"
mariomario.over-blog : Do
you want to present us one particular other work? Maybe more recent or more representative of your work...
Winona Nelson : Sure! This one is more what I do.
Winona Nelson : Sure! This one is more what I do.
"I try to make illustrations with strong women because it's something I feel doesn't get done very well
most of the time".
I try to make illustrations with strong women because it's something I feel doesn't get done very well most of the time. When I was a kid, I only looked at male
heroes because there just weren't many females that were strong and cool, and I hope to help change that with my work.
mariomario.over-blog : Winona, do you want to tell us something else?
Winona Nelson : Well, I'm learning to program and working on a game of my own, in Flash... It won't be ready for a very long time, but I want to make the kind of game I wish I could play. I'm also working on a short comic of my own :)
mariomario.over-blog : Winona, do you want to tell us something else?
Winona Nelson : Well, I'm learning to program and working on a game of my own, in Flash... It won't be ready for a very long time, but I want to make the kind of game I wish I could play. I'm also working on a short comic of my own :)
Work of Winona, click to
enlarge
mariomario.over-blog : Wahou ! Can you say more about this future flash game?
Winona Nelson : It's still very very far in the future, but I'm trying to make an RPG. But don't get too excited yet, it's probably years away from being ready :P
mariomario.over-blog : And now, an optional question, do you know France or the French culture?
Winona Nelson : I know a tiny bit of French language, enough to order a hot chocolate in Montreal :P And I know there are a ton of amazing French artists and French comics! I don't know what you guys are doing that makes so many fantastic artists, but keep doing it!
mariomario.over-blog : Winona, thank you very much. It was really interesting.
Winona Nelson : Thanks for the interview, it was a lot of fun!
- - - - - - - - - - -
Don't forget to visit her blog and her website!
This blog is french, to comment this interview, go here and click on "écrire un commentaire" (at the bottom). Thanks.
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