Making a Piranha Plant[YouTube, thanks John B.]

Working on the assumption Boomer's 6-foot-2, this casting is about a foot tall, and still has a ways to go before completion. Not that this stage of construction isn't awesome, and portend great things.

Phantasmapants is wondering if it's legal for him to sell it. Good question. That is Valve's IP, but there are so many video game crafts out there being sold by independent makers, one would have to think unless he's taken a six-figure commission or something, they can let this one slide. A forum poster pointed out the forum topic on Team Fortess 2 lifelike models that's gone 500 posts with no action from Valve. Sounds reasonable.

Forum posters were agog with props and started throwing out ideas for more in the series. Such as:

Zoey pounced by a hunter, but shes's got her Colt 1911 leveled to the hunters temple, and she is blowing his brains out. That'd be pretty epic.

Well, that certainly sounds ... simple. I think the Crazy Horse Memorial would get finished first. On with more Boomer!

Selling Models Based on L4D. [Steam Users' Forums, thanks tipster Torgos.]

Katamari Sculpture [via gaygamer]

David Murray, an artist who creates custom t-shirts on his website, Seibei Industries, has gotten into quite the Katamari art competition with his friend Amy. It all started with a cross-stitch of Royal Cousin Kuro by Amy which was then answered by David with a great multi-media collage of Royal Cousin Opeo rolling a giant Katamari through a vibrant pink and green landscape. Not to be outdone, Amy shot back with the above Katamari sculpture made from what looks like Fimo and actually works using a system of magnets.

The big question now is, how will David respond to this latest challenge and who will eventually come out on top in the Great Katamari Craft-Off of 2007? Flynn De Marco

the Katamari Craft-Off continues... [Seibei Industries]
[via Boingboing]

Thanks for the heads up, Patrick! Michael McWhertor

Mark Newman's deviantART Gallery [Some potentially NSFW sculpts there, FYI]

Apparently inspired by yesterday's Yoshi snow sculpture, or "Snowshi" as one reader dubbed it (trust me, it was just a matter of time), Kotakuite Steve, sends in this picture of his sculpture of Animal Crossings traveling canine minstrel, K.K. Slider. I'm interested to know what the facial features are made out of, although I must say I'm a little concerned for the condition of that guitar. Flynn De Marco

I'll refrain from calling this a "snowman" because obviously more work went into this than your run of the mill, coal for eyes, carrot for a nose snowmen. Then there's the question of Yoshi's "manhood", which I have serious doubts about to begin with.

Regardless, someone obviously has some awesome sculpting ability and this is definitely the best snow Yoshi I've ever seen. The fact that's it's the only snow Yoshi I've ever seen is beside the point, it still rocks. Thanks, Ryan! Flynn De Marco

I don't know which is creepier, this sculptured example of the uncanny valley or the list of ingredients used to make it: silicone, polyurethane, clothing, human hair variable. I was already twitching at human hair, but just what the hell is human hair variable? Never mind, I don't think I want to know. Brian Crecente

Boy Playing Game Boy Advance [Roslynoxley9, thanks Zhien]

This is fascinating to me: a set of step-by-step construction photos from the team that put together the life-size Illidan sculpture for Blizzard's E3 booth this year.

8 weeks ago I was hired by Blizzard entertainment for the second time to make a display mannequin for their booth at the E3 videogame convention at the Los Angeles convention center. The character is called "Illidan" from their game, World of Warcraft.

Many of you may have heard of this game. There are about 6 million subscribers world-wide that paid $50 to purchase the game and then pay an additional $15 a month to play it online. That's a lot of clams per month. Needless to say, this company is making bank!

I was sent a painting of the creature as a guide and went to work. The specs I was given is as follows:

overall height: 9' to the tip of horns.

Wingspan: 16'

base: 3'x7'

glowing eyes, handpunched hair, costume and glowin the dark tatoos.

I think the construction photos are actually more impressive than the pics of the final piece, although I couldn't quite say why. I also wonder where the beast ended up. Someone's office, perhaps? Held in reserve for quick eBaying when this whole WoW thing becomes obsolete and Blizzard has to liquify? Eliza Gauger

Thanks, Zhien.

More Here [MySpace]

Via our own wonderful Cockney lass, Alice...

xBlocks is a convergence between video games & sculpture — liberating play from the screen. It is a mixed reality installation inspired by traditional platform games of the late 1980s such as Super Mario Brothers or Pitfall. Using standard game controllers, two opposing players must help their characters navigate in and around a three dimensional maze. The real challenge comes, not from traditional game mechanics but rather from moving with your character as he sprints around corners and jumps between the installation's two play surfaces.

It looks a lot like Fourth-Dimensional Vulcan Chess meets Super Mario Bros. Although, like loopScape before it, we wonder about these mixed media games that delight in having flabby, weak-lunged gamers run around in circles and collide with one another at high velocity over and over again until they either win or start sneezing out their scant parcel of brains all over the pretty, pretty blinking LEDs. Florian Eckhardt

xBlocks [milog]

Design team Victor Szilagyi & Tristam Sparks are currently exhibiting their artsy-fartsy sculpture "Xblocks", a dual-surface maze game that looks reminiscent of old Donkey Kong.

xBlocks is a convergence between video games & sculpture — liberating play from the screen. It is a mixed reality installation inspired by traditional platform games of the late 1980s such as Super Mario Brothers or Pitfall. Using standard game controllers, two opposing players must help their characters navigate in and around a three dimensional maze. The real challenge comes, not from traditional game mechanics but rather from moving with your character as he sprints around corners and jumps between the installation's two play surfaces.

The link between "fine" art and video games seems to be gaining strength lately, but most of it strikes me as rather half-assed.

This would be a neat little toy, miniaturized. I can see it being sold in the SkyMall catalogue alongside electronic limb-removal kits for housecats ("Cauterize Without the Caterwaul!") and combination desk fan/windchimes. Eliza Gauger

Xblocks [Milog, via Randform.org]