Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede

[Donkey_Kong]

Hey everybody, long time no see!  I just wanted to show you guys Melissa's latest carving, her rendition of a 4ft tall Centipede Sideart.

See more of the centipede, and a bunch of her latest stuff here...www.nicecarvings.com

[Epyx]

Absolutely stunning!   

I can only imagine what Xevious sideart would look like!

[Dafu]

That is absolutely fantastic! Great work.

[drventure]

Wow!

I can only imagine what something like that would look like carved into some solid walnut or maple side panels of a nice woody style cab 

Fantastic!

[Goz]

Tell the wife... looks good... nice work too

[javeryh]

Man she is good.

[opt2not]

Awesome job! 
...and I love her Robotron works too!

[severdhed]

   incredible....simply amazing.  that is some real talent right there, id love to have something like that hanging on my wall (my wife would kill me though)

[Gamester]

WOW!!!  That thing is fantastic!  She is really talented!

How much does a piece like that sell for?

[Stingray]

Melissa does spectacular work. This one is another stunner. Fantastic!

-S

[Ginsu Victim]

Man.....wow......that's just.....wow.

[whammoed]

Neato.
What material was used?

[Epyx]

This stuff is just begging to be put up in my man pit...when the time is at hand I would love to buy some work to put up...my daughter was absolutely amazed as well.

[Santoro]

a.w.e.s.o.m.e.  Most importantly, when do castings of that puppy go on sale? 

(pre-emptive edit. - castings of CENTIPEDE that is.)

[DillonFoulds]

a.w.e.s.o.m.e.  Most importantly, when do castings of that puppy go on sale? 

(pre-emptive edit. - castings of CENTIPEDE that is.)

... OMG!

[Epyx]

Can you imagine a deluxe scratch build version of the Centipede cab with that as side art (one for each side) man that would be amazing..at least imo.

[Ginsu Victim]

Can you imagine a deluxe scratch build version of the Centipede cab with that as side art (one for each side) man that would be amazing..at least imo.

I was thinking she should make a Centipede cab with carved artwork and put it on eBay. Spread the word around about it and watch the bids go wild.

[opt2not]

Can you imagine a deluxe scratch build version of the Centipede cab with that as side art (one for each side) man that would be amazing..at least imo.

I was thinking she should make a Centipede cab with carved artwork and put it on eBay. Spread the word around about it and watch the bids go wild.

That would be so cool...but I can see the naysayer purist saying, well, "nay"...  

[Ginsu Victim]

It's not aimed at the purist, but the casual buyer with lots of money to play with.

[Havok]

Wow - amazingly detailed! You should change your business name to Kick Ass Carvings!

[Epyx]

That would be so cool...but I can see the naysayer purist saying, well, "nay"... 

It's not aimed at the purist, but the casual buyer with lots of money to play with.

Agreed, this would be aimed at the casual buyer with loads of money. I mean the deluxe treatment like this for Xevious and providing I had the money would take a place of pride in my basement.

[Donkey_Kong]

Melissa and I thank you for the front page post Saint! You posted that on Melissa's Birthday. 


Melissa will hopefully be along soon to answer questions in this thread. In the meantime, thank you all for the tremendous amount of positive encouragement and feedback given here. Melissa and I both have a LOT to be thankful for when it comes to this website, and to most all of the fine people associated with this forum. More on that another time.
 

[RayB]

Wow - amazingly detailed! You should change your business name to Kick Ass Carvings!

Or Hit Girl Carvings

[DillonFoulds]

... because she gets hit a lot?

[Havok]

Wow - amazingly detailed! You should change your business name to Kick Ass Carvings!

Or Hit Girl Carvings

LOL - now we just need to get her to wear a purple wig...

[mark shaker]

Melissa will hopefully be along soon to answer questions in this thread. In the meantime, thank you all for the tremendous amount of positive encouragement and feedback given here. Melissa and I both have a LOT to be thankful for when it comes to this website, and to most all of the fine people associated with this forum. More on that another time.

OMG. What a great work of art.

I would be intrested in hearing the story behind the work:

What inspired her to work with video game images?

What techniques does she use (100% hand carved, or CNC carved with hand finishing)?

How much time did it take?

   - Mark

BTW: While I suspect the piece is hand made, I was kinda hoping that she is a digital/CNC artist. I'd would love to buy a piece, but I think it would have to be "mass produced" in order for me to afford it.

 

[MameMaster!]

Beautiful...and the carving is nice too. 

[Circo]

Sorry to revive a dead topic, but as I was browsing through the news articles I followed the link to the nice carvings site.  I remember when they started up and it is just amazing to see just how big it has become.  And to think it all started with some donkey kong stuff, and now she is doing props for "The Green Hornet" movie!!  Congratulations Melissa.

[BobA]

I thought the carvings for the Castle Crashers arcade cabinet were great.   The cab itself is huge.  That is the biggest 4 player control panel that I have ever seen.

[DaveMMR]

I love Centipede artwork and that is amazing!   

[Melissa Jones]

Thank you everyone for the compliments!! This centipede was made for a customer who was giving it as a gift to his wife! What girl wouldn't want a 4ft centipede? I only charged $400 for it and was planning on not having to do much hand carving, but it didn't work out that way. Even though we have a cnc machine, it was completely carved by hand. The centipede is made out of HDU (sign foam) and the backer/blue area is MDO (exterior plywood). I didn't keep track of how long it took. I would probably cry if I really knew how much I was making an hour on this job. But it did turn out awesome!!

[opt2not]

I only charged $400

Hand-carved craftsmanship of one of the best arcade side-arts of all-time? For $400 that guy got a deal!

I didn't keep track of how long it took. I would probably cry if I really knew how much I was making an hour on this job. But it did turn out awesome!!

Yep! That's how it sometimes goes, doing custom artwork gigs. The amount of work sits secondary when it's a cool piece.

I really like your artwork! I look forward to seeing more! 

[torcer]

My wife would murder me in my sleep if I spent $400 on a hand crafted Centipede, but that carving looks worth every penny.  Great work!

[Donkey_Kong]

I think the VP of Atari found this thread, or the article on the front page. He wants Melissa to make one for his office. Also, talking to him about the possible licensing of products down the road.

Thanks for putting the articles up on the front page Saint, amazing exposure their!

Any vendors reading this, I highly recommend you think about advertising with Saint on the FP and wherever else on the forum. The targeted traffic here is amazing (as if you didn't know that)! When I get the  new site done I will hit you up for a banner spot, boss...

[saint]

I think the VP of Atari found this thread, or the article on the front page. He wants Melissa to make one for his office. Also, talking to him about the possible licensing of products down the road.

Thanks for putting the articles up on the front page Saint, amazing exposure their!

Any vendors reading this, I highly recommend you think about advertising with Saint on the FP and wherever else on the forum. The targeted traffic here is amazing (as if you didn't know that)! When I get the  new site done I will hit you up for a banner spot, boss...

Awesome news DK

[piecesof8]

I think the VP of Atari found this thread, or the article on the front page. He wants Melissa to make one for his office. Also, talking to him about the possible licensing of products down the road.