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Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: Donkey_Kong on May 12, 2010, 10:28:33 pm

Title: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Donkey_Kong on May 12, 2010, 10:28:33 pm
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 (http://nicecarvings.com/)


(http://arcadecontrols.com/images/News/2010-05-13-Arcade-Art-Character-Carvings-by-Melissa-Jones-.jpg)
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Epyx on May 12, 2010, 10:42:59 pm
Absolutely stunning!   :cheers:

I can only imagine what Xevious sideart would look like! :)
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Dafu on May 12, 2010, 10:52:44 pm
That is absolutely fantastic! Great work.
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: drventure on May 12, 2010, 10:54:45 pm
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  :o

Fantastic!
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Goz on May 12, 2010, 11:00:41 pm
Tell the wife... looks good... nice work too
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: javeryh on May 12, 2010, 11:04:41 pm
Man she is good.
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: opt2not on May 12, 2010, 11:17:29 pm
Awesome job!  :applaud:
...and I love her Robotron works too!
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: severdhed on May 12, 2010, 11:21:10 pm
 :o  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)
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Gamester on May 12, 2010, 11:55:13 pm
WOW!!!  That thing is fantastic!  She is really talented!

How much does a piece like that sell for?
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Stingray on May 13, 2010, 09:58:26 am
Melissa does spectacular work. This one is another stunner. Fantastic!

-S
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Ginsu Victim on May 13, 2010, 10:52:52 am
Man.....wow......that's just.....wow.
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: whammoed on May 13, 2010, 11:02:30 am
Neato.
What material was used?
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Epyx on May 13, 2010, 11:07:12 am
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.
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Santoro on May 13, 2010, 11:08:01 am
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.)
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: DillonFoulds on May 13, 2010, 01:26:02 pm
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!
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Epyx on May 13, 2010, 02:00:08 pm
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.
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Ginsu Victim on May 13, 2010, 02:18:49 pm
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.
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: opt2not on May 13, 2010, 02:51:43 pm
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"...  :D
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Ginsu Victim on May 13, 2010, 03:01:42 pm
It's not aimed at the purist, but the casual buyer with lots of money to play with.
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Havok on May 13, 2010, 04:11:46 pm
Wow - amazingly detailed! You should change your business name to Kick Ass Carvings!
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Epyx on May 13, 2010, 09:03:15 pm
Quote
Quote
That would be so cool...but I can see the naysayer purist saying, well, "nay"... 

Quote
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.
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Donkey_Kong on May 15, 2010, 02:15:25 pm
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.
 

:cheers:
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: RayB on May 15, 2010, 02:42:53 pm
Wow - amazingly detailed! You should change your business name to Kick Ass Carvings!
Or Hit Girl Carvings
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: DillonFoulds on May 16, 2010, 09:54:12 pm
... because she gets hit a lot?
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Havok on May 17, 2010, 10:26:23 am
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...
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: mark shaker on May 17, 2010, 04:21:55 pm
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.

 
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: MameMaster! on May 17, 2010, 04:23:15 pm
Beautiful...and the carving is nice too.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Circo on November 20, 2010, 07:00:52 am
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.
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: BobA on November 20, 2010, 08:06:44 am
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.

Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: DaveMMR on November 20, 2010, 08:23:35 am
I love Centipede artwork and that is amazing!   :applaud:
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Melissa Jones on December 05, 2010, 05:07:03 pm
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!!

Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: opt2not on December 05, 2010, 06:03:22 pm
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!


Quote
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!  :cheers:

Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: torcer on December 06, 2010, 04:17:45 pm
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!
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: Donkey_Kong on December 23, 2010, 04:22:16 pm
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...
:)
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: saint on December 23, 2010, 05:24:09 pm
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 :)
Title: Re: Melissa Jones of Nice Carvings, carves 4ft tall Centipede
Post by: piecesof8 on December 26, 2010, 10:20:10 am
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.

 :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: