Judge me all you want, but I can’t help it if I see something so awesome and cute at the same time and over at King Panpan, you will find a bunch more of these as I can’t help myself but love these. The artist, Julius Santiago, will give us an awesome bear each day of this year and we get the fun to guess what the reference the bear is based from. After the jump, check out some of the other bears and see if you can figure what they are a reference from.

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Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland illustrated by prolific artist and star of the low-brow art world Camille Rose Garcia will be available in print on February 2nd. Have a look at this preview of the work with narration by the artist herself. Check out the behind-the-scenes aspects of what goes into Garcia’s process and peer into the collection of weird and nerdy toys and objects she uses for inspiration. Pretty strange stuff. I can’t wait to buy a copy of this classic story with the badass artwork of Camille Rose Garcia.

You can see more of Camille’s work at her website HERE. If you’re not already a fan you will be. Especially if you’re a fan of  Mark Ryden, Elizabeth McGrath, Robert Williams, Gary Panter or any of the LA Juxtapoz-style artists. She’s the stuff we nerds dream of. I can’t wait till her work comes alive on the big screen one of these days. Mark my words, it will happen.

As you nerds probably know, Lucasfilm sends holiday cards to its employees and clients. The 2009 card, shown above, was sent earlier this month. Naturally, many of the cards produced are Star Wars-themed, though other Lucas characters make appearances, too. After the jump, I’ll show you five of my favorites. (Why not 10? I’m making the 9+-hour drive east in an hour, and I’m already going to arrive at midnight! So sue me!).

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At the risk of becoming the Lego beat writer (Exhibit A), I have to show you another set of fabulous Lego creations. Super Punch has posted a few Star Wars creations made from the tiny, colorful blocks. It looks like these are from the Clone Wars movie. I love how Iain Heath portrayed the lightsaber with multiple thin bricks to show light and movement!

A few images are below, but head over to Super Punch for the full view. In addition, Heath has additional Lego collections at Flickr.

Some people think Star Wars is weird. I’m not one of those people, but whatever. However, anyone looking at these Star Wars posters from Soviet Russia would be baffled and possibly frightened. Thanks to our friend nerdsalad for posting these, um, interesting posters from a tightly controlled era!

Going to L.A. in January? Lucky you! Gallery 1988 will feature an exhibit called “Masters of the Universe.” If you’re not a dumb-ass, you’ll know that means He-Man goodness will be everywhere, and reinterpreted by artists. It’s all legit-like!

The exhibit runs Jan. 8-29. I09 brings us a sneak peak. We’ve posted a few below, but check out I09 for more.

We all know that Mario is a very busy man…after all, he tries to save a princess, travels through some pretty amazing worlds and fights off turtles and mushrooms. But what exactly does he do on his day off? Well, he is a plumber of course! (As if you didn’t know…and yet sometimes forget) Anyways, Pat Kinell drew this picture in which he entitled it “Super Plumber.”

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Don't you wish this hung in a gallery somewhere?

Have you heard the news? Video games finally are being hailed as art! I KNOW! To celebrate the mainstream acceptance, the Smithsonian is busy curating a video game exhibit that will open to the public in a little over two years.

“The Art of Video Games” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum will explore the evolution of games as an artistic medium. From the announcement on the museum’s site:

From the Atari VCS to the Playstation 3, The Art of Video Games will show the development of visual effects and aesthetics during four decades, the emergence of games as a means for storytelling, the influence of world events and popular culture on game development, and the impact that the games can have on society.

The exhibit will be a multimedia, multisensory event, with art prints, historic consoles, video interviews, and even a public vote on top video game moments.

“The Art of Video Games” runs March 16, 2012-Sept. 9, 2012, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. Read the full exhibit announcement here. And when you visit the museum, be sure to wear Christine’s favorite shirt!

Thanks to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for the tip.

Darth Vader sculpture on the National Cathedral - nationalcathedral.org

Many of us give all things Star Wars godlike status (Well, maybe except for that tomfoolery in Eps. I and II). Thus, it’s fitting that Darth Vader, nearly a god among men himself, graces the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Created as part of a competition for kids, the guy with the sorcerer’s ways has been on the cathedral’s exterior since the 1980s.

Slashfilm.com provides ample details about how to find the Sith lord on the cathedral, and the National Cathedral site itself explains how the rock-hard Vader came to be. Many Bothans died to bring us this information.

Most of us grew up playing Mortal Kombat in some form or another — at the arcade, on Super NES, on the Game Boy, and more. We have fond memories of hearing Scorpion bellow “Get over here!” and doing that awesome thing with his hand and the “zzzzzzhhhhup” and the “sploink” and the “Scorpion wins.” But did you know that the franchise could have looked totally different?

Proposed "Scorpion" - vincentproceart.blogspot.com

Vincent Proce, who used to work for Midway Games, has posted to his blog four new versions of favorite MK characters Scorpion, Raiden, Sonya and Kano that he had proposed to Midway before leaving last year. The characters are recognizable, but they have more of a modern, dark, tattered feel to them. “The basis for the idea was a re imagining of the Mortal Kombat franchise from the original premise but mixing modern muti-player and dismemberment game design with the original fighting mechanic,” Proce said on his blog.

You can see Scorpion above; take a gander at Raiden, Sonya and Kano after the jump. (more…)