Premier Specialty Network

New Print and Online Campaign Features Real People Sharing Advice about Choosing the Right Video Game

New York, NY (PRWEB) February 16, 2012

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) today unveiled a new PSA campaign featuring artwork designed by the creators of the hugely popular video game webcomic Penny Arcade. The three-part national print and online campaign features caricatures based upon real parents and gamers, each of whom conveys a unique perspective about the ESRB ratings and tools like rating summaries and the ESRB mobile app. These ads will start appearing this spring in parent-focused and game enthusiast media outlets nationwide and can be viewed here.

Designed in the iconic Penny Arcade comic style, each PSA highlights a different ESRB resource, from using the ratings when buying games for ones family, to checking rating summaries for more detailed accounts of a games content, to using the ESRB mobile app to get rating summaries right from the game store aisle. The parents and gamers on which the ads are based were selected via an ESRB-sponsored micro-essay contest on Facebook wherein entrants were asked to describe the value of the ESRB ratings and resources like rating summaries. As part of the prize package the three winners won the opportunity to be drawn as a Penny Arcade character in an ESRB PSA campaign.

Our new PSA campaign is designed to get the message to parents that there are tools they can use to make informed choices about video games for their children and families, even beyond the rating on a games package, says ESRB president Patricia Vance. We felt there was no one better to share insights about the ESRB ratings than real parents and gamers who use the ratings themselves. And the artists at Penny Arcade provided the cool, eye-catching visual elements to bring the campaign to life with an artistic style that is uniquely and unmistakably their own.

The new stars of the ESRB PSA campaign include:

Juri Peterson is a Navy wife and mother of two tweens from Lakeside, CA. Everyone in her family is a gamer. We make judgment calls on each and every game, Juri says in her winning contest entry. Rating summaries are a good start to the decision-making process.

Richard Hosler, a married father of one from Lafayette, IN, is a gamer who is just now introducing his young son to video games. The elements that make a game E, or T, or M may have different interpretations to me than other parents, notes Richard. I am glad to have the additional information from ESRB to help me make a decision.

Joshua Conway is a devoted gamer from Los Angeles, CA who understands that not all games are right for all kids. A games rating summary gives an in-depth look at the reasons behind the rating for that title, says Joshua. This gives clarity to parents who are properly monitoring the content their children are being exposed to and gives them a better tool to aid in decisions regarding such content.

In conjunction with the launch of the new PSA campaign, ESRB will be co-hosting a Twitter Party on February 23rd at 9:00 pm ET/6:00 pm PT with Johner Riehl of Family Friendly Video Games (@FmlyFrndlyVdGms) and Mary Heston of WiredMoms (@maryheston) to discuss the many ways the ESRB helps consumers choose the right video games. To join the conversation, RSVP at on.fb.me/y2MISB and use Twitter hashtag #ESRB.

This campaign is the latest of ESRBs ongoing efforts to educate parents about the tools at their disposal. ESRB engages in various public education initiatives including PSA campaigns with retailers, professional sports teams and elected officials including governors, attorneys general and legislators.

Since their inception in 1994, the ESRB ratings have become a trusted resource for parents when choosing computer and video games. According to the latest research conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and commissioned by the ESRB, 85% of parents with children who play video games are aware of the ESRB ratings, two-thirds use them regularly, and over three quarters consider the rating system very helpful in allowing them to choose games for their children.

Parents can look up a games rating summary via a free mobile app (www.esrb.org/mobile). Ratings information, including rating summaries and additional resources for parents, are also available on ESRB.org; mobile website, m.esrb.org; ESRBs Facebook page, and on Twitter (@OKtoPlay).

About Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)

The ESRB is a non-profit, self-regulatory body that assigns age and content ratings for video games and mobile applications so parents can make informed choices. As part of its self-regulatory role for the video game industry the ESRB also enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines and helps to ensure responsible online privacy practices under its Privacy Online program. Visit www.esrb.org for more information.

###

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/2/prweb9201767.htm

Mixed in with all of the announcements for Street Fighter X Tekken yesterday, Capcom also released artwork for the newly revealed fighters, Akuma, M. Bison, Jin and Ogre. You can check out all of the images below.

Click images for larger versions

CALL FOR ART

Open CALL FOR SUBMISSIONs OF ARTWORK, at Great Bay Community College, 320 Corporate Drive, Pease International Tradeport, Portsmouth. Artists should contact Annette Cohen at 427-7665 or acohen@ccsnh.edu.

by Chris McVeigh,
Macworld.com

Clean, crisp artwork may sometimes be the artists goal, but the pursuit of perfection can also lead to artwork that looks clinical, and perhaps even a bit corporate. Clients these days seem to favor a worn, even grungy look in which the art looks a bit roughed up, with subtle scratches, mottled patterns, or even paper fold lines. One way to produce is effect is by a process, known as distressing, which can add a surprising degree of character to your artwork.

While walking from class to class or building to building on the SAIT campus it is nearly impossible to not see a piece of art.

No matter what it is, a simple painting, a mural, or a sculpture there is a story behind its creation and a reason for its display.

The artwork around campus is not only a way for artists to connect with the community, but also a reflection of SAIT’s history.

What are now referred to as SAIT and ACAD, were once combined as the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (PITA). The two schools were officially separated in 1985.

Before their divide, the art students shared the halls with those of the polytechnic.

In the dimly lit stairwells of Heritage Hall, the stories and memories of the institute and its alumni remain within the brush strokes of former art students.  Above most of the doorways there are colourful murals, dating as far back as the 1940s.

On the third floor, there is a mural of a winter landscape that resides just above the door.  It is signed “G. Anderson ’50.”

Gertrude Anderson, now Gertrude Hudson was a member of PITA’s graduating class of 1950.

She returned to view the painting in 1983, disappointed to see that parts of her 33 year-old masterpiece were peeling due to moisture damage.

In Heritage Hall’s 2001 renovations Hudson took it upon herself to mend her painting which she created 51 years prior. She returned again in 2005 with brush and paint in hand, creating a brand new mural.  It is in a staircase parallel to her first mural, also on the third floor of Heritage Hall.

At age 82, she now lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband.

“I am still painting regularly,” said Hudson.

Her most recent work is currently exhibited at the Idaho State Historical Museum.

“It feels good to know my murals are still there,” she said.

They are a prominent part of SAIT’s history, art, and culture.

After the separation of SAIT and ACAD, the polytechnic did not forget about its roots. It remains involved in the art community to this day.  The Odyssey coffeehouse is an example of this.

“As long as they are a student, alumni or, instructor they are more than welcome to post up in the Odyssey,” said Caroline Mackenzie, SAITSA VP student life.

She encourages those with interest to display their work on the coffeehouse walls for others to view, enjoy and potentially purchase.

Part of Mackenzie’s job is choosing what goes up on the walls of the Odyssey. A screening process with the artist is required to make sure the content is appropriate.

On average, the artwork is rotated on a monthly basis. Mackenzie stresses the importance of its presence.

“It creates more of a relaxing atmosphere,” said Mackenzie.

Full time painter, Karen Brown, is part of a group of artists called ab-straKt 373.

“A friend suggested the Odyssey,” she said.

In the last two years the group has had multiple showings in the coffeehouse.

Brown believes that displaying artwork in the coffeehouse creates benefits for artists as well as visitors. The Odyssey gives artists an area to exhibit their work and the opportunity to draw the attention of art enthusiasts who may wish to purchase it.

“It’s about exposure and making people aware,” said Brown.

The sentimental and visual importance of the artwork scattered across campus is a prominent part of SAIT’s atmosphere and community.

Popularity: 3%

German legends Accept have unveiled the album artwork and track listing for the bands forthcoming LP Stalingrad. The album is set for release on April 6, 2012. The album was produced by Andy Sneap (Sabbat) and will come as a CD, 2LP (red/white) or limited edition CD with a bonus DVD with live content from the Blood of Nations tour and official video clips.

Guitarist Wolf Hoffman had the following comments on the expectations of the new album:

We put ourselves under enormous pressure to bring out a new album right after this tour marathon, which brought us two times around the globe. But we are very proud about what we delivered with STALINGRAD and we hope our fans will like it as well

The track list for Stalingrad consists of the following songs:

1. Hung, Drawn And Quartered.
2. Stalingrad
3. Hellfire
4. Flash To Bang Time
5. Shadow Soldiers
6. Revolution
7. Against The World
8. Twist Of Fate
9. The Quick And The Dead
10. Never Forget (bonus track)
11. The Galley

The DVD track list is as follows:

1. Princess Of The Dawn (OFFICIAL BOOTLEG Live @ Bang Your Head 2011)
2. Pandemic (OFFICIAL BOOTLEG Live @ Bang Your Head 2011)
3. No Shelter! (OFFICIAL BOOTLEG Live @ Bang Your Head 2011)
4. Teutonic Terror (Live @ Masters Of Rock 2010)
5. The Abyss (ive @ Masters Of Rock 2010)
6. Teutonic Terror (video clip)
7. Pandemic (video clip)

Area Mans Artwork Featured at Phipps

Francis Cleetus friends at the Hindu Jain Temple in Monroeville recommended his artwork. The ceiling murals will be on display for three years.

Rockers Evans Blue recently debuted the artwork for their new album, ‘Graveyard of Empires,’ which drops April 17. Upon first look, the ghoulish cover appears to be a cityscape covered by a film of grunge, overcome by darkness and evil. Nestled within the city, a lone coffin emits a delicate puff of smoke that at first glance might seem like just that. But if you look closer, it’s actually the silhouette of a dancer, rising out of the darkness. The artwork packs a punch of not just visual stimulation but also offers food for thought and implied social commentary.

We figured no one could give us better insight into the artwork than the band itself, so we caught up with Evans Blue frontman Dan Chandler to talk about the artwork and the symbolism behind the album title. On a larger level, the album title, ‘Graveyard of Empires,’ pulls a lot from what we’re seeing around us. It has a lot to do with the music business, it has to do with the whole Wall Street thing, Chandler told Loudwire.”To me it was more like being independent or just being an individual and being able to overcome a lot of these things.”

He continued to explain it, saying, “When I see these companies collapsing, it kind of makes me feel like you can do this on your own. People are going to fall so you can fall on your own or you can fall with a bunch of people, it’s just one of those things.”

Regarding the album art, Chandler originally had a different vision. He said, “The original idea was to have a real dancer. I wanted a really dark, gothic tattooed girl coming out of the coffin, and that was the idea.” After taking photos with a model and putting it all together, “it just didn’t seem to fit right,” admits Chandler.

After hitting that roadblock, the bands artist came to the rescue. “So then Jake, who did the artwork, threw out the idea of a smoky dancer and I thought it was awesome,” Chandler said. At first you don’t know if it’s just smoke or a dancer, but then you see what it is. I wanted it to be coming out of a music box, that was my first idea, and as soon as you backed up, you’d realize the music box was a coffin, just try to make it as twisted as I could. I turned out to be what it is and I’m happy with it, it looks really awesome – it’s dark and I love that s.”

Tune in next week for our full interview with Dan and listen to the latest single off of ‘Graveyard of Empires’ below.

Listen to Halo by Evans Blue

More than half the CHS artwork submitted for possible submission into a statewide art show in Wichita was accepted for exhibit and one piece will advance to nationals>

Members and friends of Epiphany Lutheran Church will gather
Sunday morning to celebrate the congregation’s 85th year in
southwest Racine. And when they do, they will dedicate new
liturgical artwork created by local artisans for the church’s
sanctuary, in honor of the anniversary. 

Designed to look like stained-glass windows, the two large
paintings decorate the walls on either side of the church’s
chancel. Each one depicts an event from the Epiphany season and –
together with the real stained glass window in the chancel’s center
– they form a triptych, or three-paneled format commonly used for
Christian altar paintings as far back as the Middle Ages.  

Epiphany’s new artwork was created by the father/daughter team
of the Rev. Nathan Pope and Melanie Schuette, who — along with a
couple other family artisans — make up Racine’s Avignon Art
Studios. Pope, a retired Lutheran pastor, is a woodworker. And
Schuette, who majored in art at the University of
Wisconsin-Whitewater, is a painter. Together, they have been
creating liturgical art for Lutheran church altars in Wisconsin and
Illinois since about 2004, according to Schuette, who is a member
of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church, where her father served
as pastor. Their latest work for Epiphany features arch-shaped, oak
frames which Pope designed to open and close, so that the paintings
inside can be changed. Fashioned after the chancel’s Good Shepherd
window, Pope’s frames include wooden dowels, made to look like the
metal rods on the original stained-glass window. And Schuette
included lead lines in her paintings to give them the appearance of
stained glass, explained the Rev. Michael Zarling, pastor of
Epiphany Lutheran Church.

Schuette also used a special painting technique to make it
appear as if light is shining through the paintings, she said. “I
wanted to match the stained-glass look of the window that already
existed.”

Finishing touches

The Avignon pieces are some of the finishing touches on a
renovation of Epiphany’s sanctuary, which started last year and
included painting and wallpapering, increased lighting, refinished
woodwork and more. The result is a brighter sanctuary that speaks
more to the original, timeless design of the church than the
1970s-era look it had for many years, said Zarling, who is in his
eighth year at Epiphany. 

Eventually, the congregation hopes to commission a total of four
sets of paintings from Schuette — two for each of the four
liturgical seasons, Zarling said. “Everything we’ve done in the
last couple years has been designed to help get people excited to
be in God’s house,” he said. “And the paintings will get people
excited about every season of the church year. It’s all about
glorifying God.”

The new paintings also serve an educational purpose, according
to the pastor, who recently asked some Sunday School children to
explain the stories told in the two panels to the congregation’s
adults during a service. Using the paintings as reference, the kids
shared the stories of Jesus’ baptism, and that of the Magi being
guided by the star. A few of those kids, who also attend the
Wisconsin Lutheran School adjacent to the church, shared their
thoughts about the new paintings with us as well.

“They help me understand the story of Jesus’ baptism,” said Owen
Dey, age 6, 

“I like how the three rays are coming down to show Jesus’
holiness,” said Zarling’s 8-year-old daughter, Lydia.

Avignon’s artwork also makes the church more colorful, said
Mikaileh Kosterman, 9.

“They look like stained glass, but they are just paintings,”
said Maddie Bailey, 8. 

“They look real,” agreed Cody Holmes, also 8. 

Special guests

In addition to the dedication of the artwork, Sunday’s
anniversary services will feature music by the church’s Festival
Choir, as well as a choral group from the Wisconsin Lutheran
School. The Rev. Thomas Kraus and the Rev. Robert Wassermann, both
former Epiphany pastors, have been invited to attend the
celebration, Zarling said. And a potluck breakfast will be served
between services.

Those gathered will celebrate 85 years of worship by the
congregation, which originated as an offshoot from the First
Evangelical Lutheran Church, and whose full name is still the
English Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Epiphany. What has kept
the church going all these years, Zarling said, is “its dedication
to the truth. Even through the tough times, our people have stood
on the solid rock of God’s word.”

The church’s adherence to the strict teachings of the Wisconsin
Evangelical Lutheran Synod, is also one of the things that has kept
Bill Thoemke coming to Epiphany since 1936. Thoemke, who’s late
wife’s family helped found the church, said he also enjoys the many
social opportunities it offers, in addition to its Sunday
services. 

Having the school adjacent to the church provides more
opportunity for such things, he said. “It is a friendly church,” he
said. “Anyone who believes what we do is always welcome.”

Thoemke originally moved with his wife and four daughters to the
southwest neighborhood so that they could attend Epiphany and the
Wisconsin Lutheran School. He said he is glad to see the
congregation growing again, with more younger families attending
under Zarling’s leadership.

What used to be a neighborhood church, with a number of members
living within walking distance, now has members coming from as far
away as 4 Mile Road, Sturtevant and Somers, Zarling said.