State Of The Art - The EVE Online Print Set
Last October, a pirate, scholar and gentleman by the name of Rixx Javix published a blog post on a series of art print posters featuring the major ships of EVE Online. The album that initially had a meager three ships – a Ferox, Slicer and Gnosis (of all things!) – now comprises well over a hundred designs.
Naturally, the most common question Rixx was asked was “How can we buy these?”
He reached out to CCP to see if we were open to some kind for collaboration; being long-time fans of his work, we obviously were. Besides, it has been almost 4 years since we sold any kind of EVE poster. Time to fleet up with him!
The natural place to start was EVE Fanfest. We selected four ships for the initial set, printed a limited amount of posters, and put them for sale in the Fanfest store. At the same time, Rixx hosted an ‘EVE Fan Art’ presentation to share some insights into the project (highly recommended!)
The results were great – as a matter of fact, the set was the second best-selling item in the store! Of course, many players did not attend Fanfest, so the next natural step was to make these art prints available online. Fortunately, we already had an established partnership with Quantum Mechanix, a Los Angeles-based creative developer of collectibles inspired by some of our most beloved shows and movies, including Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Firefly and Star Trek. In other words, we knew we’d fit right in.
And so, without further ado, let me introduce the EVE Online Battlecruisers Art Print Set. It includes four 18”x24” art prints produced on 100-lb, satin-finish paper, featuring four iconic EVE ships: Drake, Harbinger, Hurricane and Myrmidon. It costs $34.95 US for a set of four posters and is available for delivery to most countries.
Over to Rixx Javix:
"I've always been fascinated by spaceships and the ships of EVE are uniquely powerful, complex and riveting from an artistic perspective. They are, in so many ways, the pure expression of ourselves within the game. They each have personalities and histories that are as individual as the people who fly them. That spirit is what I've tried to capture in these pieces.
The important thing for me was to treat each ship with the respect and knowledge that it deserved, to try and capture the elements that make it what it is, in an artistic design. To put on paper what it is about these ships that make them important to me. A unique spirit that lives within a universe of wonder, darkness and expression.
Removing the ships from the confines of how we normally see and experience them, within the rendered space of our computer monitors, brings the focus purely on the design of the ships themselves. These are objects of immense significance to anyone that lives and plays in the world of EVE Online, but they are also souls unto themselves, brought to life by thousands of players each and every day. In so many ways, they are us and we are them.
I am extremely encouraged by the overwhelming response these pieces have received from the EVE Community and from CCP Games. And I'm proud of our partnership with Quantum Mechanix that gives us the chance to finally bring these to a wider audience. It can be a daunting prospect to have your work open to the world and I hope the response continues so that we can bring fans of Eve, and fans of science-fiction and gaming, even more in the future."
What’s next for merchandise?
These art prints, gorgeous as they are, are not the only thing we are currently working on. CCP’s contract with Musterbrand has concluded and our priority right now is to implement a suitable replacement – taking into account everything we’ve learned from that relationship.
The most important lesson is that the most inspired designs tend to come from the community itself. Whatever we end up doing in the future, we want to make sure we incorporate the ideas, the feedback, and the passion of you, the players of EVE Online.
Fly safe!
CCP Spitfire
