The 2011 Into The Pixel Collection Celebrates The Finest In Video Game Art

Every year experts from the fine art world and the interactive entertainment industry bestow upon video game artists the highest honour they can receive - inclusion in the Into the Pixel art collection. Let's take a look at the seventeen pieces that made the cut this year.

The Into the Pixel collection is a joint effort between the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and the Entertainment Software Association to highlight the fine work of the countless video game artists working in the industry today. From concept art to marketing pieces, countless works of striking visual art are crafted each year in the name of gaming. Into the Pixel seeks to give the creators of this work their due.

"Into the Pixel is the industry's premier showcase for the art of computer and video games and celebration of the artists whose talent creates these stunning images," said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, the trade association representing US computer and video game publishers and the owner of the E3 Expo. "ESA is proud to partner with AIAS to facilitate this valuable intersection between the traditional and digital art worlds."

This year's winners hail from all corners of the industry, from smaller games like Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull to the big-budget blockbusters Dragon Age II, God of War III and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. Each piece will be inducted into the collection, now in its eighth year, and will be on display in a place of honour during E3 2011.

Click through the gallery to discover this year's winning artists and the games that inspired them.

Amorphous Drake

Artist: Lucas Graciano Game: Legends of Norrath Company: Sony Online Entertainment

Cronos Battle

Artist: Tyler Breon Game: God of War III Company: SCEA/Santa Monica Studio

Dead Walking

Artist: Chris Moffit, Brad Crow, Nathan Stefan, Bart Tiongson Game: Orcs Must Die! Company: Robot Entertainment

Good Friends

Artist: Matthew Halpin, Andrew Matthews, Matthew Preece, Radek Walachnia, John Laws Game: Kinectimals Company: Frontier Developments

Grim Exploits

Artist: Colin Foran, Claire Hummel, Ryan Wilkerson Game: Trenched Company: Microsoft Game Studios/Doublefine

Incident at the Workshop

Artist: Ivan Simoncini Game: Alien Swarm Company: Valve Software

Market Fire, Columbia

Artist: Ben Lo Game: BioShock Infinite Company: Irrational Games

Normandy

Artist: Mikko Kinnunen Game: Mass Effect 2 Company: BioWare

Oktonok Cay Cannery

Artist: David Guertin Game: Ratchet & Clank: All for One Company: Insomniac Games

Paper World

Artist: Say Oh and Damian Kim Game: Paper World Company: Namco Bandai Games

Stahl Arms

Artist: Jesse van Dijk Game: Killzone 3 Company: Guerrilla

The Bridge

Artist: Erik Zaring and Anders Gustafsson Game: The Dream Machine Company: Cockroach, Inc.

The Cottage

Artist: Hamzah Kasom Osman Game: Drawn 3 Company: Big Fish Games

The Dragon Play

Artist: Brian Thompson and Hamzah Kasom Osman Game: Drawn: Dark Flight Company: Big Fish Games

The Pelican Inn

Artist: Andrew Kim Game: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Company: Naughty Dog

The Swamp Skull

Artist: Jeff Haynie Game: Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull Company: Big Fish Games

Flemmeth

Artist: Matt Rhodes Game: Dragon Age 2 Company: BioWare