Thanks guys.

HOLY FRICKING COW!!!! I didn't know you were from the same area as me! I have been admiring this piece every time I go to the bookstore and have to get my husband to leave the comic book section! I actually just read your tute on how you do this technique and am working on a x-mas present for my cousin. I have a question for you. How many strands do you actually use for a cross stitch vs. a tent stitch?

Thanks - I moved here not too long ago.  I'm originally from Texas.

I never do cross stitch....I use something called a mosaic stitch for the actual sprite (though I'll use a tent stitch if the sprite is complicated and large).    I usually use all 6 strands for the sprite, whether it's tent or mosaic, to make sure it looks really full and also because I really don't like separating strands.     

I sometimes use all 6 for the background as well.   But if it's big, like this Bowser is, then I usually just use 3 strands to conserve floss.   

I hung this up in the bookstore where I work, near the video game section:



It took around 50 hours to complete (I think).   I stitch the backgrounds as well, so that tacks on hours like none other.

I love it.

Dragon Quest/Warrior is my favorite RPG series.   I am going to hit "This Rocks" as many times as I can.

Thanks guys!

If you ever feel up to sharing The Secret to Everlasting Awesome (read: a tutorial on that background), I would love to know.

I've got a tutorial on my blog but it mostly focuses on how to stitch the sprites.

I might take some time over the next few days to make a detailed background tutorial.   Thanks for the idea!

That background is insane! I could never be patient enough to actually sit down and finish something like that. Excellent job!

Thanks.   It can add hours and hours to a project.   I usually get a tv show on dvd and settle down for a marathon.

This is from one of the dragon quest games, my roommate requested it specifically:





Some one usually asks what kind of fabric I stitched it on, but I don't stitch on fabric.   I use 14 pt plastic canvas and stitch the background myself.   It takes forever but I like the effect.   Here's a WIP shot so you can see what I mean:

Does anyone here make temari balls?   I've tried a few times, but whenever I'm finished wrapping a ball and start marking the divisions, various circles of the wrapped sewing thread start coming loose.   And since i've already sewn in the ends, it's very difficult if not impossible to wrap them back up tightly.     Is this a common problem and how do I prevent it and/or fix it?   Any help appreciated, thanks

Great work.
How do you get it from the game on the computer to being a pattern? Do you take a screen shot and blow it up somehow?

There are several sprite databases on the internet (I used woodus.com for these).   I take a sprite from them and then run it through PCStitch.   You can download the demo version for free.

Thanks, guys.   They're not actually stitched on fabric, they're stitched on transparent 14 pt plastic canvas.   The red and the blue are stitched as well, which is why they take so long (each one took probably around 100 hours to finish).      The stitches aren't actually cross stitches either, but a half cross stitch for the sprites and a different stitch (I forget offhand it is called, but it is one lone stitch, one short stitch on a diagonal) for the background.

Here's a shoddy close up photo:

This tree shows up in a couple of the games:






It's meant to accompany a god-bird (also from dragon quest) needlepoint, here they are together:



I'm planning on making at least one more, but since these things take around 100 hours to finish so I might switch gears and focus on some other projects for a while for sanity's sake.