XBox 360 Elite Custom Paint Job

Our Next Titanstrike Prize was made with a Lotta' Love


Xbox 360 Elite Custom Paint Job from Francisco Diaz on Vimeo.

There's nothing like receiving an art piece as a prize. This one won't go on the mantle but will suit your TV & Electronic collection quite nicely. It's a hand painted Xbox 360 Elite. I had the pleasure of working with Maritza Torres, an LA-based artist.



The project was in the conceptual stages for about three months. Since I was in India it was hard to execute the project remotely. The planning consisted of; getting a camera, renting three-point tweenie lighting, figuring out a design, finding a great artist and then just sticking to a date. The artsy date was set to June 1st, 2008.

I Google searched "lighting LA" and found a directory with business listings based on categories of production. It was Saturday afternoon and I needed the lights ASAP but first I needed to know what kind of lights I needed. I'm a complete n00b at lighting. I know it's critical for a good shot. Luckily, I came across Patrick Murphy from Crosslight. I started the convo with "Hello, I don't know anything about lighting ...". The conversation ended up being very educational and he was nice enough to open up his shop for Titanstrike. I highly recommend Crosslight.

Three tweenies later meant the stop at Michaels was in order. I picked up:

- Xacto Knife
- White Duct Tape
- Masking Tape
- White Roller Paper
- White Cardboard
- Grey Krylon Primer
- Clear Krylon Primer
- Red, Yellow, Black, Beige Acrylics

I tried paying debit card and Michaels pin number entry on the machines were empty. I ran to the bank, luckily crossing a Circuit City on 4th Street in Santa Monica - so I picked up 6 HDV Tapes. Back to Michaels picked up the goods, drove back to the studio.

Maritza called me about 5 minutes after I got into the studio asking if I needed anything from Michaels. I drove back to Michaels and picked her up.

Back at the studio, we had some iced tea and discussed the shot. I decided to take the intro shot to the Venice Boardwalk and get some interesting people involved in the delivery of the Xbox to the artist. After that shot we went back to the studio and prepared the Xbox for its makeover.

How it was made?

1) XBox 360 Elite sanded with medium then fine grit sandpaper
2) Use warm, moist washcloth to remove debris
3) Cover vents and rear areas with masking tape and trace with Xacto knife for a sharp finish.
4) Use a light spray of Grey Krylon Primer and cover Xbox 360 Evenly.
5) Sketch with a Charcoal Pencil
6) Go wild with acrylics
7) Finish with High Gloss Krylon clear coat

Hope you enjoyed the project half as much as I enjoyed making it!