The novel Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a fun nerdy romp through 80's pop-culture nostalgia, but given that its target audience is comprised of the kind of people who would love related merchandise, there has been a surprising lack of tie-in products. This will likely all change with the release of the Steven Spielberg movie adaptation, but until then we have this great piece by Harlam Elam, who was commissioned to produce a limited edition screen print inspired by the book.
“I read Ready Player One shortly after it was published and fell in love. I really connected with the story and all of the incredibly nostalgic references so naturally I couldn’t resist creating this tribute piece.
I wanted the art itself to look like a 3 tiered game inspired by Monument Valley in order to reflect the core themes of the book. I had great fun stuffing the print with as many relevant pop-culture references as I could.”
The piece is full of lovely little details and references, which fans of the book will pick up on, and each one has been signed by Cline himself. If you want to get your hands on one, head over to Elam's twitter.
Sketch to final piece
Ernest Klein signing the artwork