MORTAL DRAFT

FOX Sports article art: the 2021 NFL Draft as a 16-bit fighting game select screen.
FOX Sports article art: the 2021 NFL Draft as a 16-bit fighting game select screen.

Mortal Draft paired the 2021 NFL Draft with the "Mortal Kombat" movie, which opened the same week. FOX Sports writer RJ Young matched seven prospects to fighters from the game, and I turned each comparison into a 16-bit fighter standing in the arena: Trevor Lawrence as Raiden, Kyle Pitts as Shang Tsung, Nick Saban as Shao Kahn. Every player is drawn in the game's own pixel style, so the joke lands before you read a word.

CLIENT FOX SPORTS

ROLE ART DIRECTOR & DESIGNER

WRITER RJ YOUNG

FORMATS EDITORIAL ART, WEB & APP

RUN APRIL 23, 2021

Reference: Mortal Kombat II box art for the Sega Genesis, 1993.
Reference: Mortal Kombat film poster, 2021.
Reference: Shao Kahn sprite sheet from the 16-bit Mortal Kombat games.
Reference: The Temple stage from Mortal Kombat 3 on the Sega Genesis, 1995.
Reference: The Temple stage broken into background, candle and floor layers.
Mortal Draft as it ran in the FOX Sports app: the story and fighter art on two phones.
Mortal Draft as it ran on FOXSports.com: Justin Fields as Liu Kang inside RJ Young's story.

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