Rare Fan Art Gallery Showcase #3

In full spelunking gear, we’re back from the fan art mines to exhibit some of the finest pieces from the talented Rare community in another Fan Art Showcase! Our chief appraiser, Art Director Ryan, is with us once again to give his expert opinion on each piece, so let’s begin the tour of June and July’s weekly additions to the gallery. Miss the first two showcases? Go back and check them out here and here! While this exhibit is taking place on the lawns, please no running or ball games during the tour – we don’t want someone careening into the string quartet while we’re admiring the art.

Kicking off June’s first collection was Twitter’s multi-time Fan Art Friday featuree @Banana_Meteor, this time with an adorable felt Rashberry from Viva Piñata, complete with a curly tail. Such a happy little fella – we now want to see an entire garden made of these felt friends. Elsewhere in this inaugural batch was an incredibly cartoony Conker by l.frostad on Instagram, complete with a mug of beer as big as his head, and a rather stern blue-haired pirate portrait painted by Hiradore over on Reddit. Let’s cross to Ryan for some impressions:

“A lovely, detailed rendition of a Rashberry – it must have been so difficult to keep the lines clean and get the curly tail right, so it’s very impressive that you managed to preserve the Viva Piñata style in felt! This adorable version of Conker looks particularly cheeky, a chirpy-voiced little mischief-maker trying to lead you astray with that comically large beer. As for the pirate in full Kraken gear, the seaweed-like beard and hair are a great match for the outfit and really add to the mood. He looks very intense, like he’s watching for something on the horizon…”

Moving on to our next weekly trio for June, the framed piece was an atmospheric Sea of Thieves landscape from ZachLatham on DeviantArt, showing a group of pirates setting a beached Galleon ablaze. We really should have kept this one for Bonfire Night, but we couldn’t wait that long. Complimenting it was a group shot of the Battletoads posing with a distressed Scuzz by Twitter’s @VicenteHorror, and an imposing portrait of Killer Instinct poster bot and Ultratech’s pride and joy Fulgore from Instagram’s knightlineart. Let’s see what Ryan has to say about this collection:

“I’ve got chills looking at this piece of the burning Galleon – it feels very Turneresque with the loose, painterly approach. I love that Old Master feel to the composition! As for the Battletoads, this is a classic rendition of Rash, Zitz and Pimple with the bright yellow chests – it feels very much inspired by the original box art, and adding Scuzz in there is a nice extra touch. For the Fulgore piece, there’s some great use of foreshortening and I especially like the markings on his plasma blades, giving it directionality and making it feel like energy’s pulsing through them.”

Continuing through June’s picks, our third collection featured this toadally radical Battletoads piece by @KNOXHOUND on Twitter, showing Rash, Zitz and Pimple strutting straight out of a time tunnel from the modern Dark Ages (or what us non-historians call the ’90s). Not a turbo bike to be seen in this tunnel though, I bet the lads were delighted. Also in this batch, a charming picture by DeviantArt’s wao17 showing a happy Bottles and Tooty before their Banjo-Tooiemisadventures, along with a Sea of Thieves scene by Twitter’s @worldofevros depicting a slightly shell-shocked pirate returning from the Ferry of the Damned. Ryan, thoughts on these?

“This Battletoads piece is so action-packed! Loads of detail and each of the ’Toads is really expressive. The bright, poppy colours are great and I love the use of the pink lighting. The Tooty and Bottles piece really puts a smile on my face too. It’s such a relaxed and positive image as they look directly at the viewer, connecting with them and bringing them into the picture. As for the pirate on the Ferry of the Damned, the painterly style is incredibly evocative and when combined with the pirate’s sombre expression and the door ripping open behind them, it really sells the mood.”

Coinciding with the launch of Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life, our final June collection carried this pencil sketch of the Kraken’s face by cogburn_arts over on Instagram. Usually pirates only see this frightful maw when they’re about to go to the Ferry of the Damned, so we’re pretty lucky! Capping off this end-of-month batch was a portrait of Conker looking too innocent by Instagram’s anayamation, along with a rather gory shot of Killer Instinct’s Riptor covered in blood, ketchup, jam or possibly all three, provided by FreakyRaptor on DeviantArt. Over to Ryan for his expert opinions:

“This sketch of the Kraken’s face came just after we revealed it in Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life, so I’m very glad people are responding well to her grand entrance! Some great pencil work here – always good to see artists using traditional media, it’s an important skill to keep up. The Conker piece is really interesting, especially the construction lines used as part of the aesthetic. I know some animation studios utilise the under-drawing as part of their overall design, and it works well here to add character. Meanwhile, there’s some lovely texture work to bring out Riptor’s scales in this portrayal, with the low-down snarling pose and the gore emphasising her beastly nature. You really do get the sense that she’s just come out of a nasty fight.”

Rolling on into July, the next selection kicked off with a bottom-heavy depiction of Banjo and Kazooie from atothej83 over on Instagram. Kazooie can barely catch her breath to berate Banjo or toot that kazoo, poor thing. Complimenting this were a sketch of a possibly peaky Preztail from Viva Piñata by Instagram artist eat_61, and Twitterer @larribas12’s vivid digital artwork of their Sea of Thieves pirate painting a coconut. So Ryan, your thoughts on this trio?

“This Banjo and Kazooie piece is wonderful – there’s a great feeling of movement, a real sense of the pair flying through the air playing music. I like the style too, with the Jiggy motif in the background acting like a portal into this world. Kazooie looks slightly more screwball than we’re used to seeing her, but it works well! Speaking of screwball, the Pretztail picture is bursting with manic energy. Its expression is great and you really feel like candy is just spraying out of its mouth in all the excitement. The smooth lines around the ears and legs are a great fit for the aesthetic that the artist’s going for. And in the pirate piece, there’s some really creative use of different filters to bring it all together and make that bright explosion of colours pop from the background.”

July’s second collection brought us a full-colour piece of Sabrewulf from KI2 by dpena500 over on Instagram, complete with flashy golden arms. You’d think being an unstoppable hybrid of man and beast would be enough for Ultratech, but no, they just had to add cybernetic limbs to seal the deal. The rest of this batch was significantly less bloodthirsty, with Twitter’s @inky_bliss showing one of Sea of Thieves’ many skellies fishing with a friend, while DeviantArtist JAQartDood sketched out a personality-packed Conker. Back to Ryan for more thoughts!

“This Sabrewulf is peak Killer Instinct, capturing that ’90s comic book aesthetic with those gleaming metallic arms and angry raised fur. Impressive how the artist’s been able to evoke a feeling of power without relying on a full action pose – it’s all about the built-up energy. For the skeleton and his seagull pal, I love the hint of the Shrouded Ghost fin while these two are just chilling. The juxtaposition of the mournful vibe and the friendly, round style (especially the dumpy seagull) works really well. Turning to Conker, this is a fluid and curvy piece where his slightly distorted face suggests he could make his face express any emotion he wanted. Tons of personality – really nice!”

The art just kept rolling in for July, with the third stop on our journey giving us before and after pics of Sea of Thieves’ Captain Briggsy by @HamBerry_art on Twitter. Don’t mess with cursed treasure, kids – you might end up sans skin! Rounding out this batch were the charming Instagram pairing of a papercraft Banjo and Kazooie by frompentopaperstudio, and jade.the.artist_07’s tattoo of a chunky Buzzlegum from Viva Piñata. Let’s pass it back over to Ryan to see what he thinks:

“I love seeing new takes on popular Sea of Thieves characters, so this is a fascinating interpretation of how Briggsy would have looked in her prime, in a style even chunkier than SoT’s but in a really fun way. As for the Buzzlegum, it’s such an honour to see a character I designed tattooed on someone’s skin – doubly so when that Piñata was one of my favourites to design! It’d be impressive as just a digital image, but as a tattoo, the artistry is phenomenal. The papercraft Banjo and Kazooie also makes me happy as I love seeing people crack out the scissors and craft paper to make something. And the detail here is wonderful, like how the artist has even cut a little belt loop in Banjo’s shorts.”

In our fourth (but surprisingly not final!) batch of July fan art, we joined Joanna Dark preparing for her next mission in a rather brooding piece from Twitter’s @anti_western. Whatever she’s planning, she seems to be taking the silent approach – best of luck, Jo. Also in this selection was a memorable pirate portrait from DeviantArt’s LazyUnicornBear, showing her pirate Margaret and timid moggy Lola sailing the seas, along with a ceramic Conker cake topper complete with chainsaw by chunartcreacion on Instagram. So Ryan, any other characters you’d like to see in cake topper form?

“Some strong shadows and line work in this depiction of Jo Dark – it reminds me a lot of Aeon Flux. There’s an intriguing feeling of a captured moment in time, with Jo’s nimbleness and physicality imparted through her long limbs even while she’s at rest. The cat’s alarmed expression is my very favourite thing about the pirate portrait, like they’re about to hit a rock – it’s also great how the artist highlights the diversity of characters we tried hard to include in Sea of Thieves, and how you can play as anyone you’d see in a pirate film and not just your traditional swashbuckling heroes. I love the paintwork on the Conker cake topper, especially the metallic chainsaw. The expression is so Conker-esque, you can almost hear his classic voice. I’d love to see what cake this figure would sit on. I hope it’s not Great Mighty Poo-themed…”

And to finish July with a miraculous fifth selection, we added a batch of art led by a group shot of the Battletoads ready to rumble by DeviantArt’s Kyle-Fast. The lads have really been hitting the gym – look at the muscles in Pimple’s neck! Poor lad’s never comfortably sleeping on a plane again. Rounding out this final batch was a trio of exceedingly good pirate dogs all in costume from Twitter’s @WoodOxen, along with a sketch of everyone’s favourite sleepy queen of Piñata fashion Miss Petula by DeviantArtist Yereren. Over to Ryan to give us his closing thoughts!

“The ’Toads are putting on a real gun show in this piece – the white eyes, clenched teeth and feathered-edge shading all heighten the pent-up aggression. Could easily be a classic ’90s comic book cover. For the trio of dogs, I have to say I was not expecting this but it really made me laugh! Dogs in clothes in Sea of Thieves are already hilarious, but the artistry on show here elevates it. I especially love the Legendary Curse on the corgi in the middle – more photorealistic animals wearing pirate outfits please! The anime styling on the Petula piece is very fitting, considering her design was influenced by anime and manga in the first place. The half-closed eyes capture her character’s low energy and the supporting characters are great too. I love the goldfish’s derpy eye, and the Goobaa is absolutely adorable.”

That’s all for June and July’s art offerings – thanks as always to Ryan for his impressions and to all the artists featured for their fine work! Our team of dedicated art finders are always on the lookout for more candidates to feature on social channels and in our semi-regular round-ups, so tag us on the platform of your choice so we can easily find yours. Check out our dedicated fan art gallery on Facebook, our Instagram page where we also feature the occasional piece and of course the weekly #FanArtFriday spotlights on Twitter for our most up-to-date selections!