Rare Fan Art Gallery Showcase #5

We’re back from our latest forage in the forest of fan art, and our prized truffle pigs have dug up yet more fine pieces for our Fan Art Showcase! Art Director Ryan is back to play the role of critic, his monocle polished and pen at the ready, so come marvel at the final 2021 collection covering October, November and December. Please remember that there is to be no food or drink brought into the gallery – if you are caught with any, it will be confiscated and promptly scoffed by us when you’re not looking.

We left October on a cliffhanger last Showcase, so let’s begin with the remaining trios of artwork from the spookiest of months. The first was headlined by an extra-detailed piece by DanFelix, showing the Battletoads and their nemeses in full muscular detail. We’re getting flashbacks to a very particular era of comics with this one – so many veins. There was an equally aggressive piece by warahi, showing Conker, Juno, Banjo and Kazooie all gearing up for a scrap, contrasted with a rather more sedate watercolour sketch by SweetTee007, showing a Brigantine moored off Sea of Thieves’ Snake Island. Now then Ryan, how is this batch tickling your fancy?

“This Battletoads piece is dripping with stylisation and detail – so many rippling muscles and bulging veins! This could easily be the cover for a ’90s metal album or a Conan the Barbarian-style comic. It’s great to see the Dark Queen and her minions too, as we usually just get the ’Toads. Now why is everyone so angry in this Rare melee? This piece did make me laugh though – looks like Conker and Banjo have a real grudge match going on, with Juno ready to come in and mop up. Looking at the watercolour, it’s a very sweet moment captured simply and cleanly by the artist. Always good to see physical media used too, and some lovely use of hatching on the ship’s hull and rocks.”

Next up for October, a collection featuring this portrait of Jo Dark as seen through a security camera by beicav_design. It could be a CCTV view, or it could also be photo day at the Carrington Institute and Jo’s getting a new ID card. Complimenting this was a sketch of a Viva Piñata Mallowolf and Sour counterpart by willie_gooseberry, along with a sinister shot of a waterlogged Villainous Bounty Skull from HypedAlexArts. Let’s toss it over to Ryan for his expert analysis:

“Always great to see the ‘OG’ version of Jo, as the kids would say, and the older-tech CRT effect on this portrait suits this rendition of her. There’s some strong use of light and shadow to sculpt Jo’s face – highlights in her eyes would make it pop even more. How about some action poses for the next challenge? For the Mallowolves, love seeing the difference in personalities shown via details like the sleepy look and softer teeth on the resident version. Overpatterning is used well to suggest the fur on the Piñatas – next step is to put these two in a scene and have them interact! Finally with the skull, interesting to have the focus completely on a single item, with the central composition giving it weight and power. The swirling of the ethereal smoke is achieved well, and having it submerged in water strengthens the link to Sea of Thieves.”

Capping off October was a selection of spooky sketches, including an ensemble of Sea of Thieves characters all dressed up for Halloween by artist duo DragonMellera and ComradeRelics. We see the Bonechiller and Jack O’ Looter in there, but the Soulflame Captain’s invite must have gotten lost in the post. Completing this Halloween trio was an atmospheric shot of Grunty plotting mischief by wwwjam, and a portrait by zhyrkonian.gosh showing the stages of Amber’s monstrous transformation in Grabbed by the Ghoulies. Now then Ryan, have you been struck speechless by this terrifying trio?

“I love it when people bring their own pirates into their artwork, like these two alongside the Jack O’ Looter and Bonechiller. The dark purple background adds a suitably spooky air, and Halloween star Jack dominating the image is a nice touch. The Grunty piece gives us a unique take, with the scale of her hat and head emphasising her physicality in a different way. Would love to know the reasoning behind the monochrome on everything but her scarf and socks! You can almost hear her cackling too – just look at that spiky tongue. As for Amber’s transformation, we rarely see fan art of her so it’s nice to see this artist go all out. I love the black rings around the eyes of her final, monstrous transformation – super-expressive and helps her dominate the frame, especially when she’s the only one making eye contact with the viewer.”

As we trudged further into autumn, November’s first art collection featured those audacious amphibians taking the spotlight, with a group shot of them ready for a brawl by stuff_manny_does. Also in this set was ZodianKnight’s depiction of Killer Instinct’s Sabrewulf mid-bloodcurdling howl, and a very cute piece from DrawingProzac depicting a lovelorn pirate on the prow of their Sea of Thieves Sloop. Let’s shoot over to Ryan again for his insightful impressions:

“The Battletoads are always a fan favourite, and this rendition is particularly good! Pimple’s expression is great, but I have to say Zitz’ tongue is my favourite part – they all have such clear personalities here. Good to see this artist breaking out what looks like ink and marker natural media, and they’ve used the white space of the paper very cleverly to get the shine on the Toads’ bracers. As for Sabrewulf, I always like to see characters set in an environment, especially one that feels as lived-in as this, with the cracks in the walls and blazing fire. Nice touch to have his human form in the portrait behind too. We love a good Easter egg! And this pirate piece is such a cute take on the Sea of Thieves world. Lovely chibi style (look at that upside-down V mouth) and the unique filter makes it look like an old print faded by the sun. The pirate manages to be both adorable and sombre. More like this please!”

November’s second serving of delicious art treats brought with it, fittingly enough, an adorable drawing of one of Viva Piñata’s Macaraccoons by artsyicey. The way it’s marvelling at that sweet is really making us hungry... Rounding out this course was a wonderfully chunky Cubist impression of a Sea of Thieves Galleon by zakverycool, and a sketch of Marvin the cheese-loving mouse by PolterDevil. So Ryan, what have you got for us?

“This Macaraccoon is unbelievably cute! The tail has been painted with more pink than usual, which is a nice touch to tie it into the colour palette of the piece. The patterned background fits really well, matching the triangles on the Macaraccoon’s tail. For the Galleon model, a great job’s been done on making the ship instantly recognisable, even in this low-poly style. Always impresses me how artists working in this style can use just a few pixels to suggest details like the curve of the sail and the wording on the plaque – I’d love to see more of the Sea of Thieves world rendered in this style! As for Marvin, good to see someone picking a lesser-known Conker’s Bad Fur Day character and giving them some love. The artist’s nice soft style is brought out in touches like the tufts of fur on his ears, and Marvin’s swollen belly suggests he may have already been on the cheese...”

Continuing our jaunt through November’s offerings, our next weekly selection had a piece by Sereaza showing Banjo, Kazooie, Grunty and Tooty mulling over a putrid concoction. Dingpot’s clearly not happy here with whatever Grunty’s cooking up, and Kazooie needs a bucket pronto. Accompanying this was a sketch of Spinal in his Killer Instinct 2 outfit by faco_md, along with a sun-drenched Sea of Thieves vista by DaxermitoArt. Let’s hotfoot it over to Ryan so he can give us the skinny:

“There’s a fantastic mix of old and new Banjo characters brought together here – we’ve got Piddles, Tooty, Dingpot and non-skeleton Grunty as well as the bear and bird. The individual expressions each tell a different story, and there are lovely touches like Tooty having to clamber up on a pumpkin. I’d love to know what the backstory is for this one! The sketch of Spinal is simple yet really striking, with nice stylisation on his angular, solid-looking ribcage, and use of shadowing and removal of line detail to push one arm into the background. And it’s fascinating to see how this Sea of Thieves graphite sketch turned into the final digital painting. Sailing into bright sunlight, the artist has really carried that light through to highlight all the objects and forms on the Sloop – very atmospheric.”

Bringing our November adventure to a close was a fan art batch with Sea of Thieves’ Ferryman coming to the forefront in an imposing portrait by lg_macbeth. Not sure how he got away from the Ferry of the Damned’s wheel, it must have spectral cruise control. Completing this art trio was insanedingo with a portrait of an incredibly bushy-tailed Conker, and a lovely group doodle of the Jet Force Gemini crew by FHPalaciosZ. Oi! Ryan! What do you think of this lot?

“Look at that Ferryman piece! It’s a big, moody image that’s very well put together, and the Ferryman being framed and backlit by that dark sun gives him a really eerie vibe, as do the ghosts in the water. Still, nice to see him out and about for a change! The Jet Force Gemini sketch is a lovely example of how to convey instantly recognisable characters and form with little detail and limited colours. Vela’s expression is perfect, and the moment itself is a nice, wholesome one of the gang chilling out between missions. What other characters would work in the same style, I wonder? Finally there’s Conker, and his tail is SO bushy! This has a great chalky feel on an organic textural background, with lovely colour transitions on the tail – I could see this drawn on a wall as a big chalk mural.”

With big coats buttoned up, we strode into December and were greeted by another week’s trio of fan art, led by this manga-esque version of Jo Dark by fujiimotion. Is that liquid metal armour? The R&D team at the Carrington Institute must have been busy. Completing this batch was a jolly watercolour of the pride of Witchyworld, Mr. Patch, by the artist known as inkywash – followed by a detail-filled sketch of Sea of Thieves’ Gold Hoarder by Soycha_Art. Ryan, what pearls of wisdom do you have for us here?

“I’m intrigued as to what’s going on with the metallic effect, it almost makes Jo look like a cyborg! The manga feel works well for the character though, and it’s a good fit for the time when Perfect Dark was made and that culture was taking root in the UK. There’s some good line work going on here, and nice use of half-tone. Speaking of half-tone, this Gold Hoarder sketch uses it expertly, really giving the image energy. I love the graphical glint coming off his gem eyes – it captures the spiky attitude of the Gold Hoarder with a modern design feel. And for Mr. Patch, lovely use of watercolours and shading. The slightly demented face and action pose (like he’s doing gymnastics!) capture his manic nature very well. Just don’t ask where that pump is going…”

Continuing our wintry art walk, December’s next offering came bearing a ridiculously muscular Battletoad courtesy of stalnososkoviy. We love that you’re really getting into the gym, Pimple, but please make sure you give those legs a workout too. Elsewhere in this set was a suitably festive piece by yoshiyoshi700, showing Conker and Berri at the Cock and Plucker Christmas do, along with OzurianArt’s sketch of a certain pirate with a nose for Sea of Thieves lore. Let’s go to Ryan’s Art Corner for his impressions of these three pieces:

“I love this stylisation of Pimple with its grungy, sketchy marks. The tiny head, huge back muscles and foreshortening on the approaching fist work together really well – you’re going to feel that punch! Would love to see the rest of the ’Toads in this style. For the pirate portrait, this style might seem simple but it effectively captures the wear and tear and asymmetry of Sea of Thieves’ aesthetic, flicks of the digital brush suggesting shadows and texture on the beard and clothes. And player characters are just as important as NPCs! Finally, this rendition of Conker and Berri not only gives us Christmas versions of the characters but situates them in an actual Christmas moment. It feels like just one scene from a much bigger party – if there’s a follow-up image for next year, we’d love to see what other characters are getting up to!”

As the sound of jingle bells grew ever louder, we approached our penultimate fan art selection for 2021, led by this serene depiction of a Horstachio by Fan Art Friday regular Banana_Meteor. We wonder what this Piñata’s thinking about – hopefully not being beaten by rowdy children, hungry for candy. Rounding out this batch was a Jekyll and Hyde-esque pirate drawn by LeftyFlow, along with a distinctly ’80s depiction of Banjo and Kazooie by fasildouglas. If we ask nicely, we reckon Ryan will tell us what he thinks of all these:

“Well, isn’t this lovely. Such a serene take on a Horstachio – the use of natural media adds a softness to the image which combines perfectly with the peaceful expression and pose. It all fits together nicely, with nice use of white within it to pull out the form. The ’80s-style Banjo and Kazooie really made me laugh. Such a unique take on the bear and bird, full of style and attitude in the details – Banjo is looking hench, while Kazooie’s big hair and necklace really add to the retro characterisation. I’d love to see how Bottles looks in this universe! As for the pirate portrait, I always love to see a bit of storytelling within an image and here it’s the Bonechiller lurking in the background, clearly with some evil plot in mind. Great to see players enjoying his design enough to include him in artwork alongside their own pirates.”

And so we reached our final fan art selection for 2021, and it would have been rude not to lead with a Christmas-themed piece. Bringing with him the gift of two other pieces of fan art was Captain Claus himself, as depicted by Celi_arts. With a sack laden with goodies, an elf (holding the Orb, no less) and a naughty list as long as our release notes, we reckon he had a long night of Slooping ahead of him. And what were the two other gifts under the tree? A sketch of Conker complete with cash by Tavart90, and Beckimation’s depiction of Kameo taking on Old Mawood. Well Ryan, would you rate 2021’s final pieces as naughty or nice?

“This is a brilliantly artistic interpretation of what Santa would look like in Sea of Thieves’ world! There’s so much detail with all the trinkets in his sack, the elf and their naughty list, the moonlight catching on his beard and hair… I know want to know what pirates get if they’re on the naughty list. Does the Bonechiller come to visit? For Conker, this is a really interesting stylised take with the bold orange rectangle giving it a very graphical read, and clever details like how light is suggested along the rim of the helmet. Not sure that’s an ordinary cigarette he’s puffing on though… Finally, always nice to see Kameo getting some love! An action shot like this with some thought put into the storytelling is just the sort of thing that gets used as key art. I like the loose and not overly rendered style, and the use of foreground highlights to make Old Mawood’s hand pop out. Good job!”

That’s a lot of art! Thanks as always to Ryan for his time, and to all you talented artists for sending your fan art in throughout the entirety of 2021. The search has already begun anew as 2022 rolls on – please continue to tag us on whatever social media platform you use so that we can add your etchings to the pile. 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!