Being a part of a gaming fandom is great. You can choose to interact with the community by commenting in the forums, watching or creating streams, or talking non-stop about your favorite game to someone who doesn’t even know what it is until they’re either forced to play the game themselves or vow to never play the game as long as they live.
Another great part of having a wide variety of people being a part of a fandom is that at least one of them is bound to be an artist. Though sometimes that aspect can get a little weird (here’s looking at you, Sonic), for games like Horizon Zero Dawn, fans don’t have to be so apprehensive.
Horizon Zero Dawn, released in February 2017 by Guerrilla Games, is a post-apocalyptic survival game that blends hunter-and-gatherer tribe culture with really cool robots. A game so aesthetically pleasing on its own is bound to have just as beautiful fan art, and this article sets out to show you the best fans have created in homage to this game.
What better way to start out a digital game than with some digital fan art? Take this portrait of the main character Aloy by tumblr user shalizeh. I can’t get over how good the lighting is in this. Unfortunately, shalizeh doesn’t take commissions or requests, so it’s lucky she likes video games or else we would never know how good her Horizon Zero Dawn art would look.
It’s fun when people create a contrasting piece of work to its original medium. Take this pixelated Tallneck from AstraGalactica. Usually it’s the pixelated games that get rendered into a realistic photo, so it’s a treat to see the opposite.
In fact, it’s so cute, here’s the rest of the pixel creatures this artist has on their DeviantArt.
But if digital art isn’t your style, check out this Watcher by DeviantArt user BlackbubbleArt. The artist inked this creature with a pen and marker and captured perfectly the sinister yet endearing qualities of this little tyke.
You know what else is just as fun as realistic drawings? Comic book renditions. Take a look at Eleonora Carlini’s drawing from Horizon Zero Dawn. The splash of red in an otherwise black and white piece gives the same amount of contrast as the futuristic-yet-tribal game seeks to present.
Or maybe you want some crossover art, like this tumblr user created of Aloy and Ciri from The Witcher series, or their piece of duo Lara Croft and Aloy.
Yes, I have also noticed the abundant amount of Aloy pictures for this game. I can’t blame anyone: Aloy is a beloved main character.
But for those of us who want to see some other characters, here’s a piece by zanephiri of the Sun-King Avid.
Slaaaay, Sun-King, slay.
But art isn’t just confined to the use of ink and paper or pens and tablets. Cosplay is just as creative and worthy of spotlight.
Especially if they’re as good as this cosplay of Aloy.
Like, bruh. Are you seeing this right now? It is not a painting. It’s a production from duo Lina and Alex, cosplayers from Russia who own Lucky Strike Cosplays. They design costumes from a variety of different fandoms and have their work available to buy on Etsy.
I’m still not entirely convinced these aren’t paintings.
But Lucky Strike aren’t the only cosplayers on the Horizon Zero Dawn horizon. Here’s Kamui Cosplay who also created an Aloy cosplay, but with different armor.
Seeing something so beautifully crafted always makes me wonder if I’ll ever amount to anything so inspiring in my life.
It’s true: this game is so beautiful, and people are so talented, it’s sometimes hard to tell what’s a screenshot and what’s fan art. For those who need more, you can buy The Art of Horizon Zero Dawn on Amazon at a listed price of $39.95, put together by Guerrilla Games, and enjoy being in a fandom that is as passionate about art as you are.
