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World of WarCrafts: The fanciful cosplay of Svetlana Quindt
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. BlizzCon is coming, and it's already sounding like it's going to be a good one. Last year was my first BlizzCon experience, and besides being dazzled by the lights, panels, and sheer number of people wandering the convention hall, one of the things that caught my eye were the costumes. They were everywhere. I'd seen photos of years past, but nothing really compares to seeing these costumes live and in person. Every little detail that goes into creating an authentic-looking piece of armor is astounding. That said, I put a call out on Twitter last week asking for cosplayers who'd like to be interviewed, and goodness, did I get a reply. Svetlana Quindt may be a familiar name to some people and a familiar face for others. European fans of the WoW TCG may recognize her as none other than the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza from Darkmoon Faire: Köln earlier this year. Mind-bogglingly intricate and exquisitely constructed, Svetlana's costumes include both armor and weapons, running the gamut from Warcraft to Diablo and even Aion. And if that's not enough, she blogs about the process and even has tutorials on her site! Check out the gallery for just a few of Svetlana's gorgeous works of art, and follow after the break for more from Svetlana. %Gallery-131972%
World of WarCrafts: The musical compositions of Daniela
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. When I was a kid, I always wanted to play an instrument, but my parents couldn't afford to get me lessons, so I tried the tactic of teaching myself to play on an old keyboard. I never got anywhere with it, but in the process, I did develop a great deal of respect for those who can play instruments, whatever they happen to be. It's a lot harder than it looks! Today, we've got a musician who plays and sings her way along with tracks from video games, original song compositions, and parodies of contemporary music, to boot. Daniela, or Starwarspunk as she's known on YouTube, has been gaming for a long time and creating music even longer. In addition to creating songs, she also collaborates with other YouTube artists who remix her work with an electronic flair -- I love watching the contrast between raw version and remix. Dani was kind enough to sit down and have a chat with us about her musical background, her influences, and of course, World of Warcraft.
World of WarCrafts: The musical work of Katethegreat19
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. Sometimes fan music comes in the form of parodies or remixes of contemporary music. And sometimes we get covers of music from the game itself. Today, we've got the latter -- haunting and beautiful remixes of original Warcraft music. Katethegreat19, as she's known on YouTube, has been creating breathtaking covers of gaming music for several years now from Warcraft and from other popular gaming titles. Her moody and evocative tunes highlight a background with a Celtic influence and show off some serious skills with composition and mixing. We've featured katethegreat19 on WoW Moviewatch before, including her first foray into machinima with her Temple of the Moon cover. But Kate's covered a lot more than just Warcraft tunes, and she's got a definite talent for composing, mixing and creating original lyrics -- even songs that never had lyrics to begin with. Kate was gracious enough to sit down and have a chat with us about her musical background, composing, the process of creating tracks, and of course, Warcraft.
World of WarCrafts: T-shirts and more from Julia Minamata
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. Who doesn't love a good T-shirt, especially if it's got great design? I know I do, although my T-shirt skills lean toward clicking an appropriate link on Jinx and typing in my credit card information. Creating T-shirts can be a time-consuming process, but the end result is ultimately satisfying, especially when one has the skills to back it up. Today we've got a crafter who is particularly talented when it comes to creating Warcraft T-shirts -- but given her background, this really isn't too much of a surprise. Meet Julia Minamata, a freelance illustrator who is no slouch when it comes to art. She's worked for clients including BusinessWeek, The New Yorker and The National Post. Don't let the big names fool you; Julia's art lends itself to whimsical color and dreamy characters, something that works perfectly with a game like World of Warcraft. Julia's been creating Warcraft T-shirts, art, and sculpture for friends and family for years, and now she's sharing it with us! Check out the gallery for a look at Julia's Warcraft work, and follow after the break as we sit down to have a chat with Julia about her background in art, her T-shirts, and World of Warcraft. %Gallery-130282%
World of WarCrafts: How to make Lynnora's decorative Horde pendant
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. I love getting submissions for World of WarCrafts, especially do-it-yourself projects! Today's submission is from Lynnora of the Silvermoon server (EU-A). Longtime readers of World of WarCrafts may recall the name from a column on bleach T-shirts a couple of years ago. Lynnora's still crafting away and comes to us this week with a how-to for a simple project that anyone can complete -- a Horde pendant suitable for a necklace, keychain, or whatever your imagination can come up with! What makes this project so easy? Well, the materials to make it, for starters: plastic bags. Say what? That's right, we've got a new use for those plastic bags hanging around your house, a technique called fusing. Check out the gallery for a visual step-by-step, and follow us after the break for the full tutorial from Lynnora! %Gallery-129820%
World of WarCrafts: Lightly Fried Lurker
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. Cataclysm brought about a whole host of world changes to Azeroth's landscape, new talent trees to explore, and a ton of new quests and achievements. It also brought a whole ton of new recipes for aspiring Azerothian chefs and a bunch of new cooking achievements, to boot -- achievements that involve a whole heck of a lot of recipes for fish, which is only appropriate since a ton of new fishing achievements were added, too! Some people love fish, some people hate it, and some chefs shy away from it, as it can be tricky to cook. But today's recipe is one of the easiest dinner recipes out there. Not only is it simple, it's delicious. This is actually a special recipe to me; it was my mother's, and I have no idea where she got it from originally. But whenever my mother fried up fish, it disappeared in a flash; we kids could never get enough of it. Thankfully, the recipe was passed on to us, and now I am passing it on to all of you -- deliciousness ought to be shared, after all. Let's wander into the kitchen and make ourselves a fish dinner, shall we? %Gallery-129212%
World of WarCrafts: The musical stylings of Ember Isolte
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. Last week, we talked about rebuilding audio found in World of Warcraft; this week, we've got audio rebuilding of an entirely different kind. Rather than giving in-game music and sounds a revamp, today's guest takes modern day music and rewrites the lyrics to form parodies with a uniquely WoW twist. She's been writing and producing parodies for quite some time now -- Shut Up and Grind, a parody of Rihanna's Shut Up and Drive, was uploaded to YouTube on July 21, 2009. Exactly two years and plenty of songs later, the bubbly and ever-charming Ember Isolte is still busily creating music parodies -- for WoW, and for other games as well. From the incredibly catchy Ninja Raiders to her newest release, Boomkin, Ember's done nothing but improve in leaps and bounds. It's crafting of an entirely different kind, and we recently had the distinct pleasure of sitting down and having a chat with Ember about music, lyrics, ideas and of course, World of Warcraft.
World of WarCrafts: Sounds like a whole new Warcraft
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. Longtime readers may remember an article that came out two years ago, an interview with Ashram of Darksorrow (EU-H). Ashram was attempting to do something incredibly unique; he was rebuilding the entire soundtrack of World of Warcraft from scratch. Every sound effect, every song, every bit of voice work was meticulously redone in a video that detailed a journey through Stratholme --- a Stratholme that sounded completely different from anything seen in game to date. But Ashram isn't done with his audio journeys or his success, and he recently released a part two of sorts to the original Stratholme experiment. Titled Lament of Vaia, his second work features more voice acting, a coherent story, and an ending that had me clamoring for part two. Ashram sat down with us to chat about audio work, Lament of Vaia, and just what the heck he's been up to in the two years since we last spoke.
World of WarCrafts: WoW Eh? and Safe Passage artist Kelly Aarons
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. We've featured plenty of various artists here on WoW Insider, each with their own unique style and method of bringing their characters to life. Today, we're going to chat with one who has taken the fan art just a little further by bringing those artistic creations to life through story and art. Kelly Aarons should be a familiar name to those who follow WoW Insider's weekly comic Safe Passage, but her comic WoW Eh? has been chugging quietly along for much longer than Safe Passage or even its precursor, Byron the Tauren Rogue. Launched in October 2008, WoW Eh? started out as a wacky series of strips about an unlikely pair -- a fiesty blood elf paladin named Kissless and a gentle, nature-loving tauren named Cadistra. Over the course of a couple of years, the comic has transformed every step of the way, from artistic style to content. Remaining ever constant amidst the madness, Cadistra, Kissless, and their camaraderie through it all form the backbone of the comic and its story. We sat down with Kelly and had a chat with her about comics, art, writing, and Warcraft.
World of WarCrafts: Real-life WoW chef Niki Casselberry
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. Every now and again on World of WarCrafts, we like to include recipes that are real-life versions of some of Azeroth's tastiest dishes. These recipes were originally a column called Well Fed Buff that was incorporated into World of WarCrafts because let's face it -- taking an in-game item and creating it out of the game is a pretty crafty thing to do! Well, today we've got a chef after our own heart -- Niki Casselberry, aka Edenvale from the guild DunderMifflin of Anvilmar (US-A), chef extraordinaire and author of The Gamer's Fridge, a blog dedicated to recreating tasty dishes. But it's not just WoW that The Gamer's Fridge covers. No game is safe, as recipes from Lord of the Rings and Final Fantasy have also worked themselves into the mix. Sometimes sweet desserts, sometimes a hearty meal like the one pictured above, each food creation includes a recipe so those at home can recreate the recipes for themselves. An avid gamer, Niki was kind enough to agree to sit down and chat about her blog, WoW, and of course, delicious food!
World of WarCrafts: Very Berry Pie
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. You can get pie all over Azeroth. From vendors; as quest rewards -- heck even mages are getting in on the action. Today's pie however, is a very special pie. Full of berry goodness and with a crumb topping to die for, the Very Berry pie is only available in one location -- from a pie vendor named Chris Moller who lives in Gilneas. Being a Gilnean citizen, vendor Moller is not long for this world, and his delicious treats are only obtainable for a limited time by low-level worgen players. So you've got two choices, haven't you? You can level up a worgen, run them through Gilneas and buy a few stacks of these Very Berry Pies for your character, or you can simply hop to the kitchen and whip up one of these on your own time, without having to worry about impending forsaken invasions or rabid furry intruders. This recipe is intermediate level, though it does include a heroic mode that will leave some chefs shaking in their boots -- homemade pie crust, from scratch. Don't worry, even hard modes become trivial once you know the trick to beating them! So let's head to the kitchen after the break and get started, shall we? %Gallery-126960%
World of WarCrafts: Sculptural delights
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. Sculpture is one of those things that sounds like it ought to be easier than just drawing, when you think about it -- after all, you don't have to make a two-dimensional object look three-dimensional, do you? My sister used to mess around with modeling clay and Sculpey when we were both young, and I was continually amazed by the teeny tiny details she managed to eke out of a lump of clay. However, in all her repertoire of sculpture I'm pretty sure she never attempted anything like what we've got featured for you guys today. From an incredibly detailed troll shaman to an adorable moonkin hatchling, today's various submissions are a testament to what a lot of work and even more patience can produce out of a lifeless lump of clay. Check out the gallery for a look at today's sculptural submissions, and follow us after the break to see what can be done with a bit of Sculpey and the imagination to turn it into something more! %Gallery-126486%
World of WarCrafts: Darkpippi's Warcraft tunes
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. Some Warcraft-inspired projects just take a little bit of time and a whole lot of patience, while others take a little more know-how. Singing, however, takes a little bit from both and combines it with the need for a voice -- and today, we've got a golden set of pipes. While there's a whole lot of singing machinima out there suitable for Moviewatch, there are still plenty of musicians and singers out there merrily pushing out the tunes without machinima. Today, we've got a mage with a passion for singing and the voice to back it up. DarkPippi's been quietly putting out songs for well over a year now. While many of his tunes have been heard on The Instance podcast, his YouTube channel doesn't exactly have a ton of traffic -- I only just stumbled across his work last week when working on The Daily Quest. Needless to say, I was stunned with the quality of vocal work and immediately went about contacting Darkpippi for an interview, which he graciously accepted. Follow after the break for more with Darkpippi and plenty more tunes!
World of WarCrafts: June is an excellent month for cake
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. When putting together cake and confectionery posts for this column, I often receive feedback that the cakes presented are a little one-sided -- mainly, that the majority of them appear to be Horde or Horde-related. I can only work with the material I'm given, and judging from the submissions I receive, the Horde is a little more popular when it comes to cake design. Maybe it's something to do with the logo being incredibly easy to construct in baked form. However, Alliance players should be pleased and more than a little awestruck by the first submission today: a two-tiered cake in Alliance blue with the Alliance logo and wee little reproductions of the player and his wife's characters on the top -- all completely edible! It's a birthday cake almost too good to eat. (Almost.) On top of that, today we've got a selection of wedding cakes, groom's cakes, and even an edible murloc. Who says they have to eat us? Follow after the break for more!
Travels through Azeroth and Outland interview, part 2
We return today with the final portion of our interview with Zac, the gifted writer behind Travels through Azeroth and Outland. Today, we've asked about narrative difficulties, the dark parts of Azeroth's development, "fridge horror," and whether player characters are ultimately a good or bad thing for the world. You can find the first portions of our interview here: Travels through Azeroth and Outland: Forsaken narrators, MMO storytelling, and why the draenei are scary. Zac's notes on racial characterization.
Travels through Azeroth and Outland comes to a close
I've been pretty vocal in the past about my intense love for Travels through Azeroth and Outland. It's a five-year, player-penned travelogue that takes readers on an expansive journey through every zone in the pre-Cataclysm game. Over the years, it's attracted a lot of attention due to the incredible quality of its writing and storytelling. Not only does it have its own TV Tropes entry, but even Blizzard's taken notice, and we've gotten the opportunity to interview its writer. Even if you're not a roleplayer or all that interested in WoW's lore, Travels has an unsettling capacity to get you thinking about the deeper implications of the game's quests and become absorbed in the narrator's observations. It is, quite simply, one of the best pieces of fan fiction I've ever read and a hugely addictive story. If you haven't read it, please do. You will never see the game the same way again. But, as with all good things, Travels has reached its end. While Zac, its author, plans to post some story cues related to the Cataclysm expansion on his travelogue's forums, he's wrapped up the main storyline, and our beloved narrator -- a Forsaken named Destron Allicant -- is riding off into the sunset. I was lucky enough to talk extensively with Zac about what spurred the travelogue, how he sees the various Azerothian races, and good versus evil in Blizzard's universe.
World of WarCrafts: World of Geekcraft giveaway
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. Feeling a little crafty? Have we got a giveaway for you! We're giving away three copies of World of Geekcraft, a collection of 25 crafting projects sure to satisfy any geek. Organized by difficulty, this book features crafts paying homage to everything from Oregon Trail to D20 jewelry designs, including a WoW-themed tote bag designed by former World of WarCrafts author Shelbi Roach of The Bronze Kettle. Ever want to make your very own tribble? A Coraline sewing box? How about a quilt hiding a message in Morse code? This book absolutely has you covered. To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment on this post before 11:59 p.m. ET, Friday, May 27, 2011. Winners must be 18 years of age or older and a legal resident of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec). Only one entry per person please, and make sure your email address is one that you check frequently -- that's what we'll be using to get hold of you. We'll be picking three winners at random. Here are our official rules -- good luck! Edit: Contest closed, thanks everyone! World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including arts and crafts, fan art, WoW-themed recipes, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself by emailing anne@wowinsider.com with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations.
World of WarCrafts: Moonkin taxidermy by Cid Snook
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. Today's World of WarCrafts is certainly one of the more unique submissions we've ever had here at the column. While some Warcraft fans create art in the form of drawing or painting, and others create art in the form of sculpture, I think this can safely be called the first time I've ever seen art in the form of a taxidermy-style head carefully mounted on a wall. A unique piece of sculpture, indeed -- and the detail on the piece is absolutely stunning. Cid Snook, otherwise known as Masoret from the guild Vanishing Point on the Hydraxis server (US-H), is no stranger to Warcraft-related arts and crafts. In fact, her artwork has been featured on the official World of Warcraft website; one of her pieces was listed as a "tasty leftover" in the monthly Warcraft comic contest. So what drives a person to make a replica of a Warcraft race and mount it on her wall? We had a chat with Cid to find out just that. Take a look at Cid's gallery below, and follow us after the break for more from Cid! %Gallery-123969%
World of WarCrafts: Blizzard fan fiction runner-up Corwin D. Riddle
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page. Sentinel Hill, nestled in Westfall, was a zone filled with sorrow and conflict in vanilla World of Warcraft. Part of it was the harsh and unforgiving landscape, unsuitable for farming; but the majority of the conflict lay in the hands of Edwin VanCleef, leader of the Defias Brotherhood, a band of thieves and scoundrels that preyed upon any who were foolish enough to roam the roads of Westfall unprotected. The story of the Defias Brotherhood is fairly well known, but we know little of the events surrounding Edwin's decision to defy Stormwind nobility and take matters into his own hands. Defiant, a story by Corwin D. Riddle, explores the little-known origins of Edwin VanCleef's descent into one of the most wanted men in the Eastern Kingdoms. It's an exploration into the events that directly resulted in the Brotherhood's formation, including an appearance by Lady Katrana Prestor and the rest of the House of Nobles and their confrontation with the leader of the Stonemasons. But it's also a beautiful look into the fall of VanCleef, from leader of a guild of architects, builders, and engineers to the leader of a rebel band of mercenaries out for the pay they were denied.
Official trading card art gallery updated
I've always been a huge fan of game art in all its forms -- the walls of my house are literally covered in framed game posters, instruction booklets, and fan art. That, in part, is why I was so glad to see Blizzard update its Trading Card Game art gallery today with 10 new pieces of art. Whether you play the card game or not, the (now) 40-piece WoW TCG gallery is definitely worth taking a look at. This update includes Booty Bay denizen Landro Longshot, a gnome impaling an orc, and (ever a fan favorite) scantily clad women holding weapons. %Gallery-123401% World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.
