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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.
World of WarCrafts: Blizzard fan fiction runner-up Saif Ansari
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. The Lich King may be dead, but the assault on Icecrown Citadel and its fallout will never be forgotten. Over the course of Wrath of the Lich King, many players fought their way through Naxxramas, explored the mysteries of Ulduar, challenged themselves at the Trial of the Crusade and finally scaled the frozen peaks of Icecrown to challenge the Lich King at the foot of the Frozen Throne. But what of those who didn't fight the Lich King face to face? What of those who paved the way, those who dealt with the bodies of the fallen? In Entombed, author Saif Ansari explores the lives of those who weren't warriors on the front lines -- the lives of those who quietly worked behind the scenes, addressing the carnage and preventing as many souls as possible from succumbing to the Lich King's grasp, and the lives of those left alone and abandoned in the midst of battle to fend for themselves. Interesting? Even more interesting is the exploration into the link between Ulduar and Icecrown Citadel, a link many may have overlooked or forgotten.
World of WarCrafts: Blizzard fan fiction runner-up Marika Kermode
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. The new race and class combinations in Cataclysm raised a lot of questions and opened a lot of doors as far as the lore and story behind the new combinations. In the case of night elf mages, we were presented with Mordent Evenshade, a member of the Shen'dralar who ventured into Darnassus to seek the help of Tyrande Whisperwind. But how and why did Mordent make the journey, and how did he handle the chilly reception once he'd arrived? In The Wicked and the Righteous, author Marika Kermode explores just that with a tale about Mordent, the Shen'dralar, and the hope of an alliance. It's an interesting take on the scene that played out in the Temple of the Moon months before Cataclysm's release -- and unlike the scene in game, Mordent isn't left to eternally beg for an audience with Tyrande Whisperwind. It's a tale of two factions and the still-smoldering, leftover preconceptions from a war that occurred 10,000 years ago.
World of WarCrafts: Blizzard fan fiction runner-up Meghan O'Hara
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. What is it that makes a Forsaken a Forsaken, and what keeps him from giving up and letting go? A few weeks ago, we interviewed 2010 Global Writing Contest runner up Celine Taillefer, whose story In the Blood told the tale of Blood Queen Lana'thel and her place in Icecrown Citadel. This week, we have a story of a different kind, one that explores the link between Scourge and Forsaken and what happens when that link is broken. In the story Fresh, author Meghan O'Hara tells the chilling tale of once simple farmer Henry Walker and his development from mindless fiend of the Scourge armies to Forsaken priest. It's an eerie, well-written exploration into what exactly keeps an undead man sane and what drives him to continue waking up and moving on day after day. But beyond that, Fresh is an unlikely, strange and beautiful love story and a look into the interaction between the undead and the powers of the Light.
World of WarCrafts: Chocolate Celebration 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. What makes a proper celebration? Cake, and lots of it! Wrath of the Lich King introduced a lot of new content and a lot of new food, including cakes and pies that were designed to be shared. Today's cooking experiment may look complicated as all get-out, but it's actually incredibly easy to construct using store-bought mix and some secret ingredients to doctor it to perfection. Check out the gallery below for a step-by-step illustrated guide, and follow us to the kitchen after the break to get started with this chocolate masterpiece! %Gallery-121173%
World of WarCrafts: Sera's colorful take on WoW
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 fan art submissions for World of WarCrafts, not just because everyone who sends in material is ridiculously talented, but because it's fun to see different people's interpretations of what Warcraft looks like. Today, we've got an artist with a flair for several different styles of artwork and several different ways of looking at WoW. Sera's unique perspective on WoW looks almost as if the models in game were breathed with a life of their own. From the rich colors to the effortlessly detailed weapons and armor, it's clear Sera's got a knack for art -- something that comes as no surprise, given her academic background. Take a peek at the gallery for more of Sera's work, and follow us after the break for a few words from Sera herself. %Gallery-120504%
World of WarCrafts: Blizzard fan fiction runner-up Celine Taillefer
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 talked a few weeks ago about the art of fan fiction, stories written about characters in the setting of a pre-established world. Last year, Blizzard held a Global Writing Contest -- the second of its kind -- for fan fiction authors around the world to share their works involving Blizzard properties. The response was enormous, with stories submitted totalling 18 million words worth of fictional prose -- an astonishing amount of written material. The winner of the Global Writing Contest received a trip to Blizzard's headquarters among other prizes, and the runners-up received a ton of Blizzard books as a reward for their writing efforts. So what's it like writing a submission for a winning contest entry? Today we chat with runner-up Celine Taillefer, whose entry In the Blood involved the most unlikely of protagonists, Blood Queen Lana'thel, the ringleader in charge of the Blood Wing in Icecrown Citadel.
World of WarCrafts: Aly's whimsical Warcraft world
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. The Warcraft universe is generally seen as a fairly dark place. With Old Gods and evil dragons bent on global explosions, bloodthirsty battles between Alliance and Horde, and the Burning Legion knocking down Azeroth's door, it's hard to picture Azeroth as anything but dark. But sometimes all it takes is a second look to find the whimsical side of Warcraft, and today's featured artist has done just that. Aly, a video game artist, has captured Warcraft in a manner that's much less "war" and a lot more "craft." Her illustrations manage to be light, airy, and fun while at the same time capturing the essence of iconic Warcraft races and characters in images that are effortless and brilliantly charming. Take a look through the gallery for a peek at Aly's images of WoW, and follow us after the break for a few words from the artist herself. %Gallery-119557%
