MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The internet has been a wonderful home for fan art or fan-made artwork related to certain shows, books, and any other aspect of the non-fiction genre. Online, we see many unique styles that redefine familiar characters and scenes – from traditional sketches, digital renderings, even ones that are translated conceptually or literally. Creating fan art is a great way of going out of art boundaries by adapting one’s own style from the original creation.
One trend we see these days are fan art created within the context of a challenge that has its own set of rules, such as the ones created by comic artist Melissa Capriglione.
I finally did it!! I've had inspiration/motivation issues in finishing my #sixfanarts but I worked through it. I'm not super happy with a lot of them but I learned a lot! Thanks to everyone for joining my challenge 💖 pic.twitter.com/Xf6kkUCz1a
Sponsor— Melissa Capriglione PREORDER Basil and Oregano! (@mcapriglioneart) April 6, 2020
Capriglione started the #SixFanarts trend where artists ask for six character recommendations from their friends to which they would draw in their style. To make the trend instantly recognizable, Capriglione released a six-grid template for everyone to use. Since it’s so different from many trends online, artists from all over the world joined, and took Twitter by storm.
Give me six characters from popular media to draw!
(You're welcome to repost this and ask your followers to give you something to draw too! And please tag it as #SixFanarts so I can see what you've done!) pic.twitter.com/Thuabm6dZj
— Melissa Capriglione PREORDER Basil and Oregano! (@mcapriglioneart) March 17, 2020
From the hundreds of artists who joined, here are but a few samples of our favorites:
1. Dan Matutina
Filipino designer Dan Matutina’s geometric style is instantly recognizable. So is his version of Sailor Moon and The Witcher’s Geralt of Rivia.
I'm finally done!!! Hahaha. Here's my illustrations for #SixFanarts. Apart from the Illustrations, I also made wordmarks and pictograms for each frame. L-R: Eva 01 Berserk, Ri of CLOY, Ultraman, Kags x2 (cheated a bit: Tobio Kageyama x Shigeo Kageyama), Geralt and Sailormoon. pic.twitter.com/nW6g0sBRHe
— Dan Matutina (@danmatutina) April 22, 2020
2. Rob Cham
Rob Cham, another Filipino artist, draws a unique lineup, with Spirited Away’s Yubaba and Kermit the frog in the mix.
Goro suggested by @toucan_party
Joe Exotic from @bvnnylvx
Yubaba from @alamangoes
Daisy Mae suggested by @asdchivijkl
Kermit suggested by @jscysbl and @nyajieee_
Kira Yoshikage suggested by @hyungniiim pic.twitter.com/n9YvA7Erts— frosty the snow cham (@robcham) April 5, 2020
3. Taki
Taki, a Filipino illustrator decided on an odd mix and did not leave his sense of humor behind as his version has John Cena. But you can’t really see him.
https://twitter.com/SARDIN4S/status/1251875561858838530
4. Rick Leonardi
Rick Leonardi is a comic book artist who turned this challenge into a lesson. In his version of #SixFanarts, he turned superheroes into citizens who follow the rules to avoid getting COVID-19.
It turns out my previous #SixFanarts submission didn’t include any DC characters. My bad! pic.twitter.com/1PwjkHLz6Z
— Rick Leonardi (@rick_leonardi) April 21, 2020
5. Professor Elio
Cartoonist and Professor Elio’s style made the scary-looking Beetlejuice adorable.
Give me another six! #SixFanarts pic.twitter.com/agXrsB4UoA
— Elio (@eliopictures) April 24, 2020
6. Alef Vernon
Alef Vernon, an illustrator and traditional artist used Tim Burton’s style in her version of the challenge.
#sixfanarts + Burton Style 🖤 pic.twitter.com/BqscR20WCH
— Alef Vernon 🕰 (@alefvernon) April 23, 2020
7. Elizabeth Yee
Elizabeth Yee drew television soap characters including Brooklyn 99’s Rosa Diaz, and Suits’ Rachel Zane for her six choices.
This was SO FUN thanks for the requests y’all 🥰 #SixFanarts pic.twitter.com/KB3lU5I3zy
— froot🍓 (@sadfruitsnack) April 25, 2020
8. Tasia
Tasia’s enchanted style came through with her version of Disney Girls. How could we forget Shanti?
#sixfanarts disney girls pic.twitter.com/U8rmBk8JCf
— tasia (@_tasiams) April 18, 2020
9. Isadora Zeferino
Lastly, Isadora Zeferino hit us with nostalgia as her lineup were characters from our favorite childhood shows. Even with fewer details, the characters are still recognizable.
nostalgia #sixfanarts is coming along, can you recognize all of them? 😉 pic.twitter.com/K68q8I1vlH
— isadora zeferino (@imzeferino) April 2, 2020
Even though the notion of creating fan art isn’t new, this trend truly challenges how one perceives six characters, not just one. With other people giving character recommendations, it’s not a surprise if the lineup becomes slightly unusual.
