Critical Role Fan Art Critical Role Fan Art Snugglelord
Curator's Note
(This artwork has been shared with permission! See the original here: https://twitter.com/shrugsinchinese/condition/1433876852205096967)
On September 3rd, 2021, Critical Office fanartist Shrugs posted the image higher up, with the caption "Essek Thelyss joins the CriticalRole: Mighty Nein Origins graphic novel lineup! Shown, the total cover past creative person @shrugsinchinese. Available for pre-order at present: https://bit.ly/3ByiAW6."
With this stunning piece of fanart, Shrugs draws from Critical Function fandom iconography – or, "a small pool of recognizable visual elements that fan artists then use to indicate the image'south subject thing or a specific reading" (Nielsen 277) – regarding a beloved non-player graphic symbol (NPC), the drow magician and political effigy Essek Thelyss. Dissimilar the player characters (PCs) of Disquisitional Part, who are given "official" representations through art commissioned as overlays for the show, NPCs such equally Essek are rarely visualized in this way, but instead, described briefly and infrequently. This means representations of such NPCs must become at least partly interpretive instead of mimetic, and fans thus "adopt or develop" (Nielsen 277) recognizable visuals for favorite characters, making fanart "a genre [that is] by and large designed to be read" (Nielsen 274) by knowledgeable viewers.
The first fourth dimension audiences run across him in Critical Part, Essek is described every bit "Very handsome, caput held high," wearing a loftier mantle and night robes that "completely obfuscate" his torso ("In Love and War," 17:17) and with "very short, white hair that comes to this cute half-curved coif to one side" ("In Love and State of war," 47:56). Out of game, Mercer has also said that he "ever imagined" Essek's optics "a violet or violet-blueish colour" (Mercer), and the cast soon took to calling him "Hot Boi" ("The King's Cage," 4:07:54). From here, this character's iconography in Critical Role fanart has come to include the brusque hair, hit optics, and dark, high-collared mantle from Mercer's brief descriptions; in addition, every bit a form of "visual fanon" (Nielsen 284), it also tends to depict Essek with ear jewelry of some kind and some illustration of either his particular school of magic (dunamancy, which affects fourth dimension, matter, and gravity) or his human relationship with the Mighty Nein (whether as a guardian, a teacher, or a late-blooming friend).
Shrugs' artwork of Essek makes a item argument past combining this iconography with the visual markers of thecomic book seriesMighty Nein Origins, currently being released through Dark Horse Comics. That is, what fans are expected to "recognize and sympathise" (Nielsen 274) from this particular piece of artwork is the idea that Essek'southward backstory volition be revealed and farther explored (Farber).
While savvy fans can absorb this impression at a glance, thanks to Shrugs' apply of the distinctive Origins lettering and series championship, the artwork itself is also an amalgamation of details that can be "read" as hints of what Essek'south backstory might cover. Certain details are iconographic and pertain to Essek specifically, such every bit the nighttime robes, high drape, short hair, ear jewelry, and representation of dunamancy magic in the form of a wispy purple timepiece: as well, these details identify Essek immediately, even if viewers miss the pocket-sized font spelling out his name.
Other details are not fully iconographic, just tin still be read as references to what little is already known of Essek'due south backstory. For example, this Essek is facing a twelve-sided object with golden edges, from which he is drawing that magical timepiece: this will be recognizable to fan-viewers equally a partially-dismantled "beacon" -- a magical object Essek is fascinated with -- and its appearance here recollects official fine art such as constitute on the cover of Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. Also, in facing this beacon, Essek has his back turned to a set of stained-glass windows, which suggest the power and religious connotations of the drow dynasty he supposedly serves. Set up against these windows, Essek makes for a dramatic silhouette, merely he has also quite literally turned his back on something of his people and their beliefs. Shrugs' inclusion of such details thus plays with the thought that an Essek-focused Origins story would delve into sure events of this character's life before he met the Mighty Nein.
Shrugs' inclusion of a Bitly link in their caption is another clever reference, playing on fan-viewers' expectations for a preorder page. This shortened link, notwithstanding, directs viewers to the pop "Essek Supercut 1," a three-hr fan-created video collecting this character'southward appearances from the get-go 18 episodes subsequently his introduction. So fans could obtainmore data on Essek's backstory here, just that would come from a fan collation of existing cloth, not new fabric in an adaptation.
Shrugs' fanart thus demonstrates how fandom iconography can be expanded and recombined to create additional layers of meaning that draw on fans' knowledge and appreciation of under-depicted characters.
Works Cited
Critical Office. "In Love and War" (Campaign 2, Episode 57). YouTube, eight April 2019, https://www.youtube.com/lookout man?v=fUfCP184L0I.
----. "The Rex's Cage" (Campaign 2, Episode 69). YouTube, i July 2019, https://world wide web.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj5wImPuG-chiliad.
Farber, Christina. "HYPE: Introducing The Mighty Nein Origins, Our Original New Graphic Novel Serial with Dark Horse Comics!" CritRole.com, 10 October 2020, https://critrole.com/hype-introducing-the-mighty-nein-origins-our-new-graphic-novel-series-with-night-horse-comics/.
Mercer, Matthew [@matthewmercer]. "I e'er imagined a violet or violet-blue color, myself." Twitter, 14 Dec 2020, https://twitter.com/matthewmercer/condition/1338618085486444545.
Nielsen, EJ. "The Iconography of Fan Art." A Fan Studies Primer, edited by Paul Booth and Rebecca Williams, Academy of Iowa Press, 2021, pp. 273-290.
Shrugs [@shrugsinchinese]. "Essek Thelyss joins the CriticalRole: Mighty Nein Origins graphic novel lineup!" Twitter, iii September 2021, https://twitter.com/shrugsinchinese/condition/1433876852205096967.
Source: https://mediacommons.org/imr/content/fandom-iconography-and-reading-critical-role-fanart
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