By [DE]Sam - Sam Chipera & [DE]Charly

Techrot Encore is our biggest Echoes Update, between new weapon chases, reworks and QoL - but it wouldn’t be complete without many an artist’s touch.

With this Update, we’re bringing five more Community-designed Warframe Glyphs with Community Art Pack III, featuring the creative insight from the artists themselves!

Mura Casardis (He/Him) - Saryn

First up - Mura Casardis, with his Saryn Glyph! Can you give us an introduction and what you like most about Warframe?

“I'm an artist with a penchant for inkwork, and a huge love towards Warframe both as a game product as well as an artistic work.”

“The thing that attracted me to the game almost 12 years ago was its art direction. The strangeness of its techno-organic designs is often a hit or miss for people, and for me it was absolutely a hit.”

Plus, techno-organic is of all-time relevance to Encore! And the organic, biohazard Warframe of Saryn is represented beautifully - how did your style inform how you made Saryn’s Glyph?

“I often think of my style as controlled chaos. I intentionally omit or add details in order to suggest shapes, or even leave pencil marks to add grittiness.”

I can feel it! Your controlled chaos blends fantastically, but how would you describe the pop it brings?

“Saryn's design, inspired by fungi, snakes and other organic elements, allowed this ‘controlled chaos’ to shine naturally while emphasizing her original model's existing details.”

Speaking of fungi and snakes, what other elements of Saryn spoke to you?

“I think Saryn strikes a perfect balance between beauty and revulsion. While she has traditionally attractive elements, it's often juxtaposed with organic ‘deformations.’”

“This strangeness is exactly why I fell in love with Warframe's art, and Saryn wears it boldly with grace.”

Boldly, with grace, is a perfect description of Saryn. Thanks, Mura - Saryn enjoyers rejoice!

Finlaena (They/Them) - Wisp

Next up - Finlaena and their Wisp! Can you give us a snippet of who you are?

“Certainly! I go by the pseudonym Finlaena; Fin for short. I started drawing ever since the age of about four years old and have been posting art online for the better part of 25 years, and active in various media fandoms for about as long.”

Awesome! I’m keen to hear about your own personal style as well!

“The best way I could describe it: Baroque art mashed together with 90’s animated movies/cartoons, 2010’s comic books (mostly European ones), with a dash of late 90’s anime for good measure.”

With your Wisp piece, how did you bring Wisp to life in a way that represents her and your style?

“Lately, I’ve been experimenting more with bolder lines and colors, occasionally leaning on lighting that isn’t as dramatic as it’s been in past drawings of mine.”

“With Wisp here, there’s a nice balance of all of these and to be honest, it’s given me a major boost of inspiration to use this approach in drawings going forward!”

What else about Wisp helped to inspire your approach?

“Wisp is a Warframe that is very near and dear to my heart for reasons too many to get into, so I opted to lean more into attributes that I like; namely, her playful nature.”

It’s true; Wisp is renowned for her high-spirited feeling! You’ve brought the essence of this to life, in addition to some direct in-game referencing?

“Her Noble stance animation has a few cute frames where she is playing with the aforementioned sparks and she has a sweet giggle at the end: how could I not use that as inspiration for this glyph!?”

Wisp’s playful and sweetness have never been more apparent - fantastic job, Fin!

Vik Hayes (They/Them) - Styanax

Hello, Vik! We’re excited to have more of your wonderful creations in Warframe (and I’m incredibly excited about it being Styanax!). But firstly, can you give us an introduction?

“Howdy! I'm Vik / Cleo Naturin. I'm an Illustrator, concept, and 3D artist. I tend to dabble in a lot of artistic endeavors but I'm most familiar with Illustration, and especially Warframe-related content.”

With such a wide range of art under your belt, how would you describe your art style as it represents yourself?

“That's a great question, I would say my style is inspired by the moody, the dark, and the esoteric vibes of surrealist artists, Peter Mohrbacher is an example of an artist that has greatly influenced my work.”

“I find the surreal nature leans into the Warframe art style.”

Surreal leans into the Warframe style - some of the truest words to be spoken. How did this translate so smoothly into your absolutely striking Styanax?

“A recognisable silhouette was the most important thing to build my foundation off, with his portrait facing sideways I was able to show off his 'crown'. Keeping to the warm, dark vibes informed my final colour palette mixed with Styanax's own colors.”

What did the technical process look like when you built your Styanax Glyph?

“It starts with a sketch, a foundation to build from. Unconventionally, I start with a dark background and draw with a white pencil.

“With a layer on top I lay down the grayscale shapes to separate the forms and from there its rendering, where I thoughtfully paint in the fine details of the image, still working in grayscale.”

“Once the black and white image looks complete, is where I start adding a splash of colour. A combination of different types of layers and 'gradient maps' is what produces the final coloured painting.”

The warm, dark vibes bring his attention-demanding aura to the forefront like no other, announcing his presence - what helped to inspire such an approach?

“Gameplay-wise, I really enjoy his supportive abilities, having the ability to give teammates an absurd amount of Overguard to keep them alive really speaks to my type of gameplay style.”

I must say - you can certainly feel when a Styanax enters the field. We’re excited to get the Glyph into the hands of players. Thanks, Vik!

SpaceWaifu (She/Her) - Gyre

SpaceWaifu and her Gyre Glyph are next - hello! Like the others, can we get a small snippet into who you are?

“Hello! I'm a Brazilian artist that has worked as a freelancer for 5+ years! I'm a huge fan of the Warframe designs and aesthetics, which is something that I always enjoyed in the game.”

With Gyre, what was your creative approach for bringing her electric vibe to life with your amazing Glyph?

“First, I study the key features of the Warframe, in the case of Gyre, is that she's quick, dynamic and with her electric powers, and after that I added my touch to give her some personality! A mix of dancer and electricity! Like a deadly music box doll!”

With Gyre already being peak, your creativity elevates her to even greater heights! How did you blend your art style with what Warframe is known for?

“I think my art style is a mixture of my cartoon and anime influences I had growing up, so the Gyre Glyph is also a mixture of something cute at the same time being something that keeps the Warframe vibes!”

“Electric powers and strong characters are very prevalent in our video game media, so I wanted to combine this feel with a feminine touch!”

Agreed! And you’ve done this to a T - great work!

Voli - Dante

It’s Dante time - with Voli! Like the others, can you introduce yourself before we delve into your fantastic Glyph?

“Hello! I am Voli, I am an ex-engineer, as well currently a game designer and digital artist.”

“I have been drawing Warframe for almost 7 years now, it is one of my favorite topics to draw, superglued to the aesthetics of the world. Nothing is quite like it, especially the Corpus structures, vehicles, spaceships, and other factions.”

Amazing! And how did your art style guide your way to making Dante look as if he’s personally handing me some Overguard?

“Dante leviates around the place with his right hand bent. That gave me an idea, “What if he was approaching us… menacingly?’”

“Due to my background in design and engineering, I was trained to draw objects with precision lines and edges, subconsciously also bleed into my casual art style. I had to find what made Dante...Dante. Dante’s massive hood and ‘beard’ is part of his silhouette, so that has to be included.”

What did the creative process look like?

“Tried out a few poses with pencil sketches first, then roughly patch it with some markers or paint to get a general light set up for the character, testing if the pose works in favor of the initial idea. Last but not least, I added colors on top of the existing light and shadow mock-up from earlier...making sure everything works.”

“‘Ta-da! You are a wizard, Dante!’”

What other elements of the Warframe spoke out to you, and why?

“There are so many things I can talk about Dante, but the most outstanding part has to be his face. A very mysterious appearance, but thematically correct, fitting to lore and unique among Warframes.”

“Dante’s “face”, in my interpretation, consists of a crown piece on top of his head and extends over his “nose bridge”, and the rest of his face is like a super overgrown beard.”

Thanks, Voli! Dante is Dante-ing - a sublime job!

A big thanks to our wonderful artist for excellently breathing life into Community Art Pack III. You’ll be able to find these Glyphs in the in-game Market when Techrot Encore releases on March 19th!