By Sam Chipera - [DE]Sam

With the release of Warframe’s latest update, Dante Unbound, we are starting a series of market bundles: Community Art Packs! These packs will focus on various Warframes and characters, with art crafted in the style of community artists.

We had the chance to talk with the artists behind Community Art Pack I, and learn more about their art.

Ritens - Titania Glyph

Introducing: Ritens

They’ve been creating fan art from the day they started playing Warframe. Can you speak more about your passion for art?

“I [enjoy digging] through old documents and preserving history for a living, but art is a hobby dear to my heart. Usually, I draw characters of my own making. I’ve been drawing since the day I could hold a pencil. My parents’ costly scribble-filled encyclopedias are a testament to that.”

What was your first experience with drawing Warframes like?

“I chose a Warframe whose design I thought looked simple enough to draw… and failed miserably,” Ritens said. “This unsatisfying first attempt was not discouraging, though. After all, it's been many years since then, and I’m still drawing Warframe-related pieces. It brings me much joy.”

How did you lean into the design of Titania?

Titania has a lot of whimsy to her, both in design and lore. She is a little fairy with a deep connection to nature. She’s perfect for fairytale imagery, and I didn’t have to adapt much when drawing her. I chose a stereotypical pose but ended up cropping most of the image to make the character more readable while allowing her to maintain a playful, daydreamy body language,” they said.

For the background, I chose to paint an improvised scene of Mathila’s farm in Duviri. A joyous place for a joyous Warframe.”

UpsideDownSmore - Kullervo

Introducing: UpsideDownSmore!

This Kullervo Glyph was created by the illustrious UpsideDownSmore! UpsideDownSmore has been focusing on full figures and background compositions recently, in addition to their College studies as a Studio Art major with a Computer Science minor.

“Since High School, I’ve become increasingly committed to digital art as my medium of choice,” they said.

Just for more context, UpsideDownSmore has been leading the Hollowframe project since 2021! By combining these two games, the project has been great at providing useful practice while allowing them to work on a long-term project, they say.

“I didn't really get into making Warframe fanart until I started the Hollowframe project in 2021. As a fan of both Hollow Knight and Warframe, I had the idea of combining the two games by drawing each Warframe in the style and themes of Hollow Knight,” they explained.

“Over time, I became a bit obsessed with the project as I added more Warframes, the project serving as immensely useful practice and something for me to work on over a longer period of time instead of just one-and-done jokes.”

And now, you’ve created a masterful Kullervo Glyph! How did you lean into his design through your own skills?

“Though Kullervo sports a lot of visual complexity with his loops of metal and twisted carapace, it all flows in very intentional directions to accentuate the immense intensity of his character. His chassis warps around the gaping knife wounds, and his one opened eye glares through the tangle of steel,” they said.

“I drew upon Kullervo's intensely vengeful personality displayed in both his lore and boss fight, using bold and sharp linework alongside an "angry" set of highly saturated colors like reds and oranges for Kullervo. I contrasted his colors against a green and purple background, which I arranged into a supernova-like radial burst.”

While they say it was a challenge, it was well worth it for them.

“Though it was a challenge, I really enjoyed figuring out how to depict Kullervo's directional details and surfaces and exaggerating them to further intensify his look,” they said.

CalamityDeath - Equinox

Introducing: CalamityDeath!

CalamityDeath considers themselves a hobby artist centered around traditional art, but to play specifics, lineart!

“To say my art is usually monochromatic is an understatement. Details in the lines became a key component of my art over the years,” they said.

They began their Warframe art journey eight years ago! Fun fact: their first Warframe drawings included Equinox!

“Over the years, I slowly learned to show some key details of the Warframes/other characters rather than try to render every single aspect of the in-game model. Shapes and key elements are what I try to show through my art.”

How did you lean into Equinox?

“I made it all-rounder, with softer shapes—that kinda occurs often with me. Equinox doesn't have the most angular shapes when it comes to Warframes, of course, but it has key elements that are sharp. With the twin horns and the spikes sprouting from the clavicle, I wanted to show these parts for sure,” they said.

Leaning into Equinox took stages of work and meticulous planning, but it paid off spectacularly to us. And, of course, please explain the creative process!

• “I went with different sketches at first as I didn't have a clear idea of things. I wanted to make the whole thing about Equinox shine: day and night, sun and moon, etc,” they explained.
• “First, I thought of displaying the Alignment system as a metaphor. Also, I really wanted to include the Yin and Yang in the whole thing, hence the lil’ wisps of energy around Equinox in the final design.”
• “I wasn't sure at first, though, during the sketching face: I wanted a broader, a round one to clash with Equinox's more angular shapes,” they said.

Kirdy - Revenant

Introducing: Kirdy!

Can you give us a snippet of who you are?

"My name is Kirdy, a digital artist. I'm a lover of drawing and making fan art. The art I draw is the Chibi Warframes, which I usually call Chibiframes or Chibis. They're my main and good art pieces. I also have some normal illustrations sometimes,” they said.

Turning someone as menacing as Revenant into a Chibi-like art piece can be challenging, I’d imagine. What element of the Warframe spoke to you when crafting your Glyph?

“My answer must be the lack of facial features; I love the design. And, fortunately, I can show the emotions or feelings that I want to express through the body movements of characters most of the time, even the Chibis too!” they said. “Letting a character become vivid without facial features is a cool and new challenge for me.”

And what were the main things that stood out in making a vivid character without a face?

“Before I started the sketch, I read the lore of Revenant once again and something that related to him (like Eidolons, the Sentients, etc...). Then, I took three elements from the stories: the Lake in the Plains of Eidolon, Lua in the night, and Revenant with his signature Two-Handed Nikana,” they added.

StudioCyen - Chroma

Introducing: StudioCyen!

StudioCyen is a self-taught artist who began their Warframe journey in the fall of 2014. How would you describe yourself further?

“Fairly versatile and full of curiosity and desire to learn new things, my art ranges from fun chibi drawings to illustrations in semi-realistic style to comics and graphic/merch designs. The visual aspect of Warframe was what first caught my attention when my husband introduced me to the game. I was so drawn (pun intended) to the peculiar yet oddly beautiful art style that Warframe became my first, and, to this day, only looter shooter,” they said.

What inspired your Chroma Glyph?

“I feel the Warframe universe is a very bleak place for most of the characters inhabiting that world. Instead of focusing on the pain and suffering, I enjoy drawing happier or quieter moments that are not seen in game,” they said.

So, it’s safe to say that developing the Chroma Glyph involved a warmer, more upbeat approach?

“I pondered which of Chroma's features stood out the most from other Warframes and decided the main ones being his pelt and him summoning it to help him fight. Initially, I wanted to depict Chroma as a knight with an effigy as his tamed dragon companion, and my preliminary sketches suggested this almost symbiotic relationship,” they said. “Energy wings from his effigy were present as decorative and symbolic elements. They loomed over Chroma, and their warm light enveloped him as if they were protecting him.“

You can find all these glyphs in the Market with the launch of Dante Unbound on March 27th! They will be available for individual purchase or all together in the ‘Community Art Pack I.’

Thank you again to these wonderful artists. You can find them here:

• CalamityDeath
• Kirdy
• Ritens
• UpsideDownSmore
• StudioCyen