meet-yuhang-weng-mmo-games-game-artist-of-the-year

Check out our GAOTY winner's amazing work!

At the end of last year, MMOGames.com put on a very special competition: The Game Artist of the Year 2021. We recently announced the winners and as part of our prize pool, we're offering our finalists their very own artist showcase. What you see before you is the showcase of our winning artist - Yuhang Weng!

Yuhang is a Chinese student studying Games Art at the University of Hertfordshire in England. There’s a lot that we love about Yuhang’s images, from the striking use of space, to the attention to detail, to the expert use of colour to illicit emotion. Yuhang comes across as a true perfectionist - often returning to old artwork and adding to it. Yuhang's artwork is largely based around character designs - each of which conjure emotions in the viewer; and some, as you can see in the Vampire Lord image below are conjuring more than that.

Below you can find some of Yuhang's artwork followed by a brief interviewing exploring their relationship to gaming and the creative process. View more of Yuhang's artwork by visiting their instagram: @yu.hang.art

"This is a vampire lord trying to use his heart to revive his dependents. I was inspired by the YuGiOh games - there is a vampire deck wherein the vampire duke is able to summon monsters from the tomb. I believe the background of the vampire drawing is from around the 17th century. Unlike most monsters, the vampire normally gives people the impression of indifference and elegance, so I chose to depict the character with a wholly black outfit. I then designed some brass-textured decorations to give a more retro feel."

"This is an Egyptian cat girl. Before I created this portrait, I'd already decided I wanted to use gold and black for its main theme colours. That's when the first idea of Egypt sprang into my brain. Cats held great cultural significance to the Ancient Egyptians, especially black cats, so this became the prototype of my character. The ears of this girl are very special, they reference the Anubis."

"This is a robot design, a re-design of Metropolis, and the female robot in that film. She is created by the villain and helps him to engage a lot of males. So the main ability of this particular character is charm. For that reason, when I designed it, I tried to make it beautiful and sexy. That led to interesting opportunities for creativity. Take for example the rabbit ears on the character's head, they not only make the robot look cuter but they're actually antenna - like a retro robot that needs to receive the order from the controller. I also added some brass patterns on the body as we know she is a retro robot, so its only right she gets some scientific style."

"This is a fox girl holding a glowing jade, the fish has been engaged to her side. I was looking forward to creating the stylized background for this one. I chose the Japanese style because I feel this kind of background is the best for eastern cultures. I made this girl as a fox because there is a very famous Japanese monster your readers may know, Nine Tails. I chose red and green as the main theme colours because this collocation usage is so rare to see, it will make the audience feel novel."

What's your creative process?

"Before I start drawing, I usually will look to Pinterest for some inspiration. Seeing other people's artwork always give me motivation to start a new drawing. I'll search for my favourite theme and when I design a character, I'll think about how to express that theme. For the vampire drawing, for example, the theme is sacrifice. So when I design the pose, I'll be thinking about how I can portray that character's actions - in this case, sacrificing a heart and blood to revive his dependents. Throughout the creative process, for which I rely heavily on Photoshop, I'll keep asking myself questions like this, answering them, drawing on canvas, and then asking another associated question."

What are your favourite games?

"It's really hard to say what my favourite games are. I don't play many online games, some of my favourite games include Monster Hunter, Splatoon and Animal Crossing. I have a PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC so I always play a variety of titles, it's really hard to say which one is my favourite. When I was younger I would say my favourite game was Monster Hunter. I was addicted to games then, but now I have a healthier outlook - clearly understanding that gaming is a medium of entertainment you can spend time on it without giving too much."

What do you enjoy most about playing games?

"I like playing games in my own way. After I learned game design in my college, I realized that we are controlled by the game designer. And I don't always like to play by following the intention of the game designer. Instead, I prefer to go my own way and go against their intentions. Like in Zelda, the old men require you to save the world and I just reject it. I like to explore new ways of enjoying the game wherein I refuse to save the world."

View more of Yuhang's artwork by visiting their instagram: @yu.hang.art

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