What a spectacular contest this year!
The dark and twisted imaginations of our artistic Vampires have seen an overwhelming wave of creativity, totaling well over ONE HUNDRED entries! The overall quality of your contributions warmed our undead hearts, and seeing your enthusiasm for terrifying monstrosities reminded us of the common kinship that really makes this community special. We are truly lucky to have you.
For this contest, the Stunlock Jury consists of Johan Wahlbäck (Art Director), Johan Aronson (Senior Concept Artist), Viktor Blomqvist (Senior Concept Artist), Johan Ilves (Marketing Director), Ruth Dominguez (Marketing & Data Officer), Jeremy Fielding (Community Manager), and Petra Lidén (Content Marketing Creator). After input from marketing and art, we’ve come together to pick these ten exemplary artists and their submissions.
Rest assured that it was incredibly difficult to narrow it down so far, and anyone who sent in a piece should be proud of their work!
Prizes
Before we get into the top ten, now seems like a great time to remind everyone of what’s at stake(pun intended)!
The Grand Winner will receive:
- V Rising Hoodie
- V Rising T-Shirt
- V Rising XL Mouse Pad
- V Rising Mug
- Three Steam Keys for V Rising Early Access
- Dracula’s Relics DLC Pack
- Sinister Evolution DLC Pack
- All future DLCs for V Rising
Two runners up Finalists will receive:
- V Rising Hoodie
- V Rising T-Shirt
- V Rising Mug
- Dracula’s Relics DLC Pack
- Sinister Evolution DLC Pack
Seven other Finalists will receive:
- Dracula’s Relics DLC Pack
- Sinister Evolution DLC Pack
Will the stakes(we did it again) in mind, how about we get on to the main event?
Finalists
The following seven submissions displayed awe-inspiring creativity and hard-earned skill in creating monster-first-focused works that we could easily see fitting right at home in the world of Vardoran. Though we only judged based on the image itself, many of these entries went the extra mile in adding extensive context for how their creature would exist in our gothic Vampire world and sometimes even included game mechanics and encounter details. While this extra work wasn’t factored into the judging, the creative inspiration clearly shows in all of these works and deserves recognition!
The names of each contestant are listed under their piece. Those who provided them are also linked to their socials, where they promote their work! If you like their piece, please go give them a follow and show them the kinship they deserve.
by Devin Manning
by Yuki Yamato
by Ayriphyl
by Maciej Wituski
by Daniel Bosak
by Nicole Moore
Runner-Ups
These next two pieces were hard-fought in the battle for the Grand Winner, and each one is a fantastic submission in its own right.
by Axel Björkman
Tristan the Collector
In this concept, we see a potential future for Tristan the Vampire Hunter. The details that harken back to the Vampire hunter’s design while evolving on the idea of a reborn, undead terror show so much personality and appreciation for this character that we truly love to hate. The cross and broken blade mock his former allegiance. His wide, slobbering grin is like a parody of his zealotry. Even the skeletons on his back are bursting with life, and the color palette is vivid and sickly to match this new undeath.
Overall, this is a very well-realized idea, executed with skill and passion.
by Hanna Hofer
Abandoned Gulppy
Here representing the more alien monstrous, where else would we find the Abandoned Gulppy other than in the Cursed Forest? This beautifully rendered amphibious horror fits right at home in the wetlands of Vardoran. The hand resting on the Ghost Crystal and the colors bleeding into the bio-luminous fins of the swamp native vividly depict this creature’s role in our dark fantasy world. It looks amazing! The teeth creating a cage for capturing prey adds a twist, tapping into a very human fear. The cracked tooth suggests desperate escapes are not uncommon.
Looking into those huge black, empty eyes, you know this creature is a manifestation of horror– a thing beyond reason, a monster, and a beautifully envisioned one.
The Grand Winner
It’s with great excitement that we announce the Grand Winner of the Malevolent Monsters Art Contest. Through well over a hundred entries from almost as many artists, this next piece managed to rise above.
With a combination of style, charm, technical skill, and vision, our Grand Winner quickly enraptured us with their monster. This idea is strong, unique, and yet very familiar. Its focus on one of our most adored and iconic critters brings new life to Vardoran and could very easily fit into the lands of V Rising as a V Blood with tremendous potential.
Without further ado…
by Sara Bardi
Skarlett the Pied Piper
That’s right! It’s rat time!
Certainly more monster than human, Skarlett hits all the right notes of dark and threatening humor that make her a perfect fit for V Rising. The expressive character design, the swarm around her feet, and the endless line of enchanted followers show a very clear purpose and direction for the character. Her filthy mane and jagged smile fit so well, blood-stained stolen and patchwork clothing that of trickster nobility. A rat masquerading as a leader of people, decorated in gilded cages, sporting her iconic and deeply unsettling flute. The layers of consideration and design put into these details communicate so much about the character in so many ways with so few details.
All of this is executed with a clean and distinct art style with an evocative color palette. In contrast with the wicked green of the flute, the bloody reds show a distinct separation between the character and her implement, taken, an object of power not of her own design.
It is truly a masterclass of character design.
Special Mentions
Before we finish, we’d like to highlight a handful of great entries to some very talented young artists! This is the first time we had some wonderful young vampire spawns submit inspired entries! All of these have been approved to be shown as-is and included here by their respective guardians.
We present to you…
The Junior Division
Pictured: Cool dudes.
Nightshade is a good name for a horse.
Two separate entries from one household! That’s a lot of talent in one place.
So special thanks to our impromptu Junior Division and their entries! Never has the future of our kindred bloodline looked so dark, which is a good thing, because we like the dark.
Finally, From Us To You
The outpouring of entries for this competition has been heartening and inspiring, and we would like to take this opportunity to offer our appreciation for everyone who participated once more! This Halloween season was a real blast, from our PvP Tournament to our Capture the Shard event, to the castle decoration contest, and finally, this Art Competition! We had a great time with this year’s holiday festivities.
So thank you. Thank you so much. You are all so lovely.
To keep up with community events, V Rising news, and more, visit us at our socials below! We’d love to hear more from you!
V Rising Early Access is available now on Steam!
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Join The V Rising Discord Server!
V Rising Tiktok!
V Rising Facebook!
V Rising X!
V Rising Instagram!
Lots of love and a pint of blood,
/The Marketing Team