Extra: Art Masters of the Miiverse

Mario Paint, PictoChat, Flipnote Studio, Swapnote – no matter the system, Nintendo has provided plenty of outlets for its most artistic fans to show off their work. The Wii U, of course, is no exception. Since the launch of the system in November, Miiverse has grown into quite the showcase for talented Nintendo gamers to demonstrate their art skills. Be it Nintendo themed or not, the Miiverse’s black-and-white freehand drawings has taken on a life of their own with various styles, techniques, and at times, straight up silliness. With so much amazing work to be seen, it’s easy for some artists to get lost in the shuffle. To help you find and follow the best of what the Miiverse community has to offer, we have highlighted ten of our favorite users below (in no particular order). Enjoy!

Eddie (Nintendo Network ID: sseddie13)
A 27 year-old gamer and anime fan, Eddie’s work focuses on quick, sketchy lines with dots added for shading. In addition to the Goomba above, Eddie draws a variety of subjects, including Zelda, Mega Man, Pokemon, and anime favorites such as One Piece and Dragon Ball Z.

Shea (Nintendo Network ID: macnasty)
Instead of simply drawing characters from his favorite franchises, this self-proclaimed “hyper Nintendo fan” goes one step further by putting the characters in new scenarios. A Nintendo Land drawing that poses Shigeru Miyamoto and Mario like Disneyland’s famous Walt Disney and Mickey statue? Check. A Nintendo cafe occupied by Mario, Link, and Ness? Check. A “Princess Panic” race between Princess Peach and Princess Zelda? Check as well. Shea also dabbles in various drawing styles, as best demonstrated by the line-heavy Zelda artwork above.

Nin★Nikki (Nintendo Network ID: PixelEater)
Contrary to her name and Mii, this user is not the official Miiverse incarnation of Swapnote’s Nikki. But thanks to her frequent postings, she may just be the closest you get. In addition to her art placing Nintendo characters in new situations, Nin★Nikki was also one of the first users to make true pixel art on Miiverse. By using the eraser tool instead of the pencil, she has been able to accurately recreate pixel-based characters, such as the Koopa Troopas pictured above.

Sandru (Nintendo Network ID: shanona)
Sandru is a self-taught artist who uses the structure of the Miiverse to her advantage. Instead of squeezing her drawings into a single frame, she spreads her drawings across multiple posts. As the above image demonstrates, this creates a unique effect when viewing the images on her profile page. Sandru’s art also has a very crisp look thanks to the use of thick, bold lines.

Natiya (Nintendo Network ID: Natiya)
Natiya may not be the most active Miiverse user, but the artwork definitely makes up for it. This user’s best work leans heavily on pointillism, crafting images of Ganondorf, Zelda, Link, and Mario (pictured above) out of a series of dots with only a few solid lines to help give the pictures structure. Other works include Mario chasing Nabbit, Toon Link, and a Mario Galaxy homage.

Mdk7 (Nintendo Network ID: IGN_Mdk7)
Hailing from Italy, Mdk7 is a big fan of creating pictures with inverted shading. Practically all of his drawings, including the MadWorld art above, are created by first coloring the background black and then erasing the drawing into the dark backdrop. To fit these darker drawings are subjects with darker themes, including art of Dark Souls, Evil Dead, and ZombiU.

Parish (Nintendo Network ID: Jeremy.Parish)
Parish gave himself a lofty goal. When not working his day job as 1UP.com’s editor-in-chief, he is completing a sketch for every New Super Mario Bros. U level as he plays through the game. Part of a long-form experiment he is aptly calling the “New Super Miiverse Bros.,” the drawings are designed to document his adventures through the game with clever takes on each level’s obstacles or the occasional pop culture reference. Parish wrote about his plan in more detail on 1Up’s Let’s Watch Blog.

ART1ZTK (Nintendo Network ID: ART1ZTK)
If you’re looking for something a little different on Miiverse, look no further than ART1ZTK. Based in Seattle, he draws startlingly realistic takes on the likes of Ash Ketchum, Bowser, Fox McCloud, and Zelda’s Happy Mask Salesman. Just look at those Wario and Waluigi images! They definitely stand out from the usual Miiverse crowd and provide a nice, albeit slightly twisted, contrast.

R (Nintendo Network ID: Rontrium)
R’s drawings are a sight to behold. Relying on pointillism for all his pictures, this Japanese Miiverse user creates images that look more like screenshots than drawings. Pixel for pixel, he has recreated classic anime scenes, Nintendo Land plaza artwork, game screenshots, and even photos like the above press shot of a GamePad running New Super Mario Bros. U. While many of his posts are in Japanese, he’s worth following for the images alone.

Myna (Nintendo Network ID: berioros)
There’s plenty of artwork featuring video game, anime, and cartoon characters on Miiverse, so why not celebrity portraits? Myna attempts to fill this void with her realistic drawings of actors like Morgan Freeman (pictured above), Tom Hanks, and Matthew Fox. She draws plenty of other things, including comic strips and anime characters, but it’s truly the portraits that set this French user apart from other Miiverse artists.

Looking for more?
There are a ton of great Miiverse artists and this post only scratches the surface. If you are looking for additional users to follow, we recommend visiting the Popular Posts section of the Miiverse’s bigger communities, such as New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land. The best pictures tend to float to the top of these lists. While you’re on Miiverse, be sure to also follow the Random Nintendo crew! You can find Jason under his Nintendo Network ID of JasonR and Jose under his ID of Weiro_O. If there are any additional Miiverse artists you feel deserve recognition, feel free to mention them in the comments section below.