Community Spotlight: RS Art Community

Top --> It's time for another Community Spotlight! Here we catch up with community space leaders, artists, and content creators that we think you need to know about! We'll learn all about the work they do, plus find out more about their time in Gielinor. We'll also round up some of the latest news, events and content from across the month so you don't miss a thing. Without further ado, let's meet this month's guests! Spotlight Interview Creative Corner Creator News Organised Chaos - Mass Chambers I'm Prezleek! I like to draw cartoons and comics, and once in a blue moon I'll make an animation. I've been playing RuneScape for about 21 years, and posting RuneScape art content for about 15 years. I am currently one of the leaders of RAC.

Tazim I’m Tazim! I make music, mostly on the EDM side of things. I am a server moderator for RAC, often working on server maintenance and technical issues. So, what got you into gaming and how did you discover RuneScape? Prezleek: My older brother! We shared a PlayStation One when we were little; Crash Bandicoot was our first game. I would enjoy watching him play, and of course as the younger sibling, I would want to do everything he was doing. I also discovered RuneScape through my brother. He has been playing since 2003 and when we were young, I often sat by him to draw or read while he would play, because we only had one family computer. One day in 2005, he called me over to show me that he had trained Strength high enough to hit 10s. He was killing guards in Falador and was so excited to share his new double digit hit splats with me. I asked him if I could kill one guard, and he said “no, go make your own account!” So out of spite, I did! If my brother is reading this right now, I just want to say after over 20 years, I can't believe you didn't just let me kill one guard! But also thank you, because I probably would have never made an account otherwise, the comics would have never existed, and I would have never discovered the community that makes up RuneScape. Tazim: I watched a lot of YouTubers play games that were really good. I saw all the cool things that people could do in video games, and thought to myself, hey I wanna be able to do that. One of the first games I got into was GunZ: The Duel and seeing people pull off insane tech convinced me gaming was cool, and that I could do it too with practice and time. I started RuneScape in 2015/2016 after reading a Reddit post talking about nostalgic things. A comment mentioned RuneScape, and I thought that was a neat name, and a few moments later, I found myself stepping into Gielinor! What are some stand-out moments from your time in Old School RuneScape? Prezleek: My biggest in-game OSRS achievement was completing Gridmaster with only my non-dominant (left) hand and no F keys, since my dominant (right) hand was injured and (is still) recovering. It was really fulfilling and motivating for me to know that I could still partake in semi-intense PvM even though I do not have access to the full hand dexterity I used to. My favorite in-game moment was getting a Bloodhound on my first master casket during my first League, which apparently was one of the few things that did NOT have a boosted drop rate; while I do wish this luck happened in the main game, I'm happy to have him and always look forward to seeing him again every League!

Tazim: My friends and I were sending a five-man Tombs of Amascut for a bingo, and it was a 450 invocation raid. My iron isn't the most geared, and I was hoping to snipe a purple so I could finally get my first megarare. My friends were much more geared than I, but due to the nature of any raid, things don't often go smoothly just because you have gear. I ended up being the last one alive with one more set of skulls to come out in the penultimate phase of Warden. I just remember my friends trying to make call outs to help me, and I just heard "Guys, don't worry. He’s got this.". About five minutes later, I clutched the kill, managing to keep myself alive on the last row, dodging lightning and boulders, and even managed to get a (dupe) pet out of it. Tell us more about your style of art. Prezleek: I draw heavily from traditional 1950s Western animation and cartoons, there's definitely lots of other media that have influenced my art style over the years too, but the two most prominent influences are Looney Tunes animations and Asterix comics. I know how to draw classically, but I get the most joy from drawing cartoons because I enjoy the physical comedy of it. I especially like exaggerating expressions and poses since it helps me better communicate my characters’ thoughts and emotions. While my content is often 2D digital, I still integrate traditional art at the start of my process through thumbnailing and sketching. Digital inking and coloring lets me "publish" content more efficiently, but there’s something so satisfying about the tactile experience of drawing with a paper and pencil. Tazim: Originally, I started off with basic digital drawings, but since then, I moved onto making musical pieces on Ableton. I ended up falling in love with music production because it was easier for me to take melodies from my brain to reality than it was to draw. My favorite genres to create are Melodic Dubstep and Breakcore. What inspires you to create? Prezleek: If I ever feel like I cannot express something with words (which happens quite often), I tend to draw it. In the context of RuneScape comics, I get inspired by playing the game, whether it’s a new quest, laughing at classic RuneScape Logic™, or remembering an unusual in-game anecdote. I enjoy sharing my experiences as a player and appreciation for content in a visual format. Tazim: For me, I always love to create something that helps paint a picture or feeling in whoever listens to my music. The look on someone's face when hearing something they really liked drives me to create more. San Holo is my biggest inspiration into getting into music production because of the beautiful pictures he creates with his music to spread positivity. Can you share some of your favourite pieces? Prezleek:

Post-Colosseum Cabbages is a piece that means a lot to me for multiple reasons. I explain in full detail here, but in summary, it was a way to express my gratitude to Mod Skylark and the OSRS team for adding my late girl Lola to the game in Varlamore: The Shining Kingdom’s release. It was also the first major piece I had made in almost a year after injuring my dominant hand. So not only was the subject matter something so close to my heart and weighing on me for so long to make, but it was also tangible proof for myself that my hand was healing and that I could still pursue my artistic aspirations despite more recent physical limitations. Also, aside from the Helm of Neitiznot, Prez’s gear in this piece is what my brother used when he got his first quiver. When he got it, he immediately took a screenshot with it next to Lola. That little moment was the inspiration for the composition of this piece, no words can explain how much this gesture meant so much to our whole family.

I really like A Snake in the Flax because it connects later-game experiences to iconic and nostalgic “noob” moments. I also love drawing bosses, and enjoy the general absurdity of the premise. This comic is also significant to me because it’s an example of how I enjoy engaging with the community. I explain more in this comment, but one player made a humorous Reddit post saying they were confused about bosses dropping thematically irrelevant and random items (such as Zulrah dropping flax). Another player tagged me and asked if I could come up with a comic around that premise, and the OP also seemed excited by that prospect. It gives me joy being able to deliver on these requests, and I love how it can feel collaborative with the community as a whole when creating a comic. It’s encouraging and motivating, and means a lot to me that people enjoy them.

On the surface, My Neighbor the Giant Mole is a pretty straight forward parody of My Neighbor Totoro, but I had so much fun making this piece. The Giant Mole is one of my favorite boss pets/designs in OSRS, and I adore Ghibli films, so it seemed fitting to have OSRS’s famous large rodent boss take on the form of an equally large famous forest spirit. Totoro has a special place in my heart since it was the first Ghibli film I saw as a child. In fact, toddler-me loved the film so much, that I drove my parents nuts with how often I wanted to rewatch it! My goal was to emulate a more stylized background for this piece and capture the film’s aesthetic and colors as much as possible. But I still needed to balance keeping in some cartoony simplification, otherwise my character would feel visually out of place in his surrounding “world”. I don’t know if I fully succeeded, but I learned so much by simply trying. Side note, I also personally love continuing a running joke of how my character will always wear a Helm of Neitiznot as much as he can, and will even go as far as item-switching in PVM just to keep his fashionscape (such as with Dharok’s helm in this case). Tazim: Eyes Cut Deeper (Dazed Remix) is actually the most recent song I’ve made after taking a break. I met someone who recognised my music organically and it inspired and motivated me to get back into creating music again. I felt really good making this one because it felt like a signal for me to get back into it. I heard Flute Salad and in a sleep-deprived, delirious state, I made this RuneScape - Flute Salad (Dazed mix). I’m sorry for the chaotic mess that it is, but I had an absolute blast making it. How did the RS Art Community get started? Prezleek: It sort of happened organically, rather than being built with intent at the beginning! For a while artists would try to collaborate in private group DMs on various social media platforms, but it was difficult to keep track of all the information along with notification spam. In 2019, a couple of artists proposed we make a server on Discord as an easier way to talk. It started as a bunch of artists in a generic public server with minimal structure. We began organising and building out the server as we continued to chat, exchange ideas, and add folks to it. We would add resource and feedback channels, art prompts, and other “server QoLs” based on what we felt our artistic processes could benefit from. We definitely didn’t have a lot of experience running a community when it was first made, but it evolved through natural growing pains, lots of discussion, applying feedback, and doing our best to provide support and resources for artists as much as possible. We are still always learning, adapting and trying to improve the server experience, but it has definitely come a long way! Can you share any stand-out moments that have happened within your community? Prezleek: The RuneScape Art Community really helped me maintain a sense of human connection during the peak of the COVID pandemic shutdown. We collectively spent so much time together in voice chats, both for artistic reasons as well as recreational ones. We would do digital figure drawing sessions together, but also play social games outside of just RuneScape, like Gartic Phone, Among Us, and Skribblio. We also watched a ton of movies as a group, and we still annually watch those same movies as a tradition now. Tazim: My most memorable moment I’ve had with RAC was when one of my friend’s loved ones passed away. The community banded together to create a collaborative memorial gift for them. It was such a beautiful moment of humanity. Despite only knowing each other through a video game, we were able to celebrate the brilliant life and memory of their loved one. That memory remains my favorite moment. Many tears were shed. What do you enjoy most about being part of your community? Prezleek: This sounds very cheesy and feels almost too on the nose, but honestly I really do enjoy seeing all the artistic content everyone makes. It inspires and motivates me for my own art when I’m around everyone’s creative energy. Tazim: The amount of love and inclusivity from quite literally everyone. RAC is such a positive space and anyone and everyone is always welcomed with open arms to learn more about creativity, RuneScape, Old School, or quite honestly, anything! Everyone is so lovely there, always supporting my path of creativity, in drawing, in music and so much more. Check out this animated collaboration, spanning 27 RuneScape Artists all flexing their skills. Tazim created the Rasputin cover music! How can someone join in and become part of the RuneScape Art Community? Prezleek: It’s pretty easy, you simply join on Discord! You’ll likely see a lot of artists in there with a lot of shenanigans and goofy nonsense, but also a lot of art, feedback, commissions, and inspiration. You may see a handful of folks who simply enjoy lurking and admiring art from afar, and that is also ok, there’s no expectation to actively engage or be an artist to hang out! What genres of art can people share there, or what can they see from others? Tazim: Anything (except AI generated content) goes! When I say anything, I mean it. We’ve seen music, sculpting, prints, sketches, paintings, posters, 3D renders, maps, writing, cosplay, animations, videos. Basically, if you can make it, it can be shared there. Many artists post works in progress as well to showcase their progress on projects they’re excited about (I have posted my fair share of unfinished musical projects). Prezleek: The server also supports fan art from all RuneScape games so you will see content for OSRS, RS3, and Dragonwilds. But that’s my favorite thing about the community, it doesn’t matter what game you play, we can always appreciate good art! Do you have any special events or activities for artists to get involved with? Prezleek: Every month we come up with a prompt for folks to participate if they so wish! This next one is revealed earlier than usual but for August, the prompt will be to come up with a wight-variant design or story for your adventurer. We have a few special events throughout the year as well. The main one is a RuneScape themed version of Art Fight which we are in the middle of running for this year, but we also have a RuneScape version of Inktober in October, and a Secret Santa art exchange in December! Sometimes we will do themed contests relating to major releases in any of the RuneScape IPs. Once in a while, we may organise a server-wide collaboration piece as well, such as parodying a music video, creating a group holiday card, or designing a RuneScape themed calendar.

What's your best piece of advice for anyone wanting to try their hand at art? Prezleek: Pick up a pencil (or your media of choice) and just do it! Try not to worry about overloading yourself with information early or stress about making something "good." Carve out a little bit of time, even just five minutes a day to just create. Use the time to learn about what brings you joy in the creative process. If you don’t know what to make, even simply building shapes and patterns and getting used to your medium is fine. Once you get a feel for how your medium works and find joy in just playing around with it, you can eventually expand to refining the technical skill. Tazim: You'll get better with time. If you're starting, the only direction you can go is up! I joined the RAC Art Fight challenge, I quite literally had zero experience! I never let that get to me though, and just focused on the idea of making something that might make the person smile and laugh. Is there anything else you'd like to share? Prezleek: We have a few more admins who were a bit shy about being interviewed but I wanted to at least thank them publicly; NYChannel, Sir Theodore, Vaie, and Artemis are the other admins not in this blog, but they all help so much in keeping things running and making RAC what it is and I appreciate them so much for all that they do. I also wanted to shout out Dagna and Enkoro who were part of the original staff in the early years of RAC’s existence. Even though they have retired since, they did so much to make the RAC what it is today. A massive thank you to Prezleek and Tazim for chatting to us and representing their creative community! Remember you can join them over on Discord or find them on X!