Throughout 2020, we're celebrating Remedy Entertainment's 25th anniversary with the community! We will have regular features looking back across their entire catalogue from Death Rally to CrossFire X, with each title or live-action series getting their own dedicated month. For February, we're focusing on the arcade action title, Alan Wake's American Nightmare. We're also going to be using the hashtag #Remedy25 for all of our celebrations throughout the year, and we'd love for you to join us!
This past month, we've been focusing on Alan Wake's American Nightmare as part of our year-long celebration of the studio's twenty-fifth year, and to wrap up, I wanted to take a look at some of the amazing community artwork that was inspired by the game. This is by no means a comprehensive list as so many incredible artists have posted work across a wide range of platforms, but a small taster of some of those brilliant contributions!
Alexandr (Russia)
At the start of American Nightmare, Alan is seen wading through the Dark Place, calling after Mr Scratch who taunts him from the distance. The camera pans around, settling momentarily on a closeup of Alan's face, from the shoulders up. The scene makes an impact. While the studio had previously incorporated live-action into their previous games, it was the first time that it was used as part of the narrative. For his inspired piece, Alexandr took a frame from that introduction and created a new situation with a new colour-scheme complementary of the game's aesthetics.
The painting is just incredible. The first time I saw it, I thought was a great looking photo manipulation, it was only when I zoomed in and noticed the brush strokes on the hair and the soft reflection in Wake's eyes, that I realized what I was looking at. There's so much detail in the artwork which brings the character to life, whether it's the light reflecting a little on each strand of hair on the beard or the trace amount of lint on the flannel shirt.
Unfortunately, Alexandr is no longer on DeviantArt and no forwarding website is left on his page, but you can still see check out his wonderful portfolio, HERE.
03roku (Japan)
03roku is one of the most prolific artists in the Remedy community, having created over one hundred different pieces of artwork over the years. While they have many amazing pieces dedicated to Quantum Break and Control, their main collection has been centred around the Alan Wake series with a closer focus on American Nightmare.
You can follow their adventures on Twitter and Tumblr!
Mary / Evil-Owl-Loki (Russia)
Another talented artist that we have in the community is Mary, also known by her username, Evil-Owl-Loki. She has created some seriously stunning pieces over the years covering Alan Wake series, Quantum Break, and more recently, Control.We had the pleasure of interviewing her for the site back in 2017, where she delved into how she joined the community, explaining, "it happened on September 19th [2015] (yes, I remember the date because it was two years ago хD), [when] the game (Alan Wake) was introduced to me by a friend at the institute. I fell in love with the game with the DLC "The Writer" and yes, I still love this game. [I became a complete Remedy] fan after Max Payne."
She also spoke a little about what game, at the time, she enjoys creating art for the most, "the "surprising" answer is Alan Wake! Just [because] this game combines everything I love and so it has an amazing atmosphere with a great character (but yes, they exist in all games); I actually love all the Remedy’s games, just AW a little more than others."
Her work is always great to see and takes on so many interesting styles. There is definitely something Evil-Owl-Loki about all of them though; a distinct approach and an undertone, that is instinctively recognisable.
As a fan of Alan Wake, American Nightmare and Mr Scratch are both subjects that she regularly goes back to. She's brilliant at capturing the look and feel of the character, and really nailing those small qualities that make you go "that is absolutely that person". The image below is a perfect example of that where it has that Alan vibe but feels very much like a different character. The image above is also another one of my favourites and a slight (but interesting!) departure from her portfolio, exploring the character's personas as drinks.
Terry / GattoBamBoom (Russia)
Terry, also known online by his username, GattoBamBoom (or Gatto for short), is a brilliant artist based in Russia. For the past five years, Terry has been treating fans to gorgeous pieces of artwork inspired by the Alan Wake series, created in his brilliant and unique style. His creations have captured the interest of a strong audience with over 7500 followers in VK, almost 1500 on Twitter, and over 800 on Instagram.During that time, his style has grown; the pieces have become bolder, the light catches the characters in an enthralling way, highlighting their outline and providing more realism. His Alan Wake's American Nightmare pieces are particularly special and the image below is one of my favourites. Terry's careful use of lineart and his impressive use of complementary colours works so well with it, and the contrast between with the dull red neon light and dark teal really adds to the piece.
You can follow Terry on Tumblr, VK, Twitter, and Instagram.
Kaylin / UDontNoJak (USA)
In late October 2017, we featured Kaylin's impressive American Nightmare cosplay which came with a fun Minecraft twist.
For the spotlight, we had the opportunity to talk to her about her work and how started to blend franchises together to create something special. "My favorite holiday is definitely Halloween, because I always dress up every year for the event. Especially when I was little, I would always want to dress up in a costume. At first, I dressed up in simple costumes, from being a werewolf using a mask and plaid shirt, to an alien using a large cover with a black cloak. However, as I became more inspired to craft pieces of my own costume, I branched out toward cosplaying as more specific characters with a Minecraft mash-up, such as Nick from Left 4 Dead 2, John Constantine from the TV-show Constantine, the Tamed Wolf from Minecraft, Vault-boy from Fallout 4, Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and finally Alan Wake from Alan Wake’s American Nightmare."
You can read our full interview with Kaylin, HERE! Or check out her DeviantArt page, HERE!
[UPDATED: Kaylin had closed down the DeviantArt page that we previously listed, but since this article was posted, we've tracked down her new account which features more American Nightmare photos. The link above has been changed to that new DeviantArt profile.]
Fraser was also our Community Spotlight for August 2018 and, for the post, we mainly focused on his Quantum Break work as he had created several wonderful pieces dedicated to the game around that time. However, he actually joined the fandom much earlier, "Funnily enough, I was around pre-Quantum Break, but as much as I drew Alan Wake artwork it got scrapped or deleted or laid in my sketchbook for forever to be forgotten. In Alan Wake, it was the characters, the scenery, and overall aesthetic, the feeling the story gave me and the story’s beauty that really dragged me in."
A lot of the pieces that he has published since has focused on Mr Scratch in his American Nightmare style, and the rivalry between the two Wakes. The photo above is a fairly recent addition and comes with an alternative, slightly bloodier copy available on his Tumblr. In our conversation, Fraser revealed that both Alan and Scratch are his favourite characters, and it's something which really comes through in the artwork; they're brilliantly designed but also clearly lovingly created by someone who really gets the characters.
Fraser is a really great guy, so make sure to check out his work on Tumblr. He's also on Twitter at @fraserbitme
While I didn't know it at the time, I had written about Kristy's first piece of artwork for the community as part of a fortnight-long celebration of artists in the fandom. Since then she has branched out, creating stunning pieces of artwork and, quite-rightly, catching the attention of both Remedy and Microsoft.
If you have checked out the Alan Wake Facebook page following the launch of American Nightmare, there's a good chance that you would have seen her work. In March 2013, the developers spotlighted her work on the series Facebook page. Her work continues to grow and evolve, and she's an artist clearly unafraid of experimenting with new styles and new techniques; it's something that I especially love seeing in her work! The image above is one of two pieces that were featured during this time, but a small selection of her portfolio. You can check out her Facebook page, HERE!
At the time, I commented on his absolute stage presence in the shots; he does a great job at encapsulating the relaxed and smug but menacing persona of the character, and that still holds true. He absolutely aces the look. Prior to his Mr Scratch photoshoot, he also cosplayed as Alan Wake, both in his original style and his American Nightmare look. While all of his photoshoots are incredible, there's something about the Mr Scratch images that just really clicks; he gets the portrayal of the character perfectly, and completes it with a set that really adds to the pieces.
Unfortunately, Nathan is another name who has since moved on to newer platforms and tracking him down again has been tricky, but we hope that he continued cosplaying! While he's not as active on Deviant Art anymore, you can check out his cosplaying portfolio, HERE!
For her cosplay, she creates a Minecraft themed head and props while staying surprisingly true to the original look and feel to the items. The rest of the cosplay is assembled as a normal cosplay would be; finding the clothes that mirror the look of the game, complete with flannel shirt and brown boots.
For Kaylin, basing a cosplay around the arcade game felt like a natural choice, "the Alan Wake’s American Nightmare game was even more impressive, wherein, it felt new and the graphics had improved greatly, but the game stuck true to the original storytelling from the first Alan Wake game. Mr. Scratch was a fun and extremely dark character to meet during the game; I loved the idea of using live-action video of Ilkka Villi as Mr. Scratch throughout the second game. The way his character follows Alan around, and threatens him during the different scenes is a great addition to the game. He is a dark, but charming character that I immediately liked; he plays the role of an evil villain very well...So, I officially became an Alan Wake fan in 2012, and I still love the series today!" The result is a look that is so charming and lighthearted but really captures that Alan Wake vibe. I really love it!
[UPDATED: Kaylin had closed down the DeviantArt page that we previously listed, but since this article was posted, we've tracked down her new account which features more American Nightmare photos. The link above has been changed to that new DeviantArt profile.]
Fraser (Lithuania)
We couldn't have an American Nightmare fan art collection without the ever-brilliant Fraser.Fraser was also our Community Spotlight for August 2018 and, for the post, we mainly focused on his Quantum Break work as he had created several wonderful pieces dedicated to the game around that time. However, he actually joined the fandom much earlier, "Funnily enough, I was around pre-Quantum Break, but as much as I drew Alan Wake artwork it got scrapped or deleted or laid in my sketchbook for forever to be forgotten. In Alan Wake, it was the characters, the scenery, and overall aesthetic, the feeling the story gave me and the story’s beauty that really dragged me in."
Fraser is a really great guy, so make sure to check out his work on Tumblr. He's also on Twitter at @fraserbitme
Kristy / InvisibleRain (Australia)
With over two hundred pieces of artwork, Kristy possibly has the largest portfolio of Alan Wake pieces in the community.Alongside being an artist, Kristy is also a published author, having published her debut novel, A Modern Myth, back in April 2018. At present, she is working on her new book, Red Shadows, under the name Clara Wake.While I didn't know it at the time, I had written about Kristy's first piece of artwork for the community as part of a fortnight-long celebration of artists in the fandom. Since then she has branched out, creating stunning pieces of artwork and, quite-rightly, catching the attention of both Remedy and Microsoft.
Nathan (Canada)
Our final spotlighted fan is Nathan, who blew our minds with his perfect cosplay of Mr Scratch. (There's a lot of love in this post for that rebel!) Nathan was also one of our first Community Spotlights from back in early 2013.At the time, I commented on his absolute stage presence in the shots; he does a great job at encapsulating the relaxed and smug but menacing persona of the character, and that still holds true. He absolutely aces the look. Prior to his Mr Scratch photoshoot, he also cosplayed as Alan Wake, both in his original style and his American Nightmare look. While all of his photoshoots are incredible, there's something about the Mr Scratch images that just really clicks; he gets the portrayal of the character perfectly, and completes it with a set that really adds to the pieces.
There are so many incredible artists in the community and unfortunately we couldn't spotlight all the stunning American Nightmare-inspired pieces, but we wanted to do a special shoutout to some of the amazing fans and their work who have published in recent years including: AleooW, didism, FICTiVETRUiSM, MrTellur, dstorri, Cangsir, WackyJax, Gruvu, and Leesers.
[As a lot of the spotlighted fans have moved onto new projects and platforms, I just wanted to clarify that all of the artists featured on The Sudden Stop were contacted before their artwork or photos were published. I do my best to ensure that permission, with a description of the kind of posts and a promise to include full credit, is always gotten before the first post mentioning their work goes live. I'm always available at alanwake.thesuddenstop(at)gmail.com or on Twitter @TheSuddenStop if anyone does changed their mind though!]
