Stellar Blade Dev Defends Naughty Dog Artist, Calls for ‘Love and Respect’
Unfortunately, the internet often spreads a lot of hate without reason. This time, it targeted Nam Hyoung Taek, the Character Concept Designer from Naughty Dog. He created a fan art for Stellar Blade and received hate for it. Everything about this and the reactions can be found here.
What happened? The controversy surrounding Nam Hyoung Taek’s fan art
It all started when Nam Hyoung Taek, the Character Designer from Naughty Dog, created fan art for Stellar Blade. However, the response to this post was very negative. Many people found the fan art ugly and disliked the style of the face and EVE in general. The image, which you can see below, shows EVE with explosions in the background.
Thank you to Nam Hyoung Taek, Principal character concept designer at 「NaughtyDog」, for this amazing illustration of EVE!✨ #StellarBlade #PS5 #Fanart pic.twitter.com/aL8QlXSts4
— StellarBlade (@StellarBlade) December 26, 2024
The image was posted on the Stellar Blade X (formerly Twitter) account itself, along with a thank-you message to Nam Hyoung Taek. The post garnered 2 million views and a lot of hate. Of course, there were also many kind people who defended the fan art, but we all know that negative comments tend to get more attention. However, for this post, the majority of the comments were indeed negative. This is why the topic has sparked so much discussion.
Shift Up’s reaction: A plea for love and respect
Afterward, Nam Hyoung Taek created a second drawing of EVE, this time in a completely different style. Although this also received some hate, it was significantly less than the first one. Shift Up, the studio behind Stellar Blade, also commented on this. They expressed gratitude for the new fan art but also revisited the discussion about the previous one.
Artist Nam Hyoung Taek has once again drawn Eve for us. We're very grateful for this, but we always welcome fan art in the style of the previous one. It's not uncommon for fan art to have more of the artist's style than the original, and we think that's a very important and… pic.twitter.com/mOnSwxV4Ua
— StellarBlade (@StellarBlade) December 29, 2024
Shift Up stated that fan art in styles similar to the first image is always welcome. They also mentioned that it’s perfectly natural for fan art to reflect more of the artist’s personal style and differ from the original, emphasizing that this is something positive and important. Fan art is about allowing artists to interpret characters or whatever they choose to draw in their unique style.
In their final comment, Shift Up added: “The year 2024 was a tough one, not just in Korea but around the world. We hope everyone chooses to live in LOVE!” They aim to promote kindness and hope that hateful comments like these will be minimized or disappear entirely in the future. After all, art is something free and individual, meant to be created in whatever way the artist desires or based on their skill level.
Creative freedom: Why fan art is enriching
Finally, let’s revisit the topic of creative freedom, as it’s a very important one. The artwork by Nam Hyoung Taek gained so much attention primarily because he’s known for creating characters in The Last of Us, and people are aware of his skills. However, Nam Hyoung Taek created the Stellar Blade fan art in his signature style, for which he received backlash.
Fan art reflects the thoughts and creativity of the fans. Therefore, fan art doesn’t need to look exactly like the original. Everyone has their unique style, and fan art allows individuals to combine their personal style with a franchise of their choice, creating something entirely new. Of course, opinions differ, and some people like certain pieces more than others, but that doesn’t make the artwork bad. It’s art, and art is free and individual.
Incorporating new styles, like Nam Hyoung Taek’s take on Stellar Blade, brings fresh perspectives and facets to well-known characters and worlds. Yet, the criticism from fans highlights how little the internet values artistic freedom. If it doesn’t look exactly like the original, many people quickly dismiss it as bad. But this shouldn’t be the case. If you’re a fan of a franchise, you should appreciate that someone took the time and effort to express their love for it through art or other creative means.
What positive contributions can you make?
If you’re a fan of a franchise and come across fan art, consider leaving a positive comment or like. Especially for smaller artists, every comment or like on their work means a lot. Even well-known artists appreciate positive feedback. And if you don’t like something, that’s perfectly fine. Everyone has their personal opinions about art and views images differently.
But that’s no reason to leave a negative comment. Let people create things the way they want, and don’t try to force them to change. Every piece of art and every style adds value, and I personally hope more people will see it this way in the future. So, here’s my appeal: in 2025, let’s all share more love with everyone.
Hey, I’m Kilian, but online you’ll probably know me as “Tux1243.” I've been part of the team for almost two years now, always trying to keep you in the loop with the latest and coolest gaming news. I also have a huge passion for doing deep dives and detailed analyses of entire game series and franchises. I love getting to the bottom of things and exploring the little details and backstories that make game worlds so fascinating.
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