Summary
- Naughty Dog designer faced backlash for art style of Stellar Blade’s protagonist Eve.
- Gamergate campaign criticized the artistic rendition for not being traditionally beautiful.
- Stellar Blade team defended artist’s rendition and emphasized importance of diverse art styles.
Earlier this week, Stellar Blade fan and Naughty Dog character concept designer Hyoung Taek Nam shared their artistic interpretation of Eve, Stellar Blade’s protagonist. They quickly came under fire for “intentionally making Eve look ugly.”
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The artwork was later shared on the official Stellar Blade social media channels, with the game’s team condemning fans who attacked Hyoung Taek for their piece.
Stellar Blade Team Defends Naughty Dog Artist’s Rendition Of Eve
Stellar Blade’s Eve has been at the center of the Gamergate 2 campaign. Those behind the hate movement have cited the character’s ‘traditional beauty’ as something every game should feature. So, when Hyoung Taek posted his first piece of artwork that didn’t uphold their standards, he was promptly attacked.
Dozens of comments on the art criticized Hyoung Taek’s style, saying he made Eve look “masculine and ugly”, and working at Naughty Dog only worsened things. The Last of Us studio, which has also come under fire from Gamergaters for including a diverse cast of characters, was also lambasted, with commenters saying that Naughty Dog’s ‘directive’ was the reason for the art style.
Shortly after, the artist shared a second version of Eve, which was more appealing to those who were irrationally angry at the first piece.
The Stellar Blade team also shared this artwork. But, while the second piece was less polarizing, it made sure to call out those who were unhappy with the first:
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 enjoyable point.
With Stellar Blade already doing enough to appease its audience, everybody should just appreciate art for the way it is.
Stellar Blade is an action-driven game from Shift Up, originally revealed as Project Eve. It follows the aforementioned Eve as she battles the alien Naytiba invaders, in a bid to reclaim the Earth for humanity.