Whimsical and sweet Warcraft fan art by Meebles

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You know, while I love seeing ridiculously complicated and detailed Warcraft fan art, there's something to be said about understated art. There's a certain charm and sweetness that comes with simplicity, and while a lot of Warcraft is understandably brutal -- we are talking about Warcraft, after all -- there's a whimsical undertone to the franchise that adds a different level of appeal to it. And when one forgoes the detailed and raw, one is left with the simple charm and whimsy that Warcraft is notorious for.

Today's artist takes a totally different look at Warcraft and reflects it in artwork that is infused with that natural charm and whimsy, without losing the essence of Warcraft itself. Druid Meebles of the guild House of Arathor from the Argent Dawn server (US-A) has been creating artwork for as long as she can remember, playing World of Warcraft on and off since the days of vanilla. Her artwork is infused with light and frothy charm, a far cry from the dark battles against the Destroyer and the Twilight Cult. It's a breath of fresh air, and Meebles was happy to chat with us about both her art and Warcraft, as well.

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World of WarCrafts: Hi, Meebles! Tell us a little about yourself.

I've been playing games since the original Nintendo came out. My brother and I played a lot of Mario together. Later I got into RPGs. I loved Zelda and Final Fantasy; games with an incredible story are my favorite. WoW was the second MMO I ever tried, the first being Lineage 2.

It took me all of vanilla WoW to reach max level on my druid and I took an almost two year break after The Burning Crusade came out. My husband convinced me to try it again, while we were dating, right at the end of The Burning Crusade. I moved to his server and we started up twin druids. He taught me all those things about specs and gearing that I never really looked into before. It was a whole new game once I had someone to play with and he got me into raiding. Although I'd been playing since vanilla, Wrath was the expansion in which I really got to experience all the game had to offer. Mists of Pandaria will be our third expansion playing together and I am looking forward to it immensely!

How did you get into drawing, and what got you into Warcraft art?

I've been drawing as long as I can remember. I really got into it when I picked up my first comic book. My best friend and I would spend afternoons writing stories and I would draw pictures to go along with them. One of the things I love about fan art is it gives you an extra level of immersion. When I draw my characters, I am able to tell a story that I may not be able to tell in game.

I'm hopelessly in love with WoW these days. I have too many alts to count and when I'm not playing, I spend my free time drawing cute, happy characters.

You have a very distinctive, sweet and understated style with your pieces. How did you develop it?

When I first really started drawing, I was inspired by a lot of western comics and the popular artists at the time were all influenced by anime/manga. From there, I went to school, learned the finer points of art, and started watching anime. I adopted the generic anime art style in the beginning, but my style eventually evolved into what it is today.

I had been drawing for a long time, maybe 10 or more years, and it just happened one day while I was doodling. I ended up with a weird bean-bodied, oval-eyed girl. I really liked it and decided to develop it more. It was a bit different than what everyone else was doing. It's hard to explain, but drawing that way for me is comfortable. I like the simplicity, the colors and the shapes.

So what's your method of creating art?

I always start any drawing on paper. There is a very different feeling to sketching on paper and drawing directly on the computer with a tablet. I do rough sketches first in blue pencil and then go over it in graphite, cleaning up anything that looks off. After I have a finished sketch, I scan it and drop it into Adobe Illustrator, in which I do all of my line work with the pen tool. When

working in Illustrator, I only use a mouse. If I decide to color in Photoshop (which I haven't done any WoW-related art thus far), I use a tablet. I then lay out all of my base colors first and go from there. I like to keep everything very simple; it's what works best for me.

The program I use to color depends on the look I am going for in the finished picture. I use Illustrator if I am going for a cleaner, more cell shaded look and Photoshop if I want something that looks more painterly.

What's your favorite subject to draw -- any particular race or class or lore figures?

I love to draw my characters, especially my main. Ever since I saw the original cinematic with the druid in the forest, I just love the look of night elves and druids in particular. I wish I could get that armor in game. But tier 11 is just as good! The feathers wrapping around the shoulders are just too much fun to draw. I also like to draw moonkins, for my husband, Beebles. There's something about druids to me; for the longest time, it didn't matter which side you were on -- druids stick together. I like to think about that when drawing.

Do you have any advice or suggestions for those that would like to draw, too?

Just keep at it, even if you think you're not very good and even if you hate what you're doing now. The more you practice, the better you will get. Try new things -- you learn more by going out of your comfort zone, and maybe pick up some new things to incorporate into your work.

I'm really very shy and quite shocked that anyone likes the things I draw. My husband has been awesomely supportive, and my guildies in House of Arathor are some of the nicest people I've ever met, both online and off. And I just want to say thanks for featuring and looking at my work!

Thank you for sending it in for us Meebles, and good luck on your future journeys in Azeroth!

If you'd like to see more of Meebles' work, both WoW and non-WoW related, you can check out her website, Shades of Silvere.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including arts and crafts, fan art, WoW-themed recipes, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself by emailing anne@wowinsider.com with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations.