Reddit user Lalamyne recently posted their artful take on what a sibling, Mustard, might look like for Animal Crossing: New Horizons character Ketchup. While there are a fair amount of ways to achieve certain decoration goals using Animal Crossing's in-game assets, fans skilled in character art and game design can modify game assets with higher levels of control.
The success of Nintendo's cozy and cute Animal Crossing series is in no short part due to its vibrant color pallette, chibi-style characters, and high-customizability. The game, with six official titles in the main series, requires players to achieve in-game milestones that provide direct or indirect access to special furniture, outfits, and accessories for the main character's avatar. DLC and special events (often specific to real-world dates) give players an opportunity to nab time-sensitive rare items.
The existing game assets provide players so many options, in fact, that Animal Crossing fans like Reddit's Lalamyne are able to grasp the game's precise spirit when emulating its art style. Lalamyne shared a picture to the main Animal Crossing subreddit of Mustard, a fictional sibling they created for Animal Crossing: New Horizons character Ketchup. Ketchup and Mustard both share green patches are hair, and are colored red and yellow respectively - like their namesakes suggest.
A few of Mustard's traits accompany his picture. Mustard's birthday is July 20th- notably, seven days before Ketchup's (presumably in a subsequent year, as he is also listed as Ketchup's younger brother). Lalamyne describes Mustard as "lazy" and a "crybaby," but - at least, for his photo - he is sporting bright, friendly eyes and a pleasant smile. He is characterized as a duck, one of a few in the Animal Crossing series other than Ketchup.
Most fans produce art for games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons out of sheer appreciation for the content. However, art like Lalamyne's could be of high enough quality to serve as a vote of confidence in a portfolio.
Of course, art has also historically served as a way for people to raise awareness or air grievances. Fan artists occasionally use their creations to highlight elements they felt were missing from the source inspiration, or even find themselves combining elements from several popular games into one piece. These artists may find themselves reimagining series like Animal Crossing entirely - and may find they have game universes of their own to forge.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now on Nintendo Switch.