Summary

  • A Minecraft player used in-game shadows to craft intricate silhouettes that mesmerized the community.
  • The dedicated player spent 12-20 hours to research and construct the artwork.
  • The shadow-based art generated over 16K upvotes and garnered praise on Reddit.

In a stupendous display of skill and dedication, a Minecraft player has created an elaborate artwork that leverages in-game shadows to form eye-catching silhouettes. Being a sandbox game, Minecraft incentivizes players to indulge in activities like building their own structures, one of which has recently drawn much appreciation from the community.

Developed by Mojang Studios, Minecraft is one of the most successful games in history in terms of sales. Since rolling out in 2011, it has amassed a player-base of millions across a wide variety of platforms. Moreover, the sandbox survival game has also gone on to spawn several spin-offs, such as Minecraft: Story Mode, Minecraft Legends, Minecraft Dungeons, and more. Throughout the franchise's existence, its players have been known to build imaginative in-game creations with the help of the various crafting resources at their disposal. Lately, a certain shadow-based artwork conceived by a dedicated Minecraft player earned laurels on the internet.

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On Reddit, user AhRayWasTaken posted a timelapse video of their artwork, showing how their in-game structure casts shadows that form distinct silhouettes. The clip captures the process of how the player constructed the shadow-based art. Firstly, they customized the terrain to act as the canvas for the silhouette and then created a complex structure in midair, whose shadows would cast the main design onto the ground. As the in-game day progresses, the shadow of the player's structure eventually creates a Halloween-themed silhouette on the custom terrain, depicting a witch with a couple of bats and carved pumpkins on either side. On top of that, manipulating the camera angle reveals another silhouette of a cat in a ghost costume, cast on a gigantic version of Minecraft's Crafting Table that was apparently put in place before the clip was recorded.

Minecraft Fan Uses Shadows to Create Artwork, Impresses the Game's Community

The artwork by AhRayWasTaken received tons of praise on the Minecraft subreddit, while also getting over 16K upvotes on the social media platform. Expressing their amazement at the feat achieved, one user wrote, "HOW ARE YOU EVEN ABLE TO DO THIS!" Another called the shadow-based art "seriously good." Commending the structure's ability to cast two different silhouettes, one comment noted, "Ok that double was pretty cool." Replying to one of the comments, the talented Minecraft fan revealed that it took them "about 12–20 hours" to pull off the entire project, with a majority of the time taken for the research work. Moreover, they said that the actual construction part, which involved using Minecraft's in-game tools to flatten the terrain and build the sculpture, took comparatively less time at "about 4 hours."

Elsewhere, Minecraft recently shared certain interesting stats based on player activity in 2024. The announcement shed light on the various in-game activities that kept players busy throughout a year filled with major content drops for the Microsoft-owned IP.

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Minecraft Tag Page Cover Art
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Sandbox
Survival
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Systems
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Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 84%
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Released
November 18, 2011
ESRB
E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
Developer(s)
Mojang
Publisher(s)
Mojang
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Minecraft In Game Screenshot 6
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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Minecraft is a game made up of blocks, creatures, and community. You can survive the night or build a work of art – the choice is all yours. But if the thought of exploring a vast new world all on your own feels overwhelming, then fear not!

Minecraft has no set goal and can be played however you’d like! This is why it’s sometimes called a “sandbox game” – there are lots of things for you to do, and lots of ways that you can play. If you like being creative, then you can use the blocks to build things from your imagination. If you’re feeling brave, you can explore the world and face daring challenges. Blocks can be broken, crafted, placed to reshape the landscape, or used to build fantastical creations. 

Creatures can be battled or befriended, depending on how you play. The world of Minecraft allows for epic adventures, quiet meditations, and everything in between. You can even share your creations with other players, or play in community worlds!

Engine
LWJGL, PROPRIETARY ENGINE
Multiplayer
Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
Franchise
Minecraft
Number of Players
1-4
Split Screen Orientation
Vertical or Horizontal
Genre(s)
Sandbox, Survival
How Long To Beat
129 Hours
X|S Optimized
No
File Size Xbox Series
1.42 GB (August 2024)
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty