Fan artists conceptualize Diablo III’s Angel of Death for prizes and cash

Last week’s release of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls was the first expansion pack for the famed RPG action game. Anticipation of the new version—now on both Mac and Windows—stirred up more than enough buzz, so why stop there?

The artist social network DeviantArt teamed up for the first time with Blizzard Entertainment, Diablo III’s developer and publisher, to sponsor the Diablo III Fan Art Contest. Fans were challenged to create original artwork inspired by the game showing Malthael, The Angel of Death, and/or central figures from the six Heroes of Sanctuary as they plan for battle.

And now the winners are in. Christian Lichtner, art director of Diablo III, chose three grand prize winners: Kuzinskiy Andrey, Sutthiwat, and Yong Jun Cho from a field 25 semi-finalists.

“The composition of this piece powerfully illustrates the strength of the Barbarian, at the same time the execution of the lighting and mood really sets this piece apart,” said Lichtner of the winning entry by Kuzinskiy Andrey. “Every little detail cleverly tells a story, while focusing on the epic quest the Barbarian is about to embark upon.”

Of the second-place winner by Sutthiwat, Lichtner said, “This piece has such a strong overall visual impact and mood, and strikingly captures the cusp of an epic battle about to be waged between the forces of good versus evil. Both the composition and focal area give this piece such presence.”

Said the developer of the third-place entry, Fist of Conviction by Yong Jun Cho, “This painting really gives such a powerful sense of the Monk’s history and character. The lighting is beautifully executed and reinforces the focal area to capture a moment in time, with so many great little design touches throughout.”

The prizes include an all-expense-paid trip to Blizzard headquarters in Irvine, CA to meet members of the Diablo development team, framed prints of the winners’ artwork signed by the Diablo III development team, $9,000 total cash prizes distributed among the three winners, and signed boxed copies of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Collector’s Edition.

The expansion pack will be ported to console versions of Diablo III  while the content will be released as part of the Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition for the PlayStation 4 that is scheduled for release in 2014. That edition of the game is also being developed for the Xbox One, but there is no release date yet.

➤ Blizzard Entertainment