Hyoung Taek Nam, a character concept designer at Naughty Dog, recently found themselves the subject of some online grumbling. It all kicked off when Nam shared a fan art piece depicting Eve, the main character from Stellar Blade. This art was then spotlighted by the official X account for the game, formerly known as Twitter. Despite its detailed rendition, some fans were quick to label it as "ugly" and "revolting." In light of these reactions, Stellar Blade developer, Shift Up, decided to showcase more of Nam’s artwork to address these critiques.
Stellar Blade Dev Embraces Fan Art
The initial post featuring Nam’s work didn’t seem to suffer from a lack of artistic quality. Instead, it seemed that a group of naysayers simply didn’t appreciate the way Eve was portrayed. Nam’s fan art showed Eve engaged in battle with a Naytiba, and it appeared that some people just didn’t care for this artistic vision.
There might be more to the criticism than meets the eye. Nam’s connection with Naughty Dog—a studio known for its realistic art style—could have fueled the backlash. For some, realism is mistakenly equated with what’s often pejoratively termed as "woke." Thus, Nam’s unique interpretation of Eve was bound to ruffle some feathers in certain corners of the internet.
A few days after the initial posting, the Stellar Blade account responded by sharing another of Nam’s pieces. This newer artwork opted for a more delicate portrayal of Eve. Along with the post, there was a thoughtful note addressing the previous criticism, emphasizing the value of artistic diversity.
Shift Up added, "Artist Nam Hyoung Taek has once again captured Eve for us. We deeply appreciate this contribution, but rest assured that fan art in the earlier style will always be welcomed." The post continued, noting that it is quite common for fan art to carry a distinct personal style compared to the original work, highlighting this as a delightful aspect of fan contributions.
Stellar Blade hit the gaming scene back in April, exclusively for the PS5. Since its launch, the game has rolled out several updates, including optimizations for the PS5 Pro and a crossover DLC with Nier: Automata.
