After about 43 hours, one Genshin Impact fan finished an amazing pointillist portrait of Xiao using around 100,000 dots. The incredibly popular and rare 5-star character has been capturing the hearts of many ever since Version 1.3 was released back in February 2021, which led to one player commissioning a fan artist to draw the moody “Conqueror of Demons” in a unique way.
Genshin Impact has come a long way since Xiao’s arrival, and now Version 2.3 is going into beta. It's been speculated that this iteration will release in November. Developer miHoYo has recently been cracking down on game leaks, suspending Twitter users for data mining to uncover new character banners and information. This crackdown has prompted hopeful players to ask miHoYo for a content roadmap. Players would be able to better invest their time and money with the free-to-play title, while content creators in the Genshin community can get a better idea of what is in store for the future. It would certainly give fan artists a ton of inspiration.
Traditional artist StormBeastArts shared his incredible commissioned portrait of Xiao on Reddit, as well as on his Twitter account Stormy. To create this remarkable rendition of Genshin Impact's beloved Xiao, StormBeastArts used 0.2 millimeter thin fineliner pens to make around 100,000 dots all in the span of 43 hours. “For anyone asking how I count the dots,” he explained. “I draw in multiple sessions, so I count the dots each time I ink and add them up in the end.” StormBeastArts also shared his work-in-progress pictures to show off his artistic process. He started off with a sketch on a grid in an A3 non-textured sketchbook. It looks like he blocked off the negative space with a black pen, and then went to work, precisely rendering Xiao and his weapons with thousands of dots. His glowing color choices stand out. With some exact cutting, StormBeastArts makes Xiao’s weapons pop off the canvas, creating a nice 3D effect.
The end result of StormBeastArts’s commission is very impressive. It takes a lot of time, patience, and keen attention to detail to make something of this caliber. The Genshin community reacted on Reddit, often typing in all capital letters. “God, I love pointillism,” says one Redditor. “You have my respect, lad.” Another Xiao fan exclaims, “Now, this is some hardcore Yaksha [stuff] that Xiao would be into! And I wholeheartedly support that.”
Support for the Yaksha Adeptus can spread over to other fan-made content, like a disturbingly perfect Xiao & Klee mash-up trailer. The Genshin Impact community is teeming with creativity, whether it is expressed through a hilarious video or an astounding art commission. Hopefully, miHoYo will be transparent with its future plans so that players won't have to rely on leaks to get information. For now, Genshin Impact is heading into its first anniversary, giving fans something to look forward to while they await the future of the successful title.
Genshin Impact is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, iOS, Android, and PC.