Considering the many obsessive fandoms in pop culture at large, you’d be hard-pressed to find a fan base that is more devoted than that of Rick and Morty's. The beautiful thing about Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland’s masterpiece is the limitlessness of its concept. The show can do anything that it desires with the premise, which has led to overwhelming praise for its out-of-the-box creativity and humor. Although fans of the Adult Swim series have waited nearly two agonizing years for its return in November, that hasn’t stopped us from obsessing over it.
As a result, a myriad of unique fan art has popped up online since the show premiered back in 2015. When it comes to specific Rick and Morty fan art, there generally seems to be three distinct categories: Art that stays true to the look & style of the show, realistic interpretations of the characters, and crossover art with other properties. With that said, we’ve pulled some of the best Rick and Morty fan art from the Internet for your viewing pleasure.
Super Morty Kart
This piece of awesome art crosses Rick and Morty characters with the cover of the original Super Mario Kart. The original box art for the classic 1992 Super Nintendo game that spawned a sub-franchise onto itself is undoubtedly iconic. So taking that art and re-imagining it, as a fictional game system in the multiverse called the “Super Schmlintendo,” is absolute genius.
This hilarious mash-up courtesy of Steve Yurko almost perfectly emulates the dense cover of the original. Some elements aren’t true to the game’s original box art – most notably the rating (The ESRB was established in 1994) and the lack of quirky catchphrase – make for small differentiations here. However, it also nails some of the nuances of Super Mario Kart’s cover, such as Jerry taking the place of Bowser in the original. On a more personal note, any game that decides to include Birdperson is okay in this writer’s book.
Evil Morty
Evil Morty made his debut in the season one finale, titled “Close Encounters of the Morty Kind.” However, he returned as the main villain of the season three episode titled “Tales From the Citadel” (a.k.a. “The Ricklantis Mixup”) to become the first democratically-elected President of the recently rebuilt Citadel. While Evil Morty’s true intentions are still unclear, he’s shaping up to be one of the show’s best recurring antagonists.
This semi-realistic depiction of Evil Morty is far more sinister than even the series itself portrays him. In certain respects, the art feels anime-inspired, while still keeping a sense of realism with his sadistic smile and electronic eye patch. It’s almost as if the artist, Clawed50, took inspiration from something like Brightburn, transporting that aesthetic into the world of Rick and Morty. To quote Morty from the episode mentioned above, “Seems like a good time for a drink, a cold calculated speech with sinister overtones.”
Rick And Morty Meet Smash Bros
This crossover poster, which comes from JoeHoganArt, sees the show’s various personalities as Super Smash Bros. characters. Although most of the references here are self-explanatory, it’s nice to see characters like Photography Raptor as Yoshi and Snuffles as Pikachu. Just in concept alone, this mash-up proves that we need a Rick and Morty episode set inside a video game ASAP.
The art itself is magnificent, mostly because it manages to seamlessly integrate the essence of the various characters from both properties. The piece uses a blend of solid line work, shading and coloring. A lot is happening in this poster, which ultimately makes it a brilliant piece of visual storytelling as a whole.
Solving The Hero Problem
Our next piece, which comes from JenL, brings together various time-traveling villains in a meeting of the minds. According to the artist, Dr. Robotnik invited other scientists together to “get rid of their heroes once and for all.” Unfortunately, Eggman’s devious intentions boil down to an ego clash that boils down to “finger pointing and slap fighting.”
While Rick obviously wasn’t invited, a meeting of the world’s foremost time travel scientists wouldn’t feel right without him. Although he is more of an anti-hero archetype than anything else, it’s still fun to see him alongside other notable animated baddies. In keeping with the style of each particular character’s cartoon/game, this fan art also does an excellent job of blending them into one seamless piece.
Rick And Morty Meet Ghostbusters
The possibilities of a Rick and Morty mash-up with Ghostbusters seem like a match made in heaven. They’re two properties with devoted, vocal fan bases, so they feel tailor-made for one another. The show has acknowledged this on multiple occasions, the most prominent being in the season 3 episode titled “Morty’s Mind-blowers.” Another being in the so-called “Non-Canonical Adventures.”
This poster – which is a collaboration between JoeHoganArt and Mike Vasquez – re-imagines a few Rick and Morty characters from that of the 1984 classic film. Whereas Morty and Jessica are referencing Dana and Louis in that film, Rick seems to be playing either Egon or Peter. Meeseeks also makes an appearance as Mooglie the ghost, and an appearance from Mr. Poopybutthole is always appreciated. Is there anyone else who wants to see a full-length crossover?
Realistic Rick
This fascinating piece of Rick and Morty fan art comes from Ururuty. This piece reimagines a psychedelic version of Rick using a more realistic approach to the lead character. It Honestly feels like a piece of concept art inspired by Heath Ledger's Joker, which makes the thought of a real-life Rick that much more disturbing.
The brushwork in this fan art is impressive, especially in the way that it blends the various colors. Overall, the detail this beautiful re-imagining of Rick is worth staring at for a few minutes alone.
Pickle Rick Conquers All
“Pickle Rick” is perhaps one of Rick and Morty’s most memorable and quotable episodes. In the episode, Rick transfers his consciousness into a pickle to avoid going to family therapy. Through a series of events, Pickle Rick gets lost in the sewer. As a result, he’s forced to create a makeshift exo-suit out made of decapitated rat parts to escape the deadly rodents, leading to the moment depicted here.
Although it’s a pretty straightforward representation of the iconic moment form that episode, this fan poster from ChasingArtwork immortalizes the classic moment. The simple, but effective use of green works exceptionally well here, especially with another pickle rick superimposed into the background.
The Near Escape
Coming from an artist named JackalOfTrades, this surrealist piece is an absolute trip. Titled “Near Escape,” it won the 2015 Rick and Morty fan art contest held by Deviant Art. The context of this piece, according to the artist, is “The Idea is that the whole earth has become a giant mass of flesh, blood, and muscle.” This original piece depicts the eponymous duo as they use their “Diaper Jets” that apparently “run off the methane from your farts.”
The attention to shading here is exceptionally well executed in this piece. Additionally, the spiral of teeth is a nice touch. If this piece of fan art doesn’t encapsulate the weirdness of Rick and Morty, it’s hard to say what would.
Rick And Morty Cronémon
This piece of Rick and Morty fan art combines the titular duo with Pokémon characters. This print, in particular, comes from artist Steve Yurko that references an early episode titled “Rick Potion #9.” In the episode, Rick creates a love potion for Morty, only for it to turn humanity into grotesque, mutated creatures called “Cronenbergs.”
This piece, aptly titled “Cronémon,” takes the cute and lovable creatures of the Pokémon world and makes them borderline hideous. Despite this, something is appealing about this crazy print that makes it hard to look away. With Morty imagined Ash Ketchum and Rick as Professor Samuel Oak, it’s hard to think that these two couldn’t handle the various Cronémon that await them!
Falling Out
This fantastic piece of fan art, titled “Falling Out,” comes via kcday. As an original piece of art that doesn’t necessarily reference a particular episode, this is about as Schwifty as it gets. Unfortunately, this piece is so impressive that the artist has had multiple theft issues since its creation in 2015. So if you see this art for sale anywhere, it’s probably being used without her permission.
Aside from this, the print itself perfectly captures the zaniness of a series like Rick and Morty. The linework is impressive, and the blue glow around the characters makes them pop here. The detail is excellent, offering a colorful, vivid piece of art that is sure to capture the attention of fans and non-fans alike.