Capcom finally revealed the winners for the second Street Fighter 6 Illustration Contest, and oh, boy! What talent! All the professionals had to wade through hundreds of submissions to come with a final 26, which showcase some really extraordinary fan arts that the FGC has ever seen. Trust us when we say you need to see this.
The contest was supposed to get artists creating their best Street Fighter 6-themed art, so there was room for everything under the sun-from hyper-stylized renditions of the classics, such as Ryu and Chun-Li, to really crazy takes on the new faces of A.K.I. and JP. It was pure fire for the winning entries. Not everyone was quite pleased with all of the selections; some debates broke out in the comments.
One disgusted player talked big about finally getting some Elena artwork, and he shouted out his favorites. Others, like SandraIpf, recommended that an emerging artist category be included as well in the next contests so that new folks can have a fair shot against the pros. Then came the “How did THIS NOT win?!” moments, like when Qerat_FGC questioned why an Akuma piece was snubbed. (Spoiler alert: The Akuma drama quickly degenerated).
But it was not all about the art. Some, like viraaj1O1, took up the moment to ask Capcom why they never allow testing a character before buying him in the game. Classic FGC multi-tasking statements- appreciating the art while complaining about gameplay.
Some highlights within the replies saw Japanese artist abu716_murac celebrating their Cammy entry (translated: “The 2nd Street Fighter Illustration Contest is complete! I streamed the process, so please follow if you like!”). Folks begged for ant_jams’ slick A.K.I. art to be used as an in-game asset, and the bone-chilling M. Bison piece by Mateus Augusto was unforgettable — he looks ready to Psycho Crusher out of the canvas.
Needless to say, not all fans were happy. People such as SandraIpf wondered again why traditional art seemed to be overlooked compared to digital works, and then there was the interesting Blanka submission by JudgeOfGod88 that set people on several different avenues (we’ll just say it was…unique).
Overall, though? Well, things were set to excitement. ThunderFox gave it a shot: “Congrats to the winners! Every entry is absolutely amazing!” Well, were they not right? From pin-sharp portraiture to crazy, anime-inspired action shots, the contest had it all.
So, what comes next? DTHECHEMIST pondered a possible box art contest should Street Fighter 6 get a Collector’s Edition. All for that from here. Capcom definitely has to be really thinking of tapping into this treasure trove of fan talent because if these winners are an indication, the next one will be absolutely bonkers.
Until then, here’s a link to all 26 winning submissions, if you’ve not already started going through them. Probably Capcom will use a couple of them as inspiration for their next DLC costume! (Looking at you, that one Akuma drawing everyone can’t stop talking about).
Game on, artists. Game on.
