Fülle in Fódlan - The Fan Art of FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES

Greetings from Garreg Mach Monastery! For those of you yet to hear tell of the Officer's Academy, it is where a significant number of we Nintendo Switch owners have spent the majority of our free time lately, battling the evils of the Fire Emblem universe and... well, fishing and sipping tea with friends. This tactical role-playing video game by Intelligent Systems and Koei Tecmo is, quite frankly, a masterpiece - and as such, the sixteenth installment of the franchise, Three Houses, has captured the imagination of gamers all around the world, creating a community of "professors" who teach the art of war and worship the Goddess Seiros with their students. 

Many of those gamers happen to also be incredibly talented artists who recently have flooded the Internet with their amazing pieces based on the new characters - everything from paintings and clothing to plushies and pins! I got just as lost in the fan art as I did the game, the two making great companions, and even purchased a few pieces along the way. For a while, opening Instagram and Twitter became exclusively about clicking on the #FireEmblemThreeHouses hashtag to discover all of the conversations and art being made. Below are some of the pieces I've fallen in love with, each containing commentary by the artists who created them, these wonderful folks all gracious enough with their time to talk about their work exclusively for this post. Major thanks to @katribou who created the incredible cover art above! Now read on, for the fate of Fódlan! 

(Fire Emblem: Three Houses pin set by @DakiArts)

"Fire Emblem's medieval folklore vibe has always been a huge inspiration, but even more so now that Three Houses has arrived and brought with it a huge wave of extra research and new topics of interest. Art Nouveau and Renaissance aesthetics have always been the peak of my art inspiration, also being what I used as a basis for my pins and a lot of my other merchandise. Seeing a Fire Emblem game breathe life into that whole European historical era and its visual style has been incredible." - Dakira Valentine (@dakiarts)

(Fire Emblem: Three Houses plushies by @Kitty_Cay)

"Three Houses is honestly one of the most inspiring Fire Emblem games for me as an artist, not only because of the hard work and care that was put into the game in general, but specifically with the game's characters. Although I thought it would be a challenge for Three Houses to live up to the writing and cast of the previous game, Shadows of Valentia, we were given an extremely immersive world full of characters that were easy to feel attached to immediately. It's because of this that I was eager to work on art and channel my excitement from the game, in a cute and simple way! 

I've been making plushies of characters that I and others are passionate about for around seven years now, and Three Houses has been something new and exciting to pull me out of an art block. I'm happy to know that my sewing has seemingly made people just as happy as it's made me, purely through a shared love and deep connection to such a lovely game." - Cata Zavaleta (@Kitty_Cay)

(Fire Emblem: Three Baseballs by @marmarlay)

"Three Houses' character dynamics has made the game one of my favorites. Each student has a distinct personality that makes interactions between them hilarious and sweet. I loved the time skip aspect that was introduced because it somehow gave me a sense of nostalgia that made finishing the game feel like a grandiose journey. 

I like the aesthetic of baseball clothing, which was the main inspiration for my baseball pieces. The poses that come out of baseball are really fun to explore, like pitching a ball or swinging a bat. I sort of used these as mini character studies as well - I played around with what extra pieces of clothing each might wear, how they would hold themselves on the field, even just their expressions." 

(Fire Emblem: Three Houses "Hangout" by @marmarlay)

"For this piece I wanted to draw the Three Houses leaders, who inevitably go to war with each other, hanging out as friends. I am personally into fashion, hence their dressed up look, but I also feel that because of their nobility in the game they would dress as such in a modern setting." - Áine Gleeson (@marmarlay)

(Fire Emblem: Three Houses pin set by @SilkeTara)

"I have been a fan of the Fire Emblem franchise for a long time. When I saw the trailer for Three Houses I knew this was going to be a great one and I have been obsessed with it ever since. The game actually exceeded my expectations. The story left a bittersweet taste, and that's why I like it. It feels more real that way. I love how the game can capture human emotion so well through the interesting character's supports. This game inspires me." - Silke Tara (@SilkeTara)

(Fire Emblem: Three Houses by @TheSketchyDot)

"Ever since I started playing Fire Emblem: Awakening I've been hooked on the series, this time is no different! The characters in Three Houses are so full of life - everyone has their own little quirks and personalities that got me invested in them. Their designs are amazing and the voice acting is phenomenal! Initially, I decided to only draw the leader of the house I chose, but it didn't feel right to leave the other two behind. I gave this a stylistic approach to give them a sense of regality, they are nobles after all! If you haven't played Three Houses yet be sure to give it a go. I promise you're in for one hell of a ride!" - @TheSketchyDot

(Fire Emblem: Three Houses "Black Eagles" by @katribou) 

"I really like character-driven stories, and Fire Emblem is often quite good at that. Three Houses takes this to another level by not stopping at tropes, expanding on the nuanced and multifaceted people which makes them feel all the more real. This makes for really good art inspiration as I like to get into the heads of characters in order to portray them properly, whether it be for serious or lighthearted pieces." - Kat G. (@katribou)

(Claude costume by Michaelle of @ArcadeAngels)

"I spent a few in-game months with the Golden Deer house and got bit really bad by the cosplay bug. I sympathize with Claude. I'm not a noble, but I am mixed with bloodlines that are both very proud of who they are. The hatred and mistreatment I experienced for existing was overwhelming for me as a kid. When we moved to a new area, I embraced the racial majority in my surroundings to fit in and avoid any altercations over my biracial existence. Like Claude, I schemed - picking and choosing who to associate myself with to mitigate any trouble in this new town. I became a token in the community and I avoided much of this mistreatment others like me had suffered due to the major population. I was one of them, even if I didn't look it. I took advantage of my position among the approving majority to open the way for other people of color and increase our visibility in the area.

I spent a little under 50 hours creating Claude. I really hope I do him justice with my cosplay and in trying to bring him to life." - Michaelle (@ArcadeAngels)

Thank you to everyone who contributed and allowed me to post their art on here. Now, go follow them all and check out the #FireEmblemThreeHouses hashtag on social media - there's SO much more incredible work just waiting to be discovered! 

Visit the FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES site to purchase the game!