Filed under: World of WarCrafts

This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

Editor's note: Elizabeth Harac, creator of this amigurumi murloc, makes these adorable critters for a charity she established, Hands of Hope, which designed to help inspire and empower children in third-world countries. Read more about Hands of Hope, and join us after the break as Elizabeth shares the pattern along with a step-by-step photo guide on how to make your own amigurumi baby murloc.

I have been doing various needlework since I was a child and Mother was trying to keep me still for more than five minutes. Last October, I had the idea that since needlework taught me a lot of things -- like self-confidence, purpose, planning, and relaxation -- it might be helpful as a skill or hobby to other people. I had seen a TV segment about a sewing program in the projects somewhere and how the confidence the girls had gained was flowing into schoolwork and other areas. My original idea was just to find ways to teach needlework to girls in third-world countries where they could use the skills to also raise money for themselves. I needed to make money to make embroidery teaching kits, so I started making amigurumi and selling them.

Then I met Betty Makoni. She was a CNN Hero 2009. She runs the Girl Child Network Worldwide. She rescues girls in Africa who have been raped, abused, sold into slavery, forced to be child brides and worse. She loved the idea of the embroidery. In May 2010, we sent 52 kits to Zimbawbwe, and we have requests now for hundreds more. The girl are teaching each other; they are making clubs and using the time to talk about dreams, planning how to reach them, and working through the trauma of abuse. As a victim of rape and abuse myself, my heart went out to these girls.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page.

I'm in a music kind of mood it seems -- and today's offering weaves one of the most compelling pieces of the Wrath of the Lich King with hypnotic beats in a trance remix that has been in the works for a long, long time. Back in March of this year, World of WarCrafts got in touch with Vedrim, creator of the "Bound by Bone" mix and chatted with him about music and the creation of his unique mixes. This week, Vedrim returns to the scene with his long-awaited remix of "O Thanagor," more commonly known as "Arthas' Theme" from the Wrath of the Lich King opening cinematic.

Did I say long-awaited? I meant it -- this mix has been an astonishing seven months in the making. We got a chance to get caught up with Vedrim and ask him about his latest work; keep reading for more after the break.

It's Monday and instead of a feast for the eyes or taste buds, this week, we've got a feast for the ears!

When people hear the word "crafts," they generally assume something involving pen and paper, possibly tiny scissors or glue. But sometimes a picture or a story can't really properly convey just what it is the crafter is trying to say. Take Evan Freeman, who creates songs both Warcraft- and StarCraft-inspired, for example. While others craft artwork and stories, Evan crafts tunes inspired by his favorite games, including the above video -- a love song and lament for the loss of the beloved druid tree form.

Evan was kind enough to sit down with us to talk about writing and playing music, and of course, trees. Keep reading for more info and another of Evan's game-inspired tunes, after the break.

Do you know the muffin man? I'm talking about Muffin Man Moser down in Shattrath. Since Wrath of the Lich King, business has been woefully slow for poor Moser, who sells the usual bread and pie alongside his specialty, the Magnificent Muffin. Hardly anybody travels to Shattrath these days, and it's not looking like Cataclysm's going to really change that since those handy portals are possibly disappearing, which means you'd really have to go out of your way for Moser's Magnificent Muffins. Well, why travel to Shattrath when you can whip these puppies up at home in no time at all?

I must warn you, however -- these muffins are so magnificent that you may swear off those plain old Conjured Muffins for good. We'll see you in the kitchen, after the break.

Is it Monday already? Fear not -- we've got some incredible art to shake up the start of the work week!

In a game populated with cuddly critters and pretty scenery, we sometimes forget that the world of Warcraft is a dark, dark place. Not so for artist Christopher Bennett, whose fan art twists the world of Azeroth into a dark mirror of itself. Christopher runs a Forsaken-only RP guild on Wyrmrest Accord (US-H) called <Scythe of Sylvanas> and has done more than a few pieces inspired by his undead characters and companions.



Continue on for a chat with Christopher and his unique approach to the Warcraft universe, after the break.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page.

Recipes, action figures, art -- the fans of Warcraft are a creative bunch, and Kyt Dotson is no exception. Rather than artwork or crafts, however, Kyt creates vivid worlds with the written word. Kyt's latest work, The Helvetica Venture, can be found on Vox Ex Machina. The story involves a starting blood elf character named Helvetica and her adventures in Azeroth, but it takes a humorous twist to the usual form of narrative storytelling.

On the table nearby, taking up the only clear space in the entire room, is a green box. Imagine a box, an ordinary 5¼"x 7½" video game box sporting fold-out inserts for the cover and a preternatural lightness to its heft that belies the contents stored within. Emblazoned over the surface-above the oh-so-handsome staring face of a blonde elf with vorpal eyebrows and nuclear green eyes-display the words: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

"You haven't played one of these games before, have you?" asked the screen that comes up after she installs the game.

Take a look after the break for more information about Helvetica and her creator.

It's Monday and I'm feeling artsy -- today, World of WarCrafts staves off the Monday blues with a look at the colorful world of Warcraft fan art.

Artist Semjaza of the Fenris realm (US-H) has a marked talent for creating Warcraft and Warcraft-related artwork with an incredible amount of detail. Even more interesting is that most of this is accomplished without the typical pen, pencil or paper -- Semjaza's an artist of the digital age. Despite the computer-colored art, Semjaza still manages to pull off the kind of heavily-detailed and painterly work you'd expect to see on paper or canvas.



Check out more about Semjaza and his artwork after the break.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more.

It's Monday, which means you get some interesting WoW-related crafts to distract you from the Monday blues! Speaking of blues, today's creation is all about the color blue -- a custom-made action figure portraying one of the more annoying denizens of The Barrens. Cincicustoms from the Staghelm server managed to whip up this custom harpy figure in record time, all the while putting in an incredible amount of detail.


Check out more about the creation of this work of art after the break.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more.

It's Monday, but fear not! The Monday blues cannot withstand the sheer deliciousness of this latest round of Warcraft-inspired cakes. This week was my birthday, so I've got birthday cake on the brain -- and we have a handful of WoW-themed birthday cakes that are making me hungry for frosting. Let's start off the week on a sweet note, shall we?



Join us after the break to hear more about the newest additions to our cake gallery.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page.

The process of cooking remains staunchly repulsive to those of us who don't relish time spent in the kitchen: phlegmy, runny eggs staring up unblinkingly from the bowl ... raw meat flopping about on the counter looking altogether too much like, well, raw meat ... goopy, greasy, baked-on messes piling higher and higher and higher in the sink ...

Fortunately, there are Carrot Cupcakes. They're fresh. They're innocent. They're even, dare we say, cute. Who can argue with fresh, grated carrots, healthful whole wheat flour and the comforting, warm fragrance of cinnamon? If whipping up a batch of homemade Carrot Cupcakes doesn't get your nose going up and down and your tail going back and forth, then we don't know what will. We'll see you in kitchen, after the break.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on WoW.com's Arts and Crafts in WoW page.

Mario, we know and love you best as our favorite plumber -- but don't think we haven't figured out that you're sneaking around out there as a druid, too. So what would happen if you tucked the beloved characters of Mario into the World of Warcraft? The result is David Stonecipher's "WoW Meets the Mushroom Kingdom" art series. Stonecipher's drawn up his own vision of how the Mario universe's most famous characters would look inside Azeroth.

Mario as a druid? Bowser as a warrior? Try all 10 classes on for size. "I did something a little different with these pieces this time," Stonecipher wrote us. "I've created a video that shows each artwork be created from blank canvas to finished completion. This allows people to get a look at how the art is created in various stages."

See more of Stonecipher's video game character mashups at GameArtOnline.com, or click past the break to see the other five WoW classes in Part 2 of the WoW/Mushroom Kingdom series.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on WoW.com's Arts and Crafts in WoW page.

Artist Christina Marie's WoW-themed work is nothing if not saturated -- saturated with color, saturated with game references, saturated with humor. It's the kind of stuff you can toss onto your desktop and then promptly lose vast chunks of time peering and snorting in bemused delight at the details scattered across these works. (Because I whipped up the Christina Marie art gallery, below, in just minutes. Without any linking or idle chatter in the WoW.com newsroom. You believe that, right? Right?) Her talent for twisting elements together (elements of art, elements of the game ... you name it) earned her a nod from Blizzard itself with inclusion in its 2011 holiday fan art calendar (as was our own Kelly Aarons). World of WarCrafts visited with Christina Marie to find out where the deluge of color and inspiration comes from.

This World of WarCrafts has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com.

With the fabulous legion of blood elves dominating the Horde population, players are powerless to resist the appeal of the Sin'dorei. Even Alliance players find themselves watching their Orbs of the Sin'dorei, waiting impatiently for Fabulous Time to come off cooldown. My gift to you is your very own Orb of the Sin'dorei for personal use: leather blood elf ears. These babies are easily worn with a blonde wig -- for those of you who are not naturally fabulous -- or on a headband.

Follow us after the break for a step-by-step how-to gallery that shows you how to create your own fabulous leather blood elf ears!

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on WoW.com's Arts and Crafts in WoW page.

The symphonic strains of WoW-inspired composer Rehmaar (aka Taylor Goodson) will sound familiar to World of WarCrafts regulars. His atmospheric "Knights of the Valiant Fury Overture," which we featured back in the spring, was written and dedicated to his guild, <Knights of Valiant Fury> of Destromath (US-H). The WoW.com spotlight, combined with a growing stream of visitors and encouragement on his YouTube channel, inspired Goodson to continue composing his guild- and character-inspired pieces -- and it inspired us to come back and take a second look at Goodson's work.

World of WarCrafts: Taylor, tell us a little more about your WoW-themed compositions are heading as a whole. Do you have a goal for the project, or are you simply following your muse?

Taylor Goodson: Definitely just following my muse. I would never try to make money off of these pieces (especially since some of the material isn't completely my own -- for example in "Protectors of Azeroth" I used the theme of Stormwind) as they are always just for fun -- I write them for guildmates and friends typically as a gift for accepting me into the guild or just because I really like the people I meet. I have work that has been published before that I make a little money off of, but these pieces will never fall into that category.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on WoW.com's Arts and Crafts in WoW page.

There's knitting together a World of Warcraft-themed scarf or emblazoning a T-shirt with Alliance pride, inviting your game of choice to mosey along hand-in-hand with your hobby of choice -- and then there's oozing WoW-themed personality through every creative pore of your sweating brow. Jay Scullin comes from the second camp. A web designer by day, Scullin is a WoW-centric artist and blogger by night. When the sun goes down at the end of a long day, on comes his work lamp and in comes a flood of rich, color-saturated ideas pouring forth in his computer-generated artwork and a fanfic account of his character's progress through WoW.

Scullin originally created this portrait of his beloved gnome mage Ollo Ollovious of Uldaman (US-A) for last year's Blizzard fan art contest. Using Photoshop and Illustrator with a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet, he painstakingly labored over some 12 hours to keep the representation as true as possible to Ollo's in-game demeanor. In yet another character-focused project, he blogs at Legend of Piket, the ongoing tale of his level 76 protection warrior's ascent through Azeroth, Outland and Northrend. Join us after the break for a brief conversation with Scullin about what keeps his creative pot bubbling with Azeroth-influenced projects.