Highlights
- The Arbiter, a compelling character in the Halo games, has been recreated in an incredibly detailed colored pencil drawing by a talented fan.
- The drawing showcases the artist’s skillful blending and attention to detail, capturing the Arbiter’s iconic armor and Energy Sword.
- The artist has previously created colored pencil drawings of other video game characters, including the Master Chief, showcasing their passion for gaming and fan art.
A talented Halo fan has created an incredibly detailed drawing of the Arbiter using colored pencils to achieve the look. While the Master Chief might be synonymous with the Halo franchise, gamers would be remiss to forget about the Arbiter known as Thel ‘Vadam.
Introduced in Halo 2, the Arbiter brought a new dynamic to the games. While the original Halo: Combat Evolved had the Master Chief take on waves of Covenant forces, the second game in the series put a unique twist on things by having players control the Arbiter, an Elite from the Covenant. As the deuteragonist, the character allowed players to see the Human-Covenat War from another side, with the character featuring in a compelling story surrounding the Prophets’ betrayal of the Elites. Following the events of Halo 2, the character would return to aid the Master Chief in Halo 3, serving as a playable character in the co-op mode of the campaign, and would even show up in 2015’s Halo 5.
Halo: The Case For an Arbiter Spin-Off Game
The Halo universe is filled with characters that could have their own spin-off, but few are quite as deserving as fan-favorite Sangheili, the Arbiter.
Recently, an artist paid tribute to the classic character in a colored pencil drawing. Taking to Reddit, the user known as emilymeganxart shared their picture of the Arbiter wearing his signature armor and holding an iconic Energy Sword from the Halo series. The Elite warrior stood with the weapon ignited and ready to strike, with the iconic Halo logo emblazoned in silver in the background. Since sharing the drawing, the post has gained hundreds of upvotes from the community.
The picture stood out to many gamers due to its impressive attention to detail. Among the Reddit comments, many users complimented the artist on their skillful use of blending and reflection, with some picking up on the soft blue glow of the sword bouncing off the Elite’s armor. Furthermore, emilymeganxart managed to replicate the numerous intricate pieces of the Arbiter’s armor, including the individual plates running down the sides of his arms and back. According to the creator, Prismacolor soft core premier pencils were used for the drawing, while the Halo logo was made using silver paint.
It is worth pointing out that this artwork follows the artist’s previous recreation of the Master Chief using colored pencils. In addition, emilymeganxart has previously shared drawings on Reddit of other famous video game characters they have drawn, such as a Hunter from the Destiny games and Aloy from the Horizon series. They even created a drawing illustrating Lara Croft’s character evolution throughout the Tomb Raider series.
As the response to this new fan art illustrates, the Arbiter is a fan favorite for many. Unfortunately, the character did not feature in the latest game in the series. While the developers at 343 Industries continue to update Halo Infinite, such as with the new Firefight: King of the Hill mode, the community director for the company has revealed that no single-player campaign content is currently in development for the game. This means it could be a while before fans get the chance to see the Arbiter in action again.
Halo
Halo is a science fiction first person shooter and part of Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios. The franchise development originated with Bungie, but has since transferred to 343 Industries. The series centers on a conflict between humanity and various alien species over installations called Halos, superweapons created by a mysterious race known as Forerunners. Launching in 2001 with Halo: Combat Evolved, the franchise has also spun off into books, comics, animated films, live action TV, and much more.
