The 2023 Graphics/AARtist of the Year is...

[coz1]

We love to write and we love to read but we also apparently like looking at pretty pictures and maps.

So you not rewAARd them? And these do it exceptionally well. 22 different folks were singled out and the winner of the 2023 Graphics/Artist of the Year is...

@The Kingmaker​

Many congratulations for an excellent showing of wonderful AARtistry. Especially as second place goes to...

@Werther​

Very nearly repeated after winning the awAARd last year. Well done again! And third place goes to...

@Bullfilter​

Always a strong showing. I don't know how the emus move their hooves to create the work but let's not pull away the tinsel.

Our other deserving nominees are in order of the vote:

@Chac1

@streaker77

@Arithmetician

@TheButterflyComposer

@ageofadelina

@Peter Ebbesen

@Wraith11B

@roverS3

@JerseyGiants88

@Thaiga

@Macavity116

@El Pip

@Olden Weiss

@Nikolai

@DensleyBlair

@Tommy4ever

@jak7139

@Eurasia

@Fou Lu

@Uriel Blackwing​

I am always in awe when our writAARs match the perfect picture along with their prose. Congratulations to all of these nominees and certainly to the winner! Well done all! The thread is now open for your own congrats, thanks and discussion should you wish.

Look for Character tomorrow and it is a loooong list.

 

[Chac1]

Congrats to @The Kingmaker who always finds great illustrations for his work.
Well done @Werther & @Bullfilter . (Love talking to @Bullfilter about how he is adding little touches to his work and now even his maps!)
Also, thanks to all who included me in their thoughts in this category.

 

[Rensslaer]

Congratulations to @The Kingmaker and @Werther and @Bullfilter !

I think @Bullfilter and @The Kingmaker deserve extra recognition because they are providing great illustrations and relevant artwork for MULTIPLE AARs, all at once!

Congratulations to all!

Rensslaer

 

[Eurasia]

Congrats to all the winners, voters, and writers. And artists!

 

[Nikolai]

@The Kingmaker , congrats my friend! Wellcdeserved! And congrats to all the winnAARs! How I ended up there, with a few AI generated images and a lot of badly cropped screenshots will remain a mystery, but I'll take it.

 

[Idhrendur]

Congrats @The Kingmaker! And to everyone else nominated!

 

[Bullfilter]

Congratulations to @The Kingmaker and @Werther and all nominees. I really enjoy fiddling around trying to get those screenshots and illustrations just so and appreciate it when an authAAR is willing to go that extra step. For me, it’s part of the story, not just an add on, but also understand that some prefer their words to do all the illustrating Congratulations again to everyone on the list for having someone else recognise your excellence in this category!

 

[HistoryDude]

Congrats @The Kingmaker, @Werther, @Bullfilter, and all of our other nominees!

 

[The Kingmaker]

Thanks very much to everyone for your kind words, with especial thanks to everyone who voted for me. Your support and friendship mean a great deal to me. A picture is truly worth a thousand words, and I'm honored at being recognized for my rather humble image-selection-and-rudimentary-editing skills.

Congratulations also to my well-deserving co-winners @Werther and @Bullfilter! Both are very talented authAARs/AARtists and I am thrilled to be able to share the podium with them.

And now I would also like to give some shout-outs to a few absent friends from the old days, without whom I might not have ever had the confidence or persistence to pursue my AAR-writing hobby: my mentor, @General_BT, who helped inspire my illustrated AAR style; @canonized, who always had a penchant for projects with an epic scale; @Woody Man, who always had clever ideas for new stories; and @crusaderknight, who was always up for new literary adventures. I hope each of you find your way back to AARland some day. You are missed!

 

[El Pip]

Congratulations to the winners and all who were nominated, particularly those show-offs who got multiple works voted for.

 

[Tom D.]

My congratulations to all the winAARs!

 

[DensleyBlair]

Very many congratulations to all winners and nominees!

 

[jak7139]

Congratulations @The Kingmaker , @Werther , @Bullfilter and all the contestants!

 

[Tommy4ever]

I'm amazed I picked up a vote in this category given my primitive use of MS paint that has barely advanced since I started AARing in the late 00s .

As usual, congratulations to the much more talent winners in this category!

 

[Bullfilter]

my primitive use of MS paint

Nothing to be ashamed of - it’s improved a bit of late!

 

[Wraith11B]

I'm amazed I picked up a vote in this category given my primitive use of MS paint that has barely advanced since I started AARing in the late 00s .

As usual, congratulations to the much more talent winners in this category!

Dude, I didn't even post any graphics this year and got nominated... I won last year iirc, and hadn't posted much of anything... So I'm glad that someone can say they put work in and was recognized for it!

 

[Werther]

Congratulations to Kingmaker and Bullfilter! I feel a bit ashamed to get an award for an AAR I've put aside (temporarily).

Even more so because of my secret failure. I worked for weeks, even months, on my 'ultimate AAR' about the best game I ever played. But I bit off more than I could chew: an epic story from 869 to 1453, a mix of historical and narrative chapters, new visual ideas... With the birth of my daughter I had to stop, it was too much work. It depressed me so much that I fled the forum for a while. And it saddens me because the more time goes by, the more I know you won't be that interested in the feat of the Kings of Aquitaine (and it's going to get harder and harder to keep the game version).

Thanks so much!

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Werther: Don’t worry, friend. Having kids can be a challenge. You wouldn’t be the first to have had to take a break due to parental obligations. <Looks in the mirror.>

 

[KaiCor]

Congratulations to Kingmaker and Bullfilter! I feel a bit ashamed to get an award for an AAR I've put aside (temporarily).

Even more so because of my secret failure. I worked for weeks, even months, on my 'ultimate AAR' about the best game I ever played. But I bit off more than I could chew: an epic story from 869 to 1453, a mix of historical and narrative chapters, new visual ideas... With the birth of my daughter I had to stop, it was too much work. It depressed me so much that I fled the forum for a while. And it saddens me because the more time goes by, the more I know you won't be that interested in the feat of the Kings of Aquitaine (and it's going to get harder and harder to keep the game version).

Thanks so much!

I assure you, absolutely everything will wait, daughter comes first. The story of the Kings of Aquitaine sounds intriguing. You'll finish it when you can. Maybe never. Now you have your own living story with your daughter

Hi everyone. This is my first post. I hope I have not broken any forum rules?

 

[DensleyBlair]

I assure you, absolutely everything will wait, daughter comes first. The story of the Kings of Aquitaine sounds intriguing. You'll finish it when you can. Maybe never. Now you have your own living story with your daughter

Hi everyone. This is my first post. I hope I have not broken any forum rules?

Not in the slightest! Welcome to AARland