Red Dead Redemption 2released in 2018 and is still one of the most graphically detailed games ever made. This is made even more impressive by the fact thatRed Dead Redemption 2’s world is not a linear campaign of graphical set pieces, but a massive open world with a consistent quality throughout. Landscape shots of the different environments fromRDR2can look like photographs of real locations.
These serene and stunninglocations help build the atmosphere ofRed Dead Redemption 2’s open world, but they are sometimes not the only thing necessary to interest potential customers in an action Western game. So Rockstar used a series of stylized key art portraits for the games' cover art and advertising campaign. These portraits are reminiscent of old Western movie posters and help to convey the grittier tone ofRDR2’s story.
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This art style has stayed consistent since the firstRed Dead Redemptionand is a recognizable element of the series.Fans ofRed Dead Redemption 2have even recreated their own charactersusing this official art style, and now a talented artist on Reddit named mikesartwrks has shared their recreations of some of the official character portraits. The paintings depict perhaps the series' three most central characters, John and Arthur, who are the protagonists of the first and second games respectively, along with Dutch, the leader of the outlaw gang they are all members of.
Looking at mikesartwrks’ previous posts on Reddit reveals that they have a propensity towards striking character portraits against bold backgrounds, which lends itself perfectly to recreatingRed Dead Redemption’s official artwork. While the Arthur and Dutch paintings are inspired byRDR2’s key art, the portrait of John is taken from the cover art from the firstRed Dead Redemption. This iconic character pose appears inRDR2’s campaign and has also beenrecreated usingRed Dead Redemption 2’s in game photo mode.
Having these three paintings in a uniform style and on the same sized canvas does lend them a sense of synchronicity. The Reddit user could complete a portrait for every member of the Van der Linde gang, as key art for each character was released by Rockstar as part of the advertising campaign for the game. These character portraits allowed fans to speculate about each gang member and their position inRed Dead Redemption 2’s Van der Linde gang hierarchy.
In the comments under the post, mikesartwrks hints that they might paint Micah next. The Reddit user also states that they would be interested in venturing outside the main cast ofRDR2’s gang members and painting Landon Ricketts, the retired legendary gunslinger who featured in the firstRed Dead Redemption.
Red Dead Redemption 2is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
