Community Focus - Pherian

Mar 15, 2017 - Cozmo_BNG

Our focus for this week is a community artist who has been creating some great works of Destiny art. If you have visited our Creations page in the past, you’ve probably seen some of his work. It’s always well received. He has featured all of the Classes, but seems to favor the Titan above all. Some of his work is serious, some of it is funny. Let’s learn more about the man behind the brush. 

It’s our pleasure to introduce you to community artist and super dad, Pherian.



Welcome to your Community Focus. Tell us a bit about yourself and your specialty within the Destiny Community.

Pherian: Thanks for having me! I’m a 37 year old guy who married the best woman ever and had two ridiculously well-behaved children. I’ve got kind of an eclectic mix of skillsets. I went to university for fine art, found a job in Emergency Preparedness, and my hobbies include writing books, drawing characters, and playing video games (mostly Destiny). As far as my specialty, I guess I fit in that spot between creating halfway decent artwork and average but amusing videos. I’m not a consistent or regular uploader, but when I have posted my stuff, a few people seem to like it, which inspires me to create more.

We love your work. Where can others find you and your art online?

Pherian: I don’t have a main hub since I really just do this as a hobby. If you’d like to see the various Destiny art I’ve done, you can find it here. If you are interested in seeing my mediocre skills in the Crucible, you can check me out on my YouTube channel. And I tweet once a month or so here.

Your art seems to feature a lot of Titans. What is your favorite weapon and Subclass?

Pherian: I’ll be honest, I love the weapons in Destiny. The designs, the feel of each one’s recoil and aiming, and the fact that everything is so tactile is what really makes me keep coming back to this game. I use all of the weapons, but my go-to favorites are Auto Rifles. I feel like they allow me to make up for my spastic aiming and I just like the archetype of the Titan with an automatic rifle.

I’m a Titan all the way, all Subclasses. I think I had a Warlock for a hot minute, but I realized a couple of things quickly: 1) Floofing is not for me, and 2) I don’t have the time for multiple characters. I play the game a lot, but I don’t have the energy to try to elevate two different characters to Legend status. I’ll stick with my Titan and just punch my way there.

Floofing is not for me either. Your art has been very well received on the Creations page. What are some of your favorite projects/pieces?  

Pherian: One of the first ones I ever did came out really well, and the Destiny Reddit community really liked it, which made me want to create more. 

Titan –New Monarchy

The Darkhollow piece I did of a Hunter looks pretty nice. I’m pleased with it. I try to tell a story of sorts at times, for instance with pieces like this Spektar armor one and this Warlock piece. Then there’s the Mr. Fruit one, which I think is just silly fun.

A Bowl of Fruit

That is a very nice depiction of Fruit. Do you have any favorite artists who have inspired you?

Pherian: Growing up it was the classics—DaVinci and the like—but I was always obsessed with their sketching. I didn’t care for finished projects as much as seeing the process of its development. Nowadays, its concept artists that I have a passion for. It was what actually drove me to be interested in Destiny in the first place. Seeing stuff like this from Joseph Cross nails my attention to the wall and won’t let go. I love post-apocalyptic themes, but mostly I love beautiful post-apocalyptic themes. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Mad Max, but I love the vibrant scenery in Destiny more. People like Cross and Jesse van Dijk make me stare in wonder, and then you’ve got people like Ryan Demita with his line work and Mike Jensen’s modeling that just blow my mind. 

What are favorite activities in Destiny? Do you have a favorite memory?

Pherian: My favorite thing in Destiny is patrolling. I really enjoy wandering the wilderness and just shooting bad guys. I’m hoping that you guys double or triple down on Patrols in the future, because it’s my jam, and I wish there was more that could come from your time protecting the surface of the planets.

A favorite memory? Probably when my four and three year old sons kept asking me where my friend Ghost was. I’d have to constantly pull up Ghost so that they could see him. Once he got skins, they made me change his outfit all the time. I bought them the plush version of Ghost, one for each of them, and he hangs out in their bedroom. Every time they walk in while I’m playing they ask me what my Super power is. I tell them it’s either “lightning smash”, “fire hammers”, or “shield bubble.” They tell me it was a good choice no matter which one it is. The game captured my imagination and that of my children, so well done!

That is adorable. Glad to hear the Ghost is popular with the younger crowd. This last question is your blank canvas. What would like to end with?

Pherian: If I could get one message out to the world it’s to be positive when interacting with other people, especially over the internet. It’s easy to be a jerk when you’re upset with how the latest Crucible match is going, and it’s even easier to do it on forums where anonymity is available. The first rule in my household, the one I’m raising my kids on, is “Be nice.” You can disagree, but you can do it nicely. Being nice to someone can completely change their day, and that’s why we’re on this earth, in my opinion, to change lives for the better.

Thanks for the opportunity to be involved in the history of Destiny, Cozmo. I’m never going to forget this game or the people who made it, and I certainly won’t forget the chance I was given to be a positive icon for the community. You guys are awesome! Keep it up!

Well said. We often repeat the wise words of Bill and/or Ted: “Be excellent to each other.”

We would like to thank Pherian not only for spending a lot of his free time creating amazing art, but also stopping by to tell us about it. We are constantly humbled that this game inspires so many talented players to create their own interruptions of the Destiny universe. You can see Pherian’s full body of work here.

Do you know other artists or members of the community doing cool stuff? Make a post about them on our forum with tag #CommunityFocus.

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