Out of the many servers you’ll discover exploring Discord, some of the most active are dedicated to art and creativity. No matter what your skill level, there’s plenty of thriving communities ready to give you feedback, swap tips, or just share in all your favorite creations.

We reached out to five incredibly talented artists and asked each to make a special piece depicting Discord and what it means to them. We’d love to share their work and experiences with you! 💖

Ilya Kuvshinov

Ilya is from Russia but wound up living and working in Tokyo. When your friends are on the other side of the continent, it’s important to have a place to talk, play, and work with them: for Ilya, that place is Discord.

This illustration encompasses an average day on Discord for Ilya: illustrating, gaming, and talking with close friends.

Ilya’s friend Serezha sometimes streams his painting through Discord, which gives Ilya the chance to give him tips and guide him through the process. It’s a great opportunity to throw around ideas and experiment, from “how about we add more shadows here” to “it would be cool to add that to the background.”

When not drawing, Ilya uses Discord all the time, whether it’s just for talking or spectating friends playing single-player games using Go Live.

“The most casual is when we talk while Serezha’s sharing the screen of him painting, sometimes commenting on the piece he’s working on like ‘hey can you get back a couple of steps? I think it looked better in the green.’ Even when we’re in our own rooms on opposite sides of the planet, we can still be together thanks to Discord.”

Sounds great! One more question, Illya: How do we get a pair of those sweet headphones?

Ilya’s Instagram is the home for a lot more incredible work.

Lariennechan

“I use Discord with my partner. When we are apart we use it to share art ideas, talk or see each other. We often send sketches to hear each other’s feedback stay in touch.”

Using real-life as an inspiration, Larienne created this adorable piece depicting a long-distance relationship: a couple physically separated but staying connected through Discord. Larienne wanted to make something “way more relevant in a world where the Covid pandemic drastically limits the possibility of travel. It shows how a tender moment between a couple using Discord to connect and still see each other even while separated.”

There are some adorable touches throughout the scene. If you look to the left, there’s a framed photo of the couple, patiently waiting for the moment when they’ll see each other again.

Larienne regularly posts work on Instagram. Look around and you might even find a special animated version of this Discord-themed piece!

Safely Endangered

Chris McCoy started the Safely Endangered series on Webtoon in December 2014, but he’s been drawing comics for a lot longer. Like, since he was doodling on his school textbooks. After spending the year in isolation, Chris has found a second home in Discord: a place to stay in touch with both real-life friends and fans of Safely Endangered.

“I had a few funny ideas rattling around in my head for this comic. After speaking with the Discord team, I got the feeling they wanted a truly authentic piece.”

“My server is a great place to talk about my work, my process, and my ideas with fans and other artists, so I started sketching ideas based on my personal experience with Discord and voila! I think this comic touches on that notion pretty accurately and I’m really happy about how it turned out.”

We can relate! Plenty of us at the (virtual) Discord office have also hopped into voice channels to bounce ideas off each other, even before social distancing. You’d be surprised how similar this looks to a day of work for us.

In addition to the Safely Endangered website, you can see more of the series on Instagram.

Cyarine

Hailing from the Netherlands, Laura (otherwise known as Cyarine) drew something nice and cozy — a scene of hanging out at home, checking in with friends over Discord. Cyarine’s drawing depicts two familiar scenarios: a late-night server session curled up in the computer chair and a casual, more personal conversation on the phone.

Laura explains: “Everyone is used to our new, pretty isolated ‘normal’ which was very much the norm for me growing up, living in a group home, and not going to school. Being used to staying in touch online my friendships from then, and new ones too, all got closer on Discord.”

“I just had a sliver enough of self-respect to not draw myself passed out with Discord still running in the background, cause more often than I’d like to admit my friends from other timezones have woken me up in the middle of the night, but that could have made it more realistic hahaha.”

Yeah…I think we’ve all been there. You can check out more great pieces (and the merch shop!) by visiting Laura’s Instagram and Twitter.

James Lewis

James Lewis has been sharing art on social media since the age of 16: not just finished pieces, but the process of creating itself. Viewers worldwide have followed not just the brush strokes and finishing touches, but the experience of watching a young artist grow with every creation.

“I’m blessed to be living out what was just a dream 9 years ago,” says James, who in that span of time has gathered millions of dedicated followers and supporters.

James took the time to create this adorable piece. “The whimsical approach to the painting matches well with the light-hearted and fun community experiences of using Discord.”

“The painting I worked on shows the Discord mascot, Wumpus floating in the heavens between two physically isolated plots of land. The mascot floating with the balloon being the centerpiece visually connects the two islands, similar to how the platform connects people all around the world.”

We’ve had this video on repeat for ages. How does he make it look so easy?

You can head over to James’s website, jamesllewis.com, or visit Instagram and TikTok to see mesmerizing videos of the creative process.

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We hope you enjoyed these pieces as much as we did. By sharing them with you, we’ve reminded you of the heartfelt moments you’ve shared with friends, loved ones, and even strangers all around the world.

We recently asked on Twitter for some unique moments you’ve experienced throughout this year. If you’ve got your own story to tell or a small but meaningful moment that’s always meant a lot to you, we’d love to hear it.