Artists give Fortnite an Australian ‘spray’

Two Melbourne-based artists have contributed work to global gaming phenomenon Fortnite.

Fortnite artwork by Justine McAllister

As Fortnite continues its run of popularity, two Melbourne-based artists are having an impact on the game, with Justine McAllister and George Rose selected to ­contribute art to the global phenomenon.

Epic Games recently released Fortnite Chapter 2, a massive update introducing a whole new world and overhauling the game’s look entirely.

The pair were asked to create six different Australian-inspired “sprays” for the game, making Australia the first country to ­receive a dedicated in-game ­element.

Until now, sprays had only been designed by Epic’s internal design team.

Ms McAllister and Ms Rose also contributed loading screens to the new update, helping shake up the game’s style.

Ms McAllister’s two designs, Wiggle Trooper and Drift Print, can be obtained by players reaching Battle Pass Tiers 21 and 69 respectively, while players need to reach Tier 87 for Ms Rose’s screen, Llamafields.

“All my friends who play Fortnite have seen my work on there now,” Ms McAllister told The Australian. “And it’s been amazing to see all the compliments coming in online.

“It’s just a super exciting thing. I got approached via an email, I think Epic had seen my work online and on my Instagram, and they asked me to submit my ideas for the game. My work is super bright, bold and dynamic, and I think it was a really good fit.”

She said she was flattered that two artists from Melbourne were selected to contribute to the global juggernaut.

“A lot of games are so male-dominated, so it was fantastic to have two females do this work,” she said.

Ms Rose told The Australian she was surprised to be asked to work on the game, but couldn’t be happier with the results.

“They reached out and I said ‘hell yeah, that’d be fun’,” she said. “I tend to work digitally anyway with my mock-ups, and so it wasn’t too dissimilar to what I normally do when I’m coming up with murals and artwork.

“I’m not a huge gamer, I’m normally too busy painting walls and running workshops with young people. But it’s been very cool to see people interacting with the art, and the kind of reach that Fortnite has.

“It’s surreal to have digital walls out there in the game. The whole thing’s been extremely cool, and just a really fun process.”

In other Fortnite news, the game will be showcased at the Australian Open this weekend at the AO Summer Smash, with 30 trios teaming up to compete for a share of $100,000 in charitable donations.