Another alternate Thursday, another Community Spotlight! There are a lot of great things I'm excited to share with you this week, but first, just a quick reminder for everyone: There will be no blog post from us next Thursday. Something about this E3 thing happening in Los Angeles...? Instead, Uny will be picking up with the Community Update on June 20th which bumps my next Community Spotlight to June 27th (in case you somehow missed it in Uny's last Community Update {which means you didn't read it, tsk tsk}). That just gives everyone a whole extra week to work on things and submit things using #HaloSpotlight. So...no excuses!

Let's dive right in, shall we?

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME

I know they say to save the best for last but that's really hard to do when it's all the best. There's a lot to love in this "Memories" piece by @JohnCitoKawaii. I love the Polaroid throwback style, the composition, the bunny ears...basically everything! My only regret is that Blue Team didn't caption their pic with "Squad Goals." Missed opportunity, John!

Snack Break

Seems like word is getting out that I'm a fan of theme songs/soundtracks for these Spotlights which I love. That means they're starting to come to me, instead of me having to go find them which is a win/win in my book. Mr @AlfieBradic is one of those that has heard the news, so allow me to present a metal rendition of Halo 2's Peril.

Put it on repeat and let's check out the rest of this week's blog!

Snicker's Doodles

No long preamble here this week, let's get right to it.

Created as a commission piece, this landscape by @AhiruLady shows a really epic battle happening. Check out all the details!

Today is the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion so it's only fitting that I show off @Elite00887's Rosie the Riveter (famous WWII recruiting campaign) inspired Sangheili poster. I love this and think he did a great job.

Even Spartans need a little R&R sometimes and it looks like @Josiah_Naga's caught a Spartan getting a little gaming in. I wonder what their game of choice is?

I've been fortunate to live in many places across the globe and have seen how video games can bring people together. @Riv3rse shared this team shot of the Italian Spartan Company Halosofia. Mi piace!

If you want to change up your phone's background or lock screen, let @kaakria help you out with these absolutely adorable Chief options. They are SUPER cute and have made it into my phone's rotation to change things up a bit!

And while we're talking about kaakria, she's also made an absolutely lovely female Sangheili dancing on the beach.

Up next is master chief 7v's render of Master Chief and the Arbiter hanging out on High Charity. Looks like they're joined by some uninvited guests though.

I might be dating myself with this, but if anyone remembers those old scratch art kits you could buy once upon a time, you will understand why @DeadMaster115's Master Chief reminds me strongly of that.

We all saw Chief's visor crack in Halo 5, @akip34 took it a slight step further in this abstract take on Master Chief.

Halo minifig screenshots are always really fun and @redconstrux's "Brutal" shot is no exception.

If you haven't heard that Halo: Reach is coming to MCC and that MCC is coming to PC, well, you're 199L8 and I don't know what to tell you. At least you can check out @TheArchitect013's "Lone Wolf" in anticipation!

@ryan_chee says it's his turn now so check out his Energy Sword wielding Spartan!

@PedanticAuspice's Master Chief decided to ignore the famous, "No capes!" advice of one Edna Mode and opted for the tattered style. Jokes aside, this is a fantastic piece.

A little encouragement goes a long way and I firmly believe in encouraging people as often as possible. This Cheerful Pod is pretty much my new spirit animal.

While some are looking forward to reliving 2010 and Halo: Reach all over, some others are looking to the future and to Halo Infinite, @NodorTheConquer is one of those people. Here's a render of his OC Spartans, Yuno-A392 and Noah-A242, ready for Halo Infinite.

Half Baked

Going to kick this section off with a work-in-progress piece because I'm really excited to see the final piece. Valhalla is one of the more easily recognizable maps in Halo and @ruggles117 is painting the map by hand and it looks SO GOOD. Bonus points for the live-action shots of the WIP! I don't like rushing art because I know everyone works at their own pace but I am eagerly waiting to see the finished product.

Speaking of easily reconizable Halo things, I'd wager the Halo: Combat Evolved box art is up there, so I am not surprised when people like TUBBYDUCK717 choose to recreate it.

We've seen a lot of Chief in this week's Spotlight so when I came across @Spartan_Mandy's Cortana Evolution, I knew I had to include it.

If a blend of Elite and Spartan is your preference, then you'll enjoy @lildavid818_'s Helioskrill drawing.

Don't worry though, /u/Newkirk_One_Seven won't let us run out of Master Chief with his Halo 2 Chief drawing.

I'm rounding this section out with the other Halo classic - some Helljumper artwork by @StuffCaleb.

Black and Whites

Not only are black and whites delicious cookies, it's also some people's preferred color palette for artwork so this section is for them!

@Tomasfl117 was inspired to grab a pencil and sketch out Noble 6 after the latest Loot Crate announcement.

Not all Spartans use ARs, /u/Ender_Kalash seems to favor the Energy Sword.

I found this next piece in our Halo Discord's #share-your-content section. It's a Grunt Goblin by G3N3RAL JO. I'm partial to this one because the Grunt yelling things like, "STOP THAT HUMAN SHOOTY CAR!" while you whiz around him on a Mongoose or Warthog is great. Getting trashtalked by a giant Unggoy mech is absolutely hilarious to me and no one will ever convince me otherwise.

Eye Candy

I know I've said this before but I find the trend of some weeks being loaded with content in one direction vs. another really fascinating. I wonder if there's some specific cause to that?

I'm starting things off with @R1Lam from Japan with this kickass ODST cosplay! I love the attention to detail, it looks fantastic.

Up next, let's take a look at @_alpha117's Chief cosplay. This is also excellent work and I will never get tired of good cosplay. Never ever.

It's not cosplay without some props so take a look at @hardtmannn's M6G from Halo: Reach. Just missing some armor to go with it now!

Sweet Rolls

It's finally video time! There's some pretty good ones here so hurry back with your popcorn (you add butter, right? And salt?) and get comfortable.

Everyone always loves a Top 10 compilation and @MLGPuckett is back with Episode #7 of Puckett's Top 10 for Halo!

If you think you have what it takes to make it into one of these videos, be sure to tag @MLGPuckett, @PlazaPlays, and use the hashtag #PuckettsTopTen for a chance to be featured. They are also offering cash prizes for the top 3 places so what are you waiting for? Watch the video, get inspired, and go do awesome things in Halo!

For you machinima folks out there, our friend @Ascend_Hyperion is back with his latest, Origin. If you're interested in machinima, want to know more, or generally become more involved, be sure to check out their discord server too!

In the description of @FlameSama1's latest montage, he explains why I enjoy watching them so much - you get a sense of someone's playstyle and personality. I love seeing the vast differences from all corners so hopefully you guys enjoy it too. Also, I really hope this isn't your last montage, Sama!

I love me some SWAT games so when I saw @PANINIHEDGEHOG's SWAT montage, I knew I had to include it. Especially since there's gameplay from multiple games, including a really awesome 2 burst exterm somewhere in the middle. Now you gotta watch to see it!

/u/STR-1KeR wants to know how he survived this and tbh, after watching it, I want to know the very same thing. I would have died approximately 23 times from things well outside my control AND gotten all my kills stolen to boot.

Mr @lightsxbox snuck this montage into me just under the wire and I *almost* didn't get a chance to watch it but I'm glad I did!

Made to Order

Browsing pretty (awesome) pictures never gets old and I wanted to share some of my favorites from this week.

Untitled by @Shnugly

Untitled by @SwankyScreensh1

Bluemoon by @vupoll

Pride by @Primordial117

Halo Souls by @ItzQuinzel

Renegade by Angel0fShad0ws Untitled by @halo3warthog

Petits Fours

After the busy week I've had so far, assorted sweet treats are absolutely welcome.

Doodle's Snickers

It's finally time for my favorite piece of the week. If you've played through ODST you were either the savior of Huragoks and left all the Engineers alone or you were a monster and killed them all. If you were in the latter camp, @TheBupinn's HuraGlock (get it?!) Vergil would like to have a word or two with you.

This weekend is E3 and I'm really excited for a lot of things. Not the least of which is seeing what everyone thinks of the show as a whole and to see what amazing artwork and creations you all churn out as you hopefully get bitten by the inspiration bug. As always, if your content is somewhere here in the Spotlight, reach out to me with your Gamertag so I can add you to the list of Fire Unicorn recipients. Until next time!

Ciao! xx

--Sam