I never cease to be amazed at how passionate and creative the Halo community is. We're several years past the launch of our most recent games and I know everyone is desperately waiting for any kind of Halo News™ and despite that, you all continue to create and share all sorts of goodies with us. It's incredible and an absolute pleasure to look through the various channels and hashtags looking for content.

One of the things we've started doing this year is showcasing some of your work over on our Instagram page. How do we decide what we post there?

Step 1: Have an active Instagram channel

Step 2: Be featured in a Halo Community Spotlight

Step 3: ???

Step 4: Prophet!

Really. It's that easy. If you're a regular content creator and have been considering branching out to Instagram, I say go for it! And then make sure you link your profile somewhere so I can find it when it comes time for our Instagram Spotlights. *wink wink nudge nudge*

Enough business, on to the fun!

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME

If you've ever been in a forge lobby with me, you know that it's really not uncommon to find random Olive the Pigs or Timmy the Whales left around the canvas. Or to go around a corner and see the entire floor missing. I'm a pro at accididentally deleting things but then also not knowing how to delete things on purpose (see: animals left everywhere). So when I say that I genuinely don't understand how people get good at Forge, please know that is the absolute truth. When I see what people like @xb1webrider are capable of using the tools in Halo 5's Forge, I am consistently blown away and it leaves me feeling like this all the time. It's sheer wizardry I tell you! I mean look at this Halo Infinite Chief done in Forge. And check out the Spartan on the shoulder for scale. 🤯

SNACK BREAK

Everyone has their preferred music genre; personally I'm partial to a lot of classic rock. I stumbled upon this mash-up of the Halo theme and Rolling Stones' Paint It, Black entirely accidentally. I am not familiar with @Larawithabird but I am in love with how seamlessly she blends the two songs. Paint It, Black is already a great song in and of itself, adding it to Halo? Yes please. I really dig the top down view of her hands on the keyboard to see how she's playing too, super cool. Anyways, enough from me. Enjoy!

SNICKER'S DOODLES

These upcoming selections are fresh out of the oven so get 'em while they're hot! (Does anyone actually let their cookies cool completely before eating at least one? Come on. I know everyone eats one while they're still warm and gooey.)

While we've got Halo Infinite Chief on the brain, let's check out @AbiSV1's Blender edition! Simple and clean...too bad that Mjlonir won't be so clean as soon as Chief gets to work.

With Halo: Reach in the works, looks like @T_H_A_N_E couldn't resist modeling Noble Team! Look how cute they are!

I've seen an awful lot of people asking for a Halo: Reach 2 and I'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that Halo: Combat Evolved exists and came out in 2001! [slow clap - Grim] If you've played CE (and if you haven't, what are you waiting for?) then we're all familiar with the scene where Captain Keyes hands Chief what's affectionately become known as the God Pistol for the first time. @yourjeanz used minifigs to capture this classic moment and to remind us that he doesn't keep his M6D loaded.

Now why would one need a weapon? Glad you asked! Someone's gotta keep those pesky Covenant in line. Don't let the peaceful landscape that @NakaiCanon commissioned from @QuintSays fool you, there's always something brewing.

Then again, @OrtaRakom caught some Elites just hanging out so maybe not EVERYONE is in on the whole "Destroy the Demon" thing.

I'm just going to make this the Elite Trifecta because @LucineAura *also* brings us some Elite art. This time in the form of a painting that almost looks like a constellation!

ODSTs are pretty prominent figures in Halo's story, what with the whole "fighting for humanity" thing and all. Taking some already recognizable Halo art, @nikiawolf made this really cool ODST compostion.

If you're going to battle some space aliens, you're gonna need a space ship...and probably a pretty big one at that. Luckily, @StoneBoi11_ has the ship ready to go. He recreated the Forward Unto Dawn in our favorite block builder - Minecraft!

We'll pretend that @nagunkgunk's commissioned ODST is assigned to the ship for the sake of making this a nice, smooth writing transition! I love the colors in this, even if I worry about the poor guy burning his fingers on that plasma.

Don't worry, we got Spartans too. @Playbox36 is back with more posters! I couldn't decide whether I liked the machinima theater-style poster or the poster of Team Orion better so you get both, yay!

@Uriel117Uri also had posters on the brain. He grabbed some of Chief's stances and tossed them together in a 117 poster. Cortana and a Halo ring even make an appearance.

I really get a sense of, "Okay I'm ready, let's do this." from Chief in this piece by @LuminousCactuz. I think it's a combination of the stance and the ambience that do it for me.

I don't know about you, but I get some real Cyberpunk-y vibes from @Eclipse_Halo's Spartans. I have my personal favorite between these two but I figured I'd let you all pick your poison.

Miss @jollynerd was asked ever so nicely by her other half @shadowrckts for her version of some Halo Infinte concept art and this is her final result. I love how vibrant and vivid the colors are! It makes me want to splash through the stream and watch a Spartan frolic.

I think we should keep /u/dovahkiin0117's Echo Team away from the glade above before they turn it into a warzone. At the very least, they'll take the landscape out with a bang if that's how it all goes down. On a real note though, I love how good these shots turn out! There's obviously a lot of care and love put into making these minifig shots look great.

Here's a CE inspired Master Chief going for A Walk in the Woods by /u/acuddlebug. The name is a clever play on words!

Not to be outdone, @GerardsJulien took a stab at making a Mark V prototype for our favorite man in green. It's a little more rounded and, in my not-an-artist-opinion, he did a great job.

With Halo: Outpost Discovery going on, Spartans Hazel and Owen have gotten a lot of love and attention recently. If you are going to one of the upcoming weekends (or have been to Orlando or Philly!) then you'll get to see @SavageGiggles and @UrbGotti_ walking around in cosplay (yes they're really that tall!) but if not, don't worry! You can always check out @TheArchitect013's SFM portraits of Spartans Hazel-A302 and Owen-B096 below.

The Needler Hog was introduced in Halo 5. Not content with just a Warthog variant of that, @271Raptor mocked up a Needler Wraith. Can you imagine getting gunned down by a bottomless Needler turret?! Also now I want a Needler Fungoose. Just imagine cruising around, holding down left trigger to unleash a barrage of pink mist across the battlefields from your Needlegoose. It sounds amazing! I wonder who I need to ask about this...

This Spartan by @RealKaiserJess only took a tiny bit of her time. And by "tiny bit" I really mean 20 or so hours so not a little bit at all. The work paid off though, the finished product looks great! Here's both the lined/unlined version.

This piece by @karan343 isn't titled but I've headcanoned it as "The Last Supper, a la Halo." There's a massive feast going on and it looks like everyone is invited, even if it makes Chief look a little nervous.

Half Baked

Let's check out some sketches, some paintings, and some just downright awesome.

@sjbdario pulled out one of my favorite Buck quotes so how could I not showoff his pencil sketch of our favorite ODST turned Spartan IV? "You know the music, time to dance."

The ever talented @TexD41 proving again why I love her work. Using markers, she's doodled a cranky Cortana. I can hear the disapproval emanating from the paper now.

I don't really know why @aegies calls this still of his "nerdy" because like Grim says in the comments, this is clearly the best. Let's be honest, anything Halo is definitely the best kind of still to sketch! I love this a lot.

Literally minutes after I hit the "publish" button on my last Spotlight, I came across /u/grapefrootjoose's incredible art of Master Chief and I immediately started my collection of assets for this Spotlight. This is absolutely stunning and I cannot believe this is colored pencils. Wow!

I don't even think I have the proper words to describe how captivating /u/Vinaklito's sketch of Halo 4 Master Chief is. I'm just going to let the work speak for itself.

This is honestly the first Spider-Man themed take on Spartan armor I have seen come across my screens and I have to wonder if it was influenced by Spider-Man: Far From Home. @HaloEnthusiast has outdone himself again because this looks fantastic. Bravo good sir.

Eye Candy

I really love this section this week. There's some pretty unique community submissions coming up so hopefully you enjoy them as much as I did!

Halo: Outpost Discovery Orlando was /u/LuigiPunch's inaugural outing in his Spartan cosplay. For a first go, I think this turned out really well!

I'm not *usually* one for memes but if you've seen my twitter feed recently you'll know that I am ALL about those Area 51 memes. Why is that relevant? Because @CosplayDarkwolf asked who wants to storm Area 51 with him and, well, with an offer like that, how can a girl refuse?

Maybe we can all go to Area 51 and rescue @ClebMaher from the Prophets' grasp! Or maybe that'd turn into one of those, "I stormed Area 51 and all I got was this Prophet" t-shirt. Either way, sounds like a win to me.

Not content for just one or two tattoos, @P1geonDetective has a whole Halo sleeve of them! Here's a couple of my favorites. There's also a Chief and a Cortana so be sure to click the profile link and check out the rest.

Sweet Rolls

How-tos, Halo: Outpost Discovery roundups, and montages - oh my! Got a nice little variety of videos this week, let's go browse the marquee and pick what we want to watch first!

With the Outpost team and crew en route to the Windy City for this weekend's convention in Chicago, it seems only fitting to kick things off with @TheReachWay's recap video of his time in the City of Brotherly Love - Philadelphia!

You might recognize one of the people in the video above as none other than @UberNick_! In collaboration with @DoubleAA_Editor, here is Nick's final Halo 5 montage. 💚

If you've watched any HCS gameplay on Plaza, I'm sure you've seen people go from Plaza to top orange with ease. I am not one of those people that can gracefully make that jump. I slam into the wall repeatedly and then go, "Eh never mind, I'll just walk" and leave Plaza to promptly die. Lucky for me, and anyone who struggles like me, HCS Grassroots partner @TheShyWay has us covered with a super simple walkthrough of how to make jumps like that. I'll be watching this on repeat while I struggle to make this jump.

If you prefer a more cinematic approach to a Halo: Outpost walkthrough video, you'll definitely want to check out @BaconMediaYT's video. It's absolutely beautifully done.

Petits Fours

Just in case you haven't had your fill yet, here's another assortment of goodies to entice you!

Doodle's Snickers

I quite literally almost forgot this section this week and I'm glad I didn't! If you look at @sonicsoapshoes' Halo GTA loading screens and don't wonder what it would be like for Master Chief to steal a Pelican and joyride around the Ring, then, well, I don't know what to tell you!

Thus concludes yet another Halo Community Spotlight! Thanks for joining me week after week and for continuing to pump out incredible content which helps make my job even easier. Until next time!

Ciao xx

--Sam