As the days drew closer to the launch of Heroes of the Storm, talented artists from this side of Azeroth, the Koprulu Sector, Sanctuary, and beyond took up the tools of their trades to defend and celebrate the Nexus. One-by-one, they channeled their inner Heroes to create stunning illustrations depicting characters from two or more different Blizzard universes engaged in battle. There were over $13,000 worth of prizes and an original sketch from Sam Didier up for grabs, so the competition was sure to be as fierce as any all-out brawl in the Nexus!

By the time the deadline for the contest drew to a close, an incredible 2,373 pieces of stunning artwork had been submitted by artists from around the world! The sheer talent of each and every one of these artists is astounding, and we highly encourage you to dive into all of the exquisite contest entries on DeviantArt.

Out of the twenty-five semi-finalists selected by the Heroes of the Storm Art Team from the fifty pieces chosen by deviantART staff, Sam Didier, Senior Art Director of Heroes of the Storm, had the formidable task of selecting three winners whose work best embodied the brawl-infused spirit of the contest. We are pleased to reveal the winners below!

First Place "Encounter" by TamplierPainter TamplierPainter has won: A framed sketch by Sam Didier, Senior Art Director for Heroes of the Storm, inspired by the winning entry

A framed print of the 1st place entry signed by the Heroes of the Storm Creative Team

$6,000 USD

$250 in Battle.net Balance (USD) and a signed boxed copy of Heroes of the Storm

8,000 DeviantArt Points

1-year Premium Membership to DeviantArt.com Judge's comments: The Lightbringer against the Demon Hunter. The rendering of this piece is unbelievable. It looks like an oil painting done by one of the old masters. The sheer power of the paladin’s attack is balanced beautifully by the elegance of Valla’s riposte. I especially enjoy that the artist chose to create Uther and Valla wearing their Master armor variants. Another point of interest to me is Grimskull Nazeebo lurking in the background with his gargantuan. Although he hails from the Diablo-verse like the Demon Hunter, it is unclear to the me which side he is actually fighting for and, depending on the outcome of this battle, the victor may still have another battle on their hands.

Second Place "Battle Heroes " by Kuzinskiy Kuzinskiy has won: A framed print of the 2nd place entry signed by the Heroes of the Storm Creative Team

$3,000 USD

$150 Battle.net Balance (USD) and a signed boxed copy of Heroes of the Storm

4,000 DeviantArt Points

6-month Premium Membership to DeviantArt.com Judge's comments: This piece represents the glorious mayhem that is Heroes of the Storm! Blue verses Red. Warcraft versus StarCraft versus Diablo (literally). This is what the game is all about: all of our heroes and villains locked in a rousing brawl of heroic proportions, and let’s not forget another aspect of the game…smashing the hell out of the innumerable nameless minions! These guys are real heroes as well since no matter how hard our toughest characters massacre them, they keep coming back to the fight!

Third Place "Battle against Grave Golem" by Samarskiy Samarskiy has won: A framed print of the 3rd place entry signed by the Heroes of the Storm Creative Team

$1,000 USD

$100 Battle.net Balance (USD) and a signed boxed copy of Heroes of the Storm

4,000 DeviantArt Points

6-month Premium Membership to DeviantArt.com Judge's comments: I love this piece for so many reasons. All the heroes chosen for this image are perfect representations of our three worlds, but the real star of this image is the Grave Golem. Grave Golems were specifically created for Heroes of the Storm and are found on the various battlegrounds in our game. To see some of our oldest and most memorable heroes teaming up against one of our newest additions to the Blizzard world really lets me know that we are still creating creatures people are invested in.

You can check out the winners on DeviantArt's announcement blog, too!

Thank you to all contest participants for your enthusiasm for Heroes of the Storm, and for being a part of our creative community. Stay tuned as we highlight more fantastic fan art from the community, and make sure to check out more of the winning artists' work in their respective galleries listed above.

Have you created your own Heroes of the Storm fan art? Make sure to tell us all about it over in our Community Creations forum!