It's here. The year of infinite jokes has arrived (in hindsight, I should have seen this coming) and honestly? I'm here for it. I'm an absolute sucker for bad jokes/puns, just don't tell Unyshek. 2020 is shaping up to be an incredible (and incredibly busy!) year but there's always time enough to enjoy the fruits of the Halo community's creative passions. I can't believe that it's been almost a year to the day since I got to push the "publish" button on my first one of these blogs. That means it's also been just over a year since I joined 343 and I can honestly say that time really does fly when you're having fun. As great as the past year has been, this year's promising to amp that up so I'll stop babbling and dilly dallying along. Let's get the party started!

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME

We're starting this series of Spotlights out on a very strong note that will be really tough to top, I think. @Jbn0s0rus' take on a Calvin and Hobbes scene is simply adorable and way cuter than I would have ever guessed possible. From the youthful characters to the setting, everything about this is absolutely precious and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. I wonder what kind of sandwiches everyone is eating? I was going to suggest jambon-beurre but I think I see lettuce peeking out so maybe they're BLTs instead?

Snack Break

For anyone just starting to explore their artistic capabilities, don't get discouraged. The whole "practice makes perfect" adage gets thrown around a lot but there's a lot of truth to it. I've seen some people sharing their artistic glow-ups (@QuintSays comes to mind here!) and it's been a fantastic thing to see. Progress isn't something you can always *see* until you look back at where you've come from.

"Sam this is the music section, what are you talking about?"

Well that applies to music too! I stumbled across @rob_landes showing off how the Halo theme might sound at all skill levels. If this isn't a great reminder that practice truly does work, then I don't know what is. If you like Rob's Halo theme, be sure to check out the rest of his YouTube channel for a lot more video game and pop culture pieces.

Moral of the story: If you're just starting out on your path, don't be discouraged. Keep at it and progress will be made. Make this your year!

Snicker's Doodles

If you need inspiration and goals to aim for, maybe this section can help a bit!

Spartan Vanessa, @spartanca

Winter's Cold, @StellatheFox26

Fade, /u/Mxxnlxghtxwl

Two Sides of the Same Coin, @Rogue_107

Helljumper, @LumiousCactuz

Flood Dragon, @Azreonn

Voices, @benoski73

One Man Army, @z3n_y

ODST: Magazine, Issue 1, @zrmbe

Hera Xy Seraph, @RvnG_Astro

Goofing Off, @Colt3Diehard

The Will of the Gods, @cole_protocol

Miscellaneous Halo, @s-mohamud

Babysitter, /u/Garnock

Wake Me When You Need Me, @BobbyGunn22

Half Baked

If hand-drawn is more your thing, this section should be up your alley!

The Ring, @newah

Chief, @Shinjitsu_halo

M820 Scorpion, /u/kiwi_co

Spartan Seybia, @lilie_toons

Emile, @DigitaiRen

Pillar of Autumn, /u/D777-AOI

Arbiter, /u/MLP_BILBO

Halo 2 Battle Rifle, /u/JackLockjam

Wort Wort, /u/AstralHydra707

5 Minute Chief, /u/James_099

Eye Candy

As always, the craftsmanship on these tattoos and cosplay are incredible.

Halo: Combat Evolved Grunt, /u/SofaJedi93

Master Chief, /u/dap995254

Legendary, /u/Nrichards678

ODST, @combinestrider

Master Chief, /u/F16fightr

Hodge Podge

Time for a little mélange of things that don't fit in the other categories this week!

Lake Ontario, @VCG117

Zuka 'Zamamee, @JohnOnTheDrift

Noble 6, /u/CorranMirax69

Halo: Combat Evolved Master Chief, @GCustomsCreati1

Sweet Rolls

We've seen a whole lot of pretty pictures, now it's time to show some love to those video creators!

I will never tire of seeing @PureGeniusLego's stop-motion videos. This one is called "Halo Wars" and stars Douglas-042. Like all the other videos we've seen, this one is absolutely fantastic.

If you prefer pew-pew shooty Halo videos, how about a slick dualtage featuring @Ligh1s and @Greynex_? I really like the music choice here too!

/u/SomeBadEngineer made his brother a light-up Legendary symbol to hang on his wall for Christmas. Not only that, he recorded the process and put together a how-it's-made video. I love watching these.

I'm not even sure where to start with this clip from @MintBlitz so I'll just leave it here for you to watch and go, "That's just unfair." like I did. I'm clearly playing in the wrong lobbies because I can't ever get anything remotely close to this cool happening to me.

Petit Fours

We've reached the assorted rounded up of sweet treats from the community. Please to enjoy!

Doodle's Snickers

Grunt vs Flood, /u/shadknight20

(I really like the idea of a tiny Grunt {and by "tiny" I mean they're my height} trying to swing a giant Gravity Hammer at a Flood form.)

Fin

Yes, I'm really as tall as a Grunt at 5'2" (that's 157cm for everyone else). This is my life. I think on that note, I'll wrap up the first Community Spotlight of 2020 as this feels like a good stopping point. If your art or music or other content is featured somewhere in this blog, please don't forget to fill out this form so I can give out your Fire Unicorns next week.

Until next time, Spartans.

Ciao! xx

--Sam