Animal Crossing: New Horizons Art Guide - Here's why you need one!
Ever since New Horizons hit the stores, we've been getting surprised by how pervasive and ever-relevant the game has turned out to be. Now, though, we're getting into some seriously awesome territory, because from how things are churning, you may well need an Animal Crossing New Horizons art guide!
Now, there are two separate aspects to New Horizons art we'd like to cover. First is a sort of a stand-in for the real-world art events, since COVID-19 is still having a romp. The second is the in-game art stuff, courtesy of Jolly Redd! By the time you've read through this art guide, you will know not only which islands to visit for a little cultural upgrade, but also how to spot Redd's own tricky forgeries when dealing with AC's in-game art!
If you had the chance to check out our Turnip guide from last week, this is essentially what we'll be doing with Redd's art today! First, though, let us tell you about the current art world ongoings in Animal Crossing,
The Getty Museum has a presence in Animal Crossing: New Horizons!
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has put us all in a position we hadn't been in before. Not only are social events a major no-no, but we also have to contend with, well, being stuck at home, if we're part of the at-risk group, or if we simply don't want to expose ourselves to the virus. Museums, in particular, have been hit hard. Thankfully, the ones that are on the cutting edge of modernity have figured out a way of getting around the pandemic. The Getty, for example, has greenlit numerous artists to showcase their own high-profile art in-game!
Example shown above is that of Khnopff's Jeanne Kéfer, and its digital Animal Crossing rendition by Rachel Emmer. A remarkable translation, if we might say so ourselves! "I think it’s so cute," said Emmer. "I have a postcard of the painting hanging above my desk in my apartment in Hollywood, but I get the real painting in my ‘Animal Crossing’ world where there’s always sunshine and flowers and no Covid." We can only agree with and subscribe to Ms. Emmer's thoughts on the given matter!
The example provided is merely scratching the surface, of course. Getty's stance on it is crystal-clear: "We need to get our art to where people actually are, and they’re in this game," said the Enterprise Software Architect at Getty, David Newbury.
Similarly - though not directly related - this own article's header image shows the Howard University Marketing Professor Dana Williams-Johnson's Island. Her awesome display features her portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama, the bust of Queen Nefertiti, and an incredibly badass Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton. Look, if that's not awesome, nothing is.
But even more awesome still is that people from all walks of life are engaging with Animal Crossing: New Horizons to create a virtual world where everyone can be relaxed and happy, and where there's no need to worry about politics, the ongoing pandemic, or the climate change. It's nice, and it's just the sort of thing we need in these trying times.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Art Guide - How to spot Forgeries
Putting Getty and all that good stuff aside for a little while, there is an art-related gameplay element to New Horizons, as you're probably aware. In fact, this is the main reason why we felt an art guide might be necessary in the first place!
We trust you've already familiarised yourself with Redd, pictured above? The sneaky fox is in the business of selling all sorts of high-end artwork you normally won't have access to. The trick, however, is that most of the art Redd sells comes in either original or forgery format, and while originals can be placed in the Museum, sold at a high price, and are an otherwise great bang for your Bell, forgeries aren't all that neat. You can still hang them on your walls, for sure, but virtually nothing else.
This Animal Crossing New Horizons art guide aims to point out clear distinctions between the originals and the forgeries, which will help you out in making a good and informed purchase. We doubt any of us will ever outperform Getty, honestly, but we sure can try!
Before we start, you need to keep a few things in mind about Redd:
- Redd switches artwork around on a daily basis
- Four items are sold every day, and you can only buy one at a time
- There can be more than one original painting present in a day's stock (even all four of them)
Spotting forgeries in New Horizons
Artwork that does not have a forgery
Some items only ever appear in their original format! Here's a complete list, and we suggest you nab these whenever an opportunity makes itself apparent:
- Perfect Painting
- Twinkling Painting
- Dynamic Painting
- Mysterious Painting
- Proper Painting
- Calm Painting
- Flowery Painting
- Glowing Painting
- Warm Painting
- Moody Painting
- Worthy Painting
- Sinking Painting
- Nice Painting
Academic Painting Forgery
The forgery will have a considerably large coffee stain in the upper right corner of the painting. Da Vinci would not have been proud.
Amazing Painting Forgery
Look at the person smack-dab in the middle of the painting. Is he wearing a large black hat? If he isn't, then you're dealing with a forgery!
Basic Painting Forgery
This one's delightfully simple. Does the "protagonist" have a full head of bangs? If he does, then it's a forgery: the original artwork features a scruffier design, while the forgery opted for a straight line of hair on the forehead. Simple, but only if you know what you're looking for!
Detailed Painting Forgery
The original version of this artwork has blue flowers, while the ones on the forgery are a snazzy purple. Go for the blue, avoid the purple!
Famous Painting Forgery
One of the things Mona Lisa is famous for are her questionable eye-brows! Does she have them? Does she not? In any case, you'll be able to spot the angry visage of the forgery when it's in front of you.
Graceful Painting Forgery
This one can be a bit tricky to figure out at first, especially because there are two forgeries present for it. Basically, the original artwork features a woman that's facing the right side of the picture, whereas one forgery will be the mirrored image. Similarly, while the original artwork takes up only about two-thirds of the canvas, the second forgery will be substantially larger. So: the original is turned towards the right, and seems too small for the canvas!
Jolly Painting Forgery
While the original painting has a small flower bud coming out from where the "person"'s tie would be, the forgery does away with this detail. Look in the lower right corner of the painting to figure this one out!
Moving Painting Forgery
The fake version of the Moving Painting will have no trees in the upper right corner of the picture. The original, on the other hand, has a full forest right up there. An easy spot, really.
Quaint Painting Forgery
This is one of the trickier paintings to figure out. You need to look at the amount of milk that's being poured out of the jug. The forgery has a fair bit of it, while the original has only a trickle.
Scary Painting Forgery
Again we've got an example of two forgeries present for this one artwork. One is ridiculously easy to spot: the man will be smiling, while the original has them frowning, with the corners of the mouth turned downwards. The second forgery messes up the eyebrows: the person on the original looks angry, while the one on the forgery looks... sad? Could also be a stomach bug, honestly.
Scenic Painting Forgery
This might be one of the most difficult Animal Crossing forgeries to spot. Look in the lower-left corner of the painting: the forgery will only have one man and fewer dogs, while the original has two men and almost double the number of animals present.
Serene Painting Forgery
This one, on the other hand, is really easy to spot. Just look at the cuddly critter in the woman's arms: the ermine needs to be completely white on the original. The forged ermine, on the other hand, is grey with intermittent splotches of white on its fur.
Solemn Painting Forgery
Tricky, this one. Look at the background of the artwork and find the man standing in the doorway, on his way out. On the original, his hand will be hidden behind the wall, while the forged version will have his whole arm fully visible, in a waving sort of pose.
Wild Painting Forgery - Left Half
The Oni will be green on the forged version. No, really, it's that simple.
Wild Painting Forgery - Right Half
The Oni will be grey on the forged version. A vice-versa of the left side of the painting!
Wistful Painting Forgery
It's the earring: the original is a simple round pearl earring, while the forgery has a star. The second forged version, on the other hand, has the woman's eyes closed, and it's really easy to spot.
Wrap-up!
The primer above should be all you need to spot each and every one of Redd's forgeries! It will take a while for you to collect all the original artworks and hang them in the Museum, for sure, but with our guide, there will be nothing but time standing in your way! Getty would be proud!
Now, Redd does also have a wide variety of statues! You've guessed it: the tricky fox does indeed offer both original and forgery versions of each statue, but that's a topic for another day.
Be sure to make a fortune selling Turnips in the meantime, because where else would you make enough Bells to get all the artwork from Redd? Stay tuned for more awesome and useful content here at AC Runway!