For the first Community Spotlight of 2024, we are sharing with you the work of Domus Populi, a 3D modeling student and self-taught artist who makes a lot of Metroid fan art. Domus became a massive Metroid fan thanks to the latest entry in the series, Metroid Dread, released a couple years ago. We hope you’ll consider check her social medias to see more of her excellent work!
Domus Populi
Hey there, I go by the online handle of “DomusPopuli”, most people shorthand it to “Domus”. Either is fine for me. This handle definitely sounds weird, but it holds a nostalgic memory for me: I sneakily made the account during a history lesson, and when I had to find a name for it, my teacher said, “None of you youngsters will remember this phrase,” and that’s been my username since then.
For my current studies I’m getting used to 3D modelling, and sometimes, when I have time I sneak some Samus renders here and there , but my real passion is drawing. It has always been an integral part of my life, the obsession has been with me since the first moment I can remember and has never left me. Whether it be alone or with friends, I only have good times with drawing! Even if most of the time all I see is something to correct or improve upon. Due to this I am largely self taught, it’s all I ever knew. It would often start from a spark of inspiration, seeing another artist’s work and wanting to replicate it, as a challenge to see if I could reach their level. I get inspired by other artists on a daily basis.
Since this article is about Metroid it would make sense to also explain how I got introduced to the fandom, it was kind of a happy accident, really. When looking for a new game to pick up at the game store, my eye caught the cover-art of dread. It looked so cool I just had to grab it. Next thing you know I built up a shrine’s worth of collectibles from the franchise. They are displayed all around my working area.
The main reason I love this game series is not only for the game mechanics, the artist behind it, or the lore, but the characters. Especially from Other M, the most controversial game of the series so far, which introduced a lot of human characters: Anthony, Ian, my personal favourite Adam Malkovich and his platoon. We barely got to know them, which really saddens me because I’d love to know more about them. One of my “missions” is to help out by showing people another side of this game. We don’t have much content here, not only for Other M but Metroid as a whole so it’s up to us to make some!
Our Thoughts
Glaedrax
Domus’s mastery of perspective makes her artwork look incredible! I think my favorite are Samus vs. Meta Ridley from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Samus vs Raven Beak from Metroid Dread. I am always amazed at how dynamic her drawings look!
Image Gallery
For more of Domus’s works, please visit one of the links below: