Warning: This list contains spoilers for season 4 of Stranger Things!
In the weeks since Stranger Things, season 4 volume 1’s release, fans have responded passionately to the episodes, especially Max’s storyline in “Dear Billy.” The sequence involving Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” has become a character-defining scene for Max, which has inspired fan art like a Pixar version of her.
Stranger Things fans have fully displayed their creativity, with the best fan art depicting the show in many different styles and mediums. Each artist brings their own style to the fandom, so that even when they are portraying the same scenes like Max levitating, every interpretation is unique.
Max Floating
Via barbibernat.illustration, this piece of fan art portrays a popular image from “Dear Billy.” The scene where Max floats in the air as Vecna is trying to kill her has become a viral meme as well as an inspiration for tons of fan art.
This piece stands out in the bold red and blue pallet and chalky hand-drawn aspect of it. As Max floats above the graveyard, this simple piece brings a cartoonish quality. If a viewer didn’t know the background of it, it looks like it could be from a child’s storybook.
Mini Creel House
Via lucasduaart, this miniature replica of the Creel house is a fun and interesting piece of fan art. The Creel House is a creepy and enticing location reminiscent of haunted houses in horror movies, some referenced in Stranger Things. The Hawkins crew explores the house in this reality, and the Creel House is a dark, ominous shack surrounded by a hurricane of DemoBats in the Upside Down.
The use of cotton clouds and the glowing red and purple lighting make what could be a cute tiny house into a domineering house shrouded in mystery. The lighting also creates a spooky atmosphere. The artist sets up the sky as a full storm brewing above the tiny house.
Bloody Clock
From the Stranger Things subreddit, user u/WillsMonsters shared an illustration depicting Max running away from Vecna. Max runs toward a giant clock with what looks to be blood running down it. Surrounding her is lightning, and above the clock are threatening eyes.
The scene’s intensity and energy has led to fan art and video edits all across the internet in the last couple of weeks. The piece’s style emulates a familiar animation visuals from Cartoon Network shows like The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. The border’s shape is reminiscent of an old tv screen, further giving the classic kids cartoon effect. The simple character and chaotic background work well together.
Eleven Storm
Via u/art1na on the Stranger Things subreddit, the artist shared this fan art that looks like a poster for the show. Depicting Eleven outside a trailer covered in vines, the dark red sky above is ominous.
The level of detail in this illustration makes it look photorealistic. The piece’s realism makes it look like something that could have come straight out of the show. The small details add a lot as viewers can notice more hints at the story, like the addition of the shadows in the trailer.
Eddie Doll
Yet another medium used to recreate a character from the show is crochet. User u/IllustriousEdge9410 shared their Eddie Munson crochet doll on the Stranger Things subreddit. The little doll is an adorable representation of Stranger Things‘ new likable character, Eddie.
The attention to detail on the doll makes this a stand-out piece. He has his shaggy hair, the Hellfire Club t-shirt, and even a tiny guitar. The costume on the doll also has ripped jeans to deliver his rock-and-roll style. This would look great in any fans’ Funko pops collection.
Kaiju Vecna
Artist ManuelShOO took on the scene from “Dear Billy” again but, this time, reimagined Vecna as a kaiju. A kaiju is a giant monster, and by playing with the characters’ scales, they made a kaiju Vecna.
By making Vecna so big, it makes for a dramatic scene of the tentacled red recluse. Max is now so small in comparison it appears that she can fit in his hand, like some kind of King Kong situation. The art style makes this illustration look like it came straight from a comic book.
Two Sides of 001
The shocking reveal that Eleven’s guard friend Peter is actually One, and evil, lead to a dramatic shift in personality from Peter. His face seemed to change entirely from the soft-spoken Peter to sinister One. Because of this plot twist, Peter/One, portrayed by Jamie Campbell Bower, became Stranger Things‘ best new character in season 4.
Artist roggleart illustrates this shift with a tryptic image. They drew the left half of Peter’s face and the right half as One. Putting the two together, the compelling split between Vecna’s personas are even more stunning.
Running Up That Hill
Artist u/NiteOwl94 created the scene of Max running through the Upside Down and included the lyrics to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” floating around her with Vecna’s punishing glare staring behind her.
The addition of the lyrics to “Running Up That Hill” gives this piece a sense of movement and musicality. The song has become a hit 37 years after its release, climbing the charts to the Billboard Top 10 via Deadline. Including the song in the illustration is fitting as it played an important role in the scene.
Video Store
This fan art from collolinee shows Steve, Max, Robin and Dustin at the video store where the older two work. In this scene, they are searching for Eddie, who is now wanted by police.
This simplistic modern style looks like it could be from a graphic novel. The warm colors make it an aesthetically pleasing and comforting image. The artist added some nice details like old movie posters and stickers on the counter. This has a retro comic vibe to it.
Psychedelic Max
Another portrayal of Max floating from user u/koalanov on Reddit, the bright colors make it visually striking, with Max’s blue eyes and blue shirt really standing out. The scene particularly looks almost ritualistic with the positioning of the hands and the vines.
This psychedelic illustration is so electric that viewers feel they can “hear” the image. While a lot of Stranger Things fan art can be dark or ominous, this one, despite being from a traumatic scene, is so saturated that it gives a more energetic feel to the scene.