Nickelodeon brought us The Legend of Korra in 2012, continuing the story that began with avatar Aang, or "the last airbender." Now, the world has advanced 70 years, and avatar Korra lives in a world of steampunk technology, airships, pro-bending... and terrifying new villains.
Season 1 of this show took place in Republic City, a modern metropolis where people from around the world live together. Here, Korra met the new members of team avatar: Asami Sato, and the brothers Mako and Bolin. Great characters like these call for some fan art, and many The Legend of Korra fans made some great pieces of art starring the fire bender Mako. Here is a gallery of ten Mako fanarts we love.
9 The man himself
Why not start out with a bust of this character? Mako is an unforgettable guy, from his cool hairstyle and angular eyebrows to his stern expression and his trademark scarf. Mako makes the tough and silent type look good, doesn't he?
It looks like Mako is in no mood for games today, and he's either plotting a way to fight back against the Equalists or just posing for a photograph. We love the level of detail in this painting, and the reddish hues on his clothes, hair, and skin mark him as a fire bender at heart. He's a fierce one all right.
8 Fire Bender poster boy
Here is another portrait of Mako looking rather serious, and we don't blame him since he carries many burdens. Mako and Bolin lost their parents as kids, and they had to grow up on the mean streets of Republic City and deal with many criminal types. It can make you a tough guy.
Now we get a fuller picture of Mako, including his crossed arms and great details on his jacket. It's not easy to draw the folds and shadows on clothes like that to make it look real, but this artist handled it just right, and his face looks perfectly 3D and solid. Impressive!
7 Mako in action
Above all, Mako is a bender, and he is ready to use his flames not to harm others, but to fight for justice and to protect the innocent. After the villainous fire benders of the original show, it's nice to see a fire bender uphold what is right and demonstrate good character.
Not to mention sports! Mako is a pro-bender and the leader of the Fire Ferrets bender team. In this picture, Mako is cool as a cucumber while he conjures his flames, and those fire effects look real enough to melt your screen.
6 It didn't end well
Before Korra chose Asami as her one true love, she experimented a bit and dated both Bolin and Mako at some point. During season 2, Korra and Mako were going steady, and while they were happy on the surface, things were getting tense.
Korra lashed out whenever Mako didn't totally take her side, and their different responsibilities and lifestyles forced an end to their relationship. They were pretty upset for a time, but they got over it by season 3. This fan art, meanwhile, shows how much they can rub each other the wrong way! Their stances and facial expressions are just priceless.
5 I have the power
This piece of Mako fan art uses a more bare-bones approach, favoring hard lines and simple shading to create an image. This approach paid off with some stunning results, and the negative space helps emphasize the subject and creates a clear focus.
Mako isn't upset or tense this time, but rather, he looks meditative as he contemplates his place in the world as a fire bender. As Jeong Jeong once said, fire is alive and can get out of control, and no doubt Mako is reminding himself to never take his power for granted.
4 Something on his mind
Like the previous piece of Mako fan art, this image relies on simple colors and a stripped-down approach to make a bolder statement about the character. There are no distracting details to draw the eye away from Mako and his current emotional state.
Lush and highly detailed art can be gorgeous, but this minimalist approach has equal merits, and we love the somber tone of blue on white as Mako looks out the window with that facial expression. It's downright film noir, if you think about it.
3 After the fight
Who says gray is a boring or ugly color? Not us! A lot of fan art (and art in general) can make great use of shades of gray to make a visually striking image like this one, which as every bit of emotion as a fully colored image.
Based on Mako's parted clothes and his expression, we're guessing he just survived a tough fight, and we like the somewhat somber but also inspirational look. As in "it's a tough life, but I survive. Let me protect you." Bonus: the gold of Mako's eyes stands out wonderfully against the gray tones, a great idea by the artist.
2 Phoenix power
In nature, fire serves a vital role: it can burn away old growth and fertilized the ground, and then allow new plant life to grow. That's how it works on the American Great Plains, for example, and in fiction, the phoenix embodies the life-and-death cycle of fire.
Mako seems to understand that, and he's not a thug like Admiral Zhao or a maniac like Fire Lord Ozai or Princess Azula. Mako has a deeper understanding of fire's complex nature, like Zuko did, and any phoenix would be happy to perch on his shoulder.
1 In action!
This may be a work in progress (WIP), but already, we're impressed. This looks like it came straight from the animation studio, with its level of detail and grasp of action and body postures. We can practically see Mako in action from here.
As it is, the simple black and white image is nice and crisp, which helps emphasize the motion and action. And as for a fully colored image... let your imagination run wild!