This week we catch up with Artist and editor Muffled Berri!

For those who might not know you, can you introduce just who is Muffled Berri

Hi! I’m MuffledBerri, most people call me Muffled/Muff/Berri, I’m a 22-year-old ex-bioscience undergrad now focused on a career U-turn into Graphics Illustration/Design. You might have seen me simping on Twitter for Monty and Goyo whilst drinking some spicy choccy milk.

Out of all the games, what made you want to focus on Siege related art?

I’d never really been a fan of FPS games and originally got into playing Siege during the “Rainbow Is Magic” event back in 2019 because my IRL friend convinced me that WAS Siege. I believed him and was hooked since then.

I’m a huge fan of the pro-league scene and community of siege: from the cosplayers, content creators and to the fans. 2019/2020 was pretty tough for me as I was living with a domestically abusive partner, feeling extremely isolated, especially once COVID hit. Playing Siege, building new friendships and expressing my creativity/passion for the game with fanart really helped my mental health and got me through it! I fell in love with the characters just as much as the community.

Being a Rainbow Six Artist, when you are playing over designing, who are your go to operators?

Frost. Because double shotty pogmat, am I right? I’ve also been enjoying Goyo because I can burn everyone, including my teammates.

I’ve been liking Melusi/Valkyrie on defence and Thatcher/Ying for the attack, although I’m a silver at best and still learning!  Sometimes I just follow teammates around to listen to Monty and Goyo voice lines...

You were recently tasked with drawing the UKIN Spring player and talent drawings, what were the main challenges behind this, and did you have a favourite to draw? 

The biggest challenge for me was consistency over the short timeframe. I drew waist up portraits in 4k (on a canvas size of 3840x2160 pixels) however many of the references were absolutely tiny/bad resolution in comparison or only a headshot. This made it super tricky to accurately depict the players but I tried my best! Each portrait took around 3 to 4 hours from line art to full colour.

My favourites to draw were AceOfPyrite and Dezachu because they both wore these pretty floral shirts. Grace and Fluke were fun to draw as their hair was challenging and I also loved working with Cowana’s jersey colours.

What would be your dream art project or role?

C O N C E P T   A R T - I’ve always wanted to become a concept artist but never really thought of it as a career before now. This year I plan to work on my graphic illustration skills to build my portfolio to include fantasy scenery and character design. I also draw a damn fine pony!

Create your own team - you are the coach, what 5 players are you picking up? It can be any player Pro or Am across the world.

I’d have to go with my guy @Ralphyy (since he’s used to carrying me!) and @ArtiflexWarden as IGL, he’s super supportive!

Probably some of DarkZero boys like Hyper or Mint and DZ’s very own LonnieLighting - since he’s an absolute laugh. I’d be their personal mental hype/cheerleader coach more than a skill-based coach - who’s after some post-game drinks?

Any final comments or places for people to follow you?

I’ve recently rebranded and changed my username, you can find me on Twitter and Instagram as @MuffledBerri

Or you can catch me streaming art and variety games on my twitch channel at twitch.tv/muffledberri

I want to say a massive thank you to my close friends in the r6 community, and irl for helping me get through last year and to UKIN for giving me the opportunity to work on such an awesome project!

Stay safe and vigilant in these tough times and keep on being amazing everyone <3