fan art
noun
variants
or less commonly fanart
: artwork based on popular works of fiction (such as books, movies, etc.) that is created by fans
Fan art is unofficial drawings and other renderings of famous characters. "Push the boundaries," said Brian Kesinger, an artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios who sells his own prints on the side. "Fan art isn't about rules. It's about expressing yourself."—
Jonathan Horn
Jonathan HornAnd the Slender Man story itself inspired everything from video games to fanart to a … horror film.—Aja Romano
Aja RomanoExamples of fan art in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Some of the fan art is just hilarious and insane and very creative and brilliant.
—EW.com, 23 June 2025
The exhibit celebrates Whataburger's 75th anniversary and brings its online fan art community to life in a physical gallery setting.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2010
The players themselves showed off a lot of enthusiasm for those little details, to the extent of already having their own fan art being created by artists in their off time, showing off embroidery, dolls and stickers.
—Kambole Campbell, Variety, 11 June 2025
The event featured red carpet photo ops, fan Q&As, and a fan art showcase.
—Kristin Westcott Grant, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Their fans are building streaming campaigns, designing fan art, and learning choreography for unreleased songs.
—Eda Uysen, Rolling Stone, 16 May 2025
Inside, there’s an eclectic mishmash of fan art, memorabilia, Grammys and awards of all sorts strewn about; paintings of a smiling Dolly Parton and an ingenue Audrey Hepburn; and there is a back room with a collection of guitars reaching into the hundreds, an obsession of his.
—Josh Brolin, Billboard, 29 May 2025
For Adobe’s go-to-market team, this includes collaborating with influencers, gathering feedback from younger users during pre-release testing and developing features that align with Gen Z’s creative pursuits, such as fan art, music visuals and social media graphics.
—Melody Brue, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Catch up quick: The Whataburger Museum of Art launched on Instagram in 2021, after the pandemic sidelined the company's plans for a brick-and-mortar fan art gallery.
—Megan Stringer, Axios, 24 Feb. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
EW.com, 23 June 2025
The exhibit celebrates Whataburger's 75th anniversary and brings its online fan art community to life in a physical gallery setting.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2010
The players themselves showed off a lot of enthusiasm for those little details, to the extent of already having their own fan art being created by artists in their off time, showing off embroidery, dolls and stickers.
—Kambole Campbell, Variety, 11 June 2025
The event featured red carpet photo ops, fan Q&As, and a fan art showcase.
—Kristin Westcott Grant, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Their fans are building streaming campaigns, designing fan art, and learning choreography for unreleased songs.
—Eda Uysen, Rolling Stone, 16 May 2025
Inside, there’s an eclectic mishmash of fan art, memorabilia, Grammys and awards of all sorts strewn about; paintings of a smiling Dolly Parton and an ingenue Audrey Hepburn; and there is a back room with a collection of guitars reaching into the hundreds, an obsession of his.
—Josh Brolin, Billboard, 29 May 2025
For Adobe’s go-to-market team, this includes collaborating with influencers, gathering feedback from younger users during pre-release testing and developing features that align with Gen Z’s creative pursuits, such as fan art, music visuals and social media graphics.
—Melody Brue, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Catch up quick: The Whataburger Museum of Art launched on Instagram in 2021, after the pandemic sidelined the company's plans for a brick-and-mortar fan art gallery.
—Megan Stringer, Axios, 24 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fan art.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fan%20art. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share