All About the Scary Painting in Animal Crossing 2024

scary painting animal crossing new horizons

Looking for an unsettling print fit for a haunted house in Animal Crossing: New Horizons? The Scary Painting will fulfill your dreams—or nightmares. Paintings in New Horizons can be used for decoration should you desire artistic flare. Works of art are also valued as donations for the Museum. Completing the art gallery can be tedious, but the Scary Painting is one piece to accomplish it. Here is what you should know about the Scary Painting.

What is the Scary Painting?

The Scary Painting is an art piece introduced in Dōbutsu no Mori e+ for the Nintendo Gamecube. It replaced the Healing Painting from Doubutsu no Mori+. Like other pieces of artwork in New Horizons, the Scary Painting has both a genuine and forged version. The fake variant will have upturned eyebrows, giving its depicted actor a somber expression. Interestingly, the forged Scary Painting is considered one of the game’s “haunted” pieces of artwork. In this piece’s case, the actor’s frown in the fake version subtly shifts to an eerie smile during nighttime hours. When the genuine version has been donated to the Museum, the player can read its placard and find the following description:

“A print from the mid-Edo period by Tōshūsai Sharaku depicting a famous actor of the time. Sharaku made roughly 140 ukiyo-e prints in his career, even though it only spanned around 10 months!”

The Scary Painting is based on Tōshūsai Sharaku’s 1794 woodcut print Kabuki Actor Ōtani Oniji III as Yakko Edobei. Sharaku’s work depicts kabuki actor Otani Oniji III as a yakkoa manservant who performed violent deeds for samuraisfrom the play The Colored Reins of a Loving Wife. The plots of kabuki plays were typically thin, thus hinging on their actors’ performances to generate emotion. This print masterfully depicts an exaggerated and wicked likeness of the conniving yakko in a three-quarter view. Sharaku’s life is mysterious, only producing works for roughly a year, and his identity is heavily debated. Nevertheless, the bold and innovative prints he produced remain timeless.

How to Get the Scary Painting

scary painting animal crossing new horizons real vs fake
Screenshot from Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Courtesy of Nintendo

There are many ways you can get your hands on the Scary Painting. The most straightforward is to wait for Jolly Redd to visit your island in the Treasure Trawler. His black market boat will be stationed at the northernmost secluded beach on your island. Inside, the sly fox sells an assortment of art pieces and other miscellaneous items. You can also buy the painting from Redd’s camper on Harv’s Island once you have unlocked it via donations to the Gyroid. Note that the selections he sells are random and it is not guaranteed the Scary Painting will be one of your available options. You cannot buy artwork from Redd when he appears during events such as the Fireworks Festival.

If Redd has yet to appear on your island, you may need to donate more items to the Museum, triggering Blathers’ request to open an art gallery. After doing so, you should eventually find the shady fox wandering your island. After several more encounters with him, he will become a regular weekly visitor. The player can only buy 1 piece of art from Redd at a time. Some players use multiple Switch profiles to purchase more artwork in one visit. Once the Scary Painting has been donated, the player can visit the Museum and relish it in its designated section. Sometimes your villagers on the island will peruse the art gallery and admire the works you have assembled.

In Conclusion

Finishing the Museum’s art section can be an unwieldy task. Redd’s infrequent visits and the limitation of 1 piece per person make this effort even more challenging. Thankfully, the online capabilities of Animal Crossing: New Horizons provide you with easier opportunities to meet other players. Numerous communities exist where you can haggle and exchange/buy artwork from others. This makes completing the Museum’s gallery more feasible. Both the genuine and forged versions of the Scary Painting are worth hunting. Just be alert—for when you acquire the fake piece of art and the witching hour approaches, a twisted smile may greet you.

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