You probably scrolled past it without a second thought, but that cheerful dragon munching dragonfruit on Steam's Spring Sale banner? A real person drew that. And Valve actually told you who.
Steam's official X account posted a shoutout naming Tiffany Diep (known online as @thetiffopotamus) as the illustrator behind this year's Spring Sale artwork, with @thanhuki credited for the animations. "The lovely art for this sale was created by @thetiffopotamus, with animations by @thanhuki," Steam wrote. "Check out their work with Points Shop items, and by going through your Discovery Queue for stickers."
Simple enough. But in the current climate, that small act of attribution landed like a standing ovation.
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The artists actually behind it
Tiffany Diep is not just a one-off hire. Her LinkedIn profile shows she handles all of Steam's 2026 seasonal sales banners and point shop sale assets. That means every bit of that charming, handcrafted seasonal energy you see when a Steam sale rolls around this year has her fingerprints on it.
Diep has largely migrated her online presence to Bluesky, though Steam's X post still pointed followers her way. Her collaborator thanhuki handled the animations that bring those sale graphics to life. Together, they are the duo responsible for what millions of players see the moment a Steam sale kicks off.
What most players miss is just how much craft goes into those seemingly throwaway sale visuals. Points Shop items, Discovery Queue stickers, banner art—it all adds up to a cohesive visual identity that sets the tone for the whole event.
Why this hit different right now
Here's the thing: crediting artists is not a new concept. Steam has always commissioned human artists for its seasonal sale graphics. But the internet's reaction to this particular shoutout says everything about where the industry stands right now.
User arthurianmaiden on X posted, "Thank you for using real artists and not slop." Account IsThisRealArt_ quote-reposted with "Steam supporting real artists! Based!" The sentiment spread fast, and the praise was genuine rather than performative.
The enthusiasm around Steam's credit post reflects a broader anxiety in gaming. With AI-generated art flooding storefronts and publishers staying deliberately vague about their use of generative tools, even a routine artist shoutout now reads as a meaningful stance.
For context, GOG found itself in hot water earlier this year after an AI-generated banner appeared on the platform, followed by its leadership expressing broad openness to generative AI tools. That backlash is still fresh. Steam naming its artists, by comparison, felt like a direct contrast, even if that was never explicitly the intent.
Points Shop seasonal stickers
The "breaking news" problem
New Blood Interactive CEO Dave Oshry put his finger on something important when he posted about the reaction: "I love how this is breaking news now even though Steam has always used different artists for their sale art. That's how much AI bullshit is out there."
He's right. The fact that standard practice—commissioning and crediting a human artist—now generates genuine applause is a reflection of how normalized AI-generated content has become. People are so used to seeing "slop" (the community's blunt term for low-effort AI output) that actual craftsmanship triggers a kind of relief.
Valve did not make a grand statement about AI. It just told you who made the art. That was enough.
What this moment actually means
Steam's Spring Sale artist credits are a small thing that became a bigger conversation. There is something meaningful about a platform the size of Steam publicly celebrating the people behind its visuals at this particular moment in the industry.
The key here is that transparency and credit cost nothing, but they matter enormously to artists and to the communities that support them. Diep and thanhuki's work is visible to tens of millions of Steam users. Knowing their names makes that work feel human again.
If you want to follow the artists directly, Diep is active on Bluesky at @thetiffopotamus.bsky.social, and you can check out more of their work through the Spring Sale's Points Shop items and Discovery Queue stickers. Make sure to check out more:
