The explanations of 101 adolescents and young adults, who are fans of popular culture narratives and make art inspired by these phenomena, provide insight into why these youth were drawn to create fan-based artworks, how they learned to make these art forms, and what the creative activities mean to them. Emergent themes highlight (a) the significance of resonance with narrative content; (b) self-exploration and skill development through repetitive artmaking; (c) recognition and support within a community of like-minded others; and, (d) a sense of balance between fantasy play and everyday life experience. The findings suggest several strategies that might contribute to meaningful art education curriculum for secondary level students. (Contains 3 figures and 9 footnotes.)