SKILL-IMPROVEMENT SHOWCASE

Battle for the Triforce

A demonstration of my improved skills over the course of 11 years

This is a collection of 3 pieces of art with the same subject, but spanning 11 years of my life. It really illustrates how much I have advanced my artistic skill in that period of time. The scene is that of the final battle between the holders of the Triforce pieces (Link, Zelda, and Ganon) at the end of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. To me, it was a very memorable video game moment and even though the game graphics are primitive compared to today's standards, I felt it was very epic and defining of the series as a whole. When I played the game, I always tried to imagine how it would look if the graphics were better to try to encapsulate the feelings I felt.

 

2001 Version

I drew this first iteration not long after playing through Ocarina of Time for the first time. This was before I had internet access and I did it from memory while working off of some official character artwork from the Player's Guide. I knew it was inaccurate and not well rendered, but at the time, this was my skill level. It was first drawn in pencil, then outlined with a technical pen and colored with marker and colored pencil.

 
 
 

2005 Version

Just after graduating from high school, I took it upon myself to recreate the same scene to demonstrate my current skills and submitted it among my other portfolio pieces to the College for Creative Studies for acceptance. This time around, I took a bit more time to actually study the scene, as well as examining the in-game Ganon model while he was stunned and taking notes. Even though this still proved to be inaccurate, it was still a drastic improvement from a few years before. I also wanted to include Zelda this time and make sure the Triforce pieces resonated on the backs of each character's hand. I now also realize that Link is actually supposed to be left-handed. Even with its flaws, I'm still pretty proud of this piece.

This was rendered with technical pen and colored pencil.

 

2012 Version

After having been a fan of the series for many years and with Skyward Sword about to be released in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the franchise, I was in quite a mood to do some Zelda fan art. I already did a few pieces for a Zelda-themed table-top game (see my Legend of Zelda project), but then I came across the official high-resolution artwork for Ganon and realized that I could now finally create an accurate depiction of that battle using the skills I had developed from my years at the College of Creative Studies. Using digital methods this time around, I was able to create something that I had imagined my original piece from 2001 to look like, but lacked the skill and tools to do so. I spent several months working on this off and on between work, freelance projects, and my personal life until at last I completed it July 4th, 2012. I cannot even fathom how many hours this piece took, but even many years later, I am immensely happy with how it turned out.

  • Link. I debated for a while how I wanted to depict the Hero of Time and ended up deciding to show him as I remember playing him: with his back to the player.

  • Master Sword and Golden Gauntlets. I added the Gerudo crest to the design of the Gauntlets seeing as how the Silver Gauntlets were acquired in the Spirit Temple and the Golden ones were acquired within Ganon's Castle.

  • Hylian Shield and Master Sword Scabbard. I decided I liked the Twilight Princess/Skyward Sword scabbard design better than the Ocarina of Time version, so I made an alteration here that would hopefully be forgiven by the die-hard fans.

  • Navi. I felt that since I was going for such a high level of detail and realism, I should give her a physical body and not just a winged ball of light as seen in-game. After all, plenty of other fairies from other Zelda titles truly possessed physical bodies, and I wanted to convey the "forest fairy" quality about her.

  • Princess Zelda. Her appearance is as close to the original design as possible. I wanted her to appear concerned about Link’s well-being while also shielding herself from the intense fiery barrier.

  • Ganon. I probably spent the most time on Ganon and my ultimate goal here was to capture the surprise and dread of seeing that dark, twisted form surrounded by flames for the first time.

 

This piece is available as a print from my Etsy shop, either 12” x 18” or a glorious 24” x 36”