[link]Well this was a surprise!
Imagine that!
I am very honored (Zuko, shut up) by the lovely feature down in ZI. And then of course, the butterflies set in… because I know exactly how the Zelda fan base reacts to my art.
They either love it or hate it - and that isn't a bad thing. Everyone's got their own opinions, but I don't think the fans understand what, exactly, I'm trying to do when I make my art for my favorite game series ever. I've loved Zelda for forever. And the one aspect I liked about the series is that it's highly open to interpretation. My favorite fans are the ones who like to break the casual boundaries and concepts that are presented in the games. Same goes for me, when I draw stuff from the world of Hyrule.
I don't try to capture what's already there. I find that boring. Plenty of other people already do that, and they do it very well. They capture Link as he appears in the games, and that's all he is.
I just don't approach my fan art that way.
I imagine Link and his friends (as well as enemies) as people, rather than characters. I imagine them, rather than compare them to living people. They're Hylian - not American, English, Asian. It's a different world with different rules. Nintendo laid in the ground work, and I let my brain do the rest… or I let Rose Zemlya do the rest (she is a wonderful writer, mind you. You can find her here:
[link] It's rather hard to explain, I guess. Either way, my approach to things hasn't gone without it's pains. I've had a few people legitimately try to tell me that I was doing it wrong… that Link,Zelda and Ganon look like this, not like this… and seeing that rather hurts in the long run. I'm not your typical fan artist, in that sense. I've literally gained a passion for this (in reality) silly story about three people who duke it out every century or so. I certainly know I'm not the only one… but as far as artists go, I know I'm the odd ball out because I don't just copy paste the style that Nintendo has given me, and I never intend to.
I think those of you who follow me on Tumblr get it more than the people on DA or those on the fan sites. People understand how crazy I am about it. I probably literally have a set part of my brain that just thinks about Zelda and possible stories to tell within it's universe.
But, I can't say the fan base has ever really excited me. That's how it is in every fandom… which means it's hard for me to see what comments to take seriously, which ones not to. And that's just the artist in me. Everybody wants everybody to be happy - but in this fandom that's impossible. All well, what are you going to do?
Still, I appreciate the people who really like my stuff… I know I come out of left field at times, but the fact that my fans don't mind it makes me smile inside. Even though I'm insane, I at least have people who'd like to be insane with me.
To the Triforce, The Goddesses, and those darn meddling Destined children.
(I'll never get enough of the "manly" Zelda comments… or the "manly" Link comments for that matter. Well... might as well admit Zelda has never been easy to draw for me. XD Darn Princess.)
Sta.sh
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