Support NeoGAF

[Jason's Ultimatum]

You know what I realized about these Zelda artworks? A lot of them would love fucking amazing ingame.

I would KILL for a Zelda game to look exactly like this.

 

[apana]

Ryan Shiu deserves credit for the above artwork and others that I have posted in that style:

http://pikasm.webs.com/about.html

edit: Pikachu+Religion=Pikasm

 

[Barrow Roll]

It's just a phrase I use for lack of a better term. To my knowledge nobody has really ever tried something -exactly- like it in games.

Notice the harsh blacks of the shading, the gorgeous contrast in darks and lights. And all Majora's Mask art work is similar in tone and style. On Wii 2 I believe they'd easily be able to faithfully recreate such a art style. I think it'd be just jaw dropping.

I get what you're saying. The closest thing I can think of right now is the shading in Marvel vs Capcom 3 or even in the character art. Obviously the art style is different but the hard contrasting shadows are similar. The first No More Heroes also has similar shadows.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

My ideal cel shaded Zelda that hasn't been tried yet is a form of "deep shading" like found in the Majora's Mask art work. I think that'd look breathtaking.

Isnt that, to some extent, the darker shadows style used by Suda in NMH and Killer7?

 

[Neiteio]

It's just a phrase I use for lack of a better term. To my knowledge nobody has really ever tried something -exactly- like it in games.

Notice the harsh blacks of the shading, the gorgeous contrast in darks and lights. And all Majora's Mask art work is similar in tone and style. On Wii 2 I believe they'd easily be able to faithfully recreate such a art style. I think it'd be just jaw dropping.

What you want is the art style of Marvel vs. Capcom 3:

And I agree.

EDIT: Be sure to see this video to appreciate the "deep shading" in motion.

 

[ExMachina]

Cool thread.

What artstyle should Nintendo pursue for future Zelda games? (Give examples)

Wind Waker had an amazing style with a ton of expressiveness... Even if Nintendo sticks with more conventional proportions in future games, they should definitely take a page from the exaggeration of WW and apply it to the animation at least. It was definitely jarring going from WW Link's goofy faces to the blank eyed stare of Twilight Princess Link... Aside from that, I definitely prefer the brighter look of Wind Waker and Minish Cap compared to OoT and Twilight Princess.

What do you think about the look of Skyward Sword?

I like it - the saturated colors and impressionist influence definitely give it a unique, appealing look. Though... I wish there was a little more restraint in the palette. Saturation is fine, but including too many different hues makes a lot of shots look too cluttered (purple! blue! green! red! aghhhh!). I'm hoping that areas not demoed yet will show a little more restraint color-wise, lol.

For example, Minish Cap has an incredible palette. Yes, everything's pretty bright, but each area's colors work together...

What will Zelda games look like on Wii 2, assuming its roughly PS360 power level or higher? (Are there any current games Zelda designers should look at? Last Guardian? God of War 3?)

Hopefully the extra horsepower means that Nintendo can realize the concept art more faithfully... because the series' artists have put out some incredible pieces (as seen in this thread). Some fantasy games that do a good job of looking like their artist concepts:

Not a current gen game but... FF12 looks really damn good emulated. In particular, Squenix treated the character's facial textures in this game really well, as it's a different look from most other FFs and retains a painterly quality that's a lot like Yoshida's art. Would love to see Nintendo pull off the textures of Nakano's paintings like that, and again similar expressiveness in the faces.

And if Zelda will attempt the cel-shaded/painting look again, the 2008 Prince of Persia is still unmatched at pulling off that aesthetic. One of the few games where the in-game engine looks just like the matte paintings. Would also love to get that sense of wide open space that PoP achieves in Zelda.

That's my 2c. Really enjoying seeing all the posted art in here... Especially Terada's pieces, so good. <3 Though my favorite piece of character art by far is the anime-styled Link walking head on with all his gear... there's just something about seeing all that equipment, you feel like he's really ready to do some serious adventuring.


Also, some Zelda related stuff from me:

(I just finished this one today, heh)

 

[Raging Spaniard]

It's just a phrase I use for lack of a better term. To my knowledge nobody has really ever tried something -exactly- like it in games.

Notice the harsh blacks of the shading, the gorgeous contrast in darks and lights. And all Majora's Mask art work is similar in tone and style. On Wii 2 I believe they'd easily be able to faithfully recreate such a art style. I think it'd be just jaw dropping.

Its been tried, No More Heroes and Killer7 basically go for that effect.

 

[Neiteio]

All this old-school Zelda art by Katsuya Terada is a revelation for me, three of my favorites being:

They're just incredibly nostalgic, and I say this as someone whose first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time. Extraordinary amounts of detail, yet surreal in shade and shape... They remind me of sci-fi art from the '60s, '70s and '80s, like the cover of an Isaac Asimov book. Full of mystery and ambiance, they're fuel for the imagination, even as they recall the musty scent of paper yellowing with age...

A Zelda game made in this style would be amazing. It would never happen, but how sweet it would be as a deliberate nostalgia trip. Imagine: a new game made in the style of Adventure of Link -- half overhead, half sidescrolling -- and the sidescrolling portions are hand-drawn backgrounds and sprites, like Muramasa, only drawn by Terada himself.

Same limited color palette -- several complimentary colors at a time -- and same dense but loose linework. Same designs that channel D&D nerdcore fantasy, but with that hard-to-pinpoint fresh Asian flair. And same backdrop of crumbling ruins in an ancient, desolate land.

ALSO: Is this what I think it is -- official Ocarina of Time art for Ganon??

Does anyone have a higher-quality version of this art? And this makes me wonder if there's official art of Majora's Wrath out there...

 

[the_painted_bird]

Post.

I like you.

 

[Moss]

Maybe I am a mad man, but I love Matt Lyons and I would love to see a more stylistic approach to Zelda again, after the Wind Waker.

 

[AceBandage]

Maybe I am a mad man, but I love Matt Lyons and I would love to see a more stylistic approach to Zelda again, after the Wind Waker.
]

Kind of like No More Heroes with a grain filter?

 

[Moss]

I guess there is a small similarity - I love the way he draws characters though.

But whatever art style they choose, I'd like to do the cover!

 

[les papillons sexuels]

It's just a phrase I use for lack of a better term. To my knowledge nobody has really ever tried something -exactly- like it in games.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x55/Amir0x/zmm-skullkid.jpg

Notice the harsh blacks of the shading, the gorgeous contrast in darks and lights. And all Majora's Mask art work is similar in tone and style. On Wii 2 I believe they'd easily be able to faithfully recreate such a art style. I think it'd be just jaw dropping.

no more heroes.

http://gamerlimit.com/files/2009/11/aaa.jpg

 

[apana]

Richard Corben is another artist who had an influence on Yusuke Nakano (main Zelda/Nintendo artist):

 

[Blueblur1]

There truly is some fantastic art in this thread. Thanks for posting these, guys.

 

[apana]

Can you imagine getting the boss key and opening the dungeon door only to find some blue dragon puffing on his pipe? That would be some cool shit.

 

[AceBandage]

Can you imagine getting the boss key and opening the dungeon door only to find some blue dragon puffing on his pipe? That would be some cool shit.

"Ah, Link! So nice of you to join me in my.... chamber."

 

[eosos]

Why does link have a pet pikachu?
edit : Well the head of one...

 

[jett]

I want to see this in cel-shaded form. It would look like an awesome old anime. I want all the items to be visible too. That would be fun.

best ever

 

[apana]

Why does link have a pet pikachu?
edit : Well the head of one...

Ryan Shiu deserves credit for the above artwork and others that I have posted in that style:

http://pikasm.webs.com/about.html

edit: Pikachu+Religion=Pikasm

 

[AceBandage]

best ever

His back would be ruined by the time he's 20 though.

 

[jett]

I see a few people trying to twist Zelda into having realistic and bloody visuals.

I weep for those people.

 

[apana]

I see a few people trying to twist Zelda into having realistic and bloody visuals.

I weep for those people.

Care to call somebody out?

 

[apana]

Here is Ryan Shiu. He was responsible for a lot of the Majora artwork I posted as well as the one of Link waking up and having a Pikachu doll on his bed.

I like his Pokemon art more than Zelda art:

 

[jett]

Care to call somebody out?

*looks over to the first page*

You, apparently.

 

[Link Man]

Here's a piece which, while rough around the edges, could serve as a basis for an interesting artstyle if translated to a game world.

And here's another I like:

 

[apana]

*looks over to the first page*

You, apparently.

If you are referring to my David and Goliath image, that was mostly a joke, but I do like the Renaissance/Baroque look. I don't want Zelda to take an ultra serious or light hearted approach. Something right in the middle. I like the Skyward Sword look and bright colors in general. Ideally the artstyle should enhance the feeling of adventure and exploration:

 

[apana]

More artwork by Ryan Shiu:

 

[zoukka]

I don't like his fetus Link.

 

[milkyjay20]

If you are referring to my David and Goliath image, that was mostly a joke, but I do like the Renaissance/Baroque look. I don't want Zelda to take an ultra serious or light hearted approach. Something right in the middle. I like the Skyward Sword look and bright colors in general. Ideally the artstyle should enhance the feeling of adventure and exploration:

link looks kinda... weird there, but the environments would look so awesome in a game

 

[[Nintex]]

link looks kinda... weird there, but the environments would look so awesome in a game

All Nintendo needs to achieve that are some cool camera angles and an engine with a great draw distance. The problem with Twilight Princess for example was that they had build these huge temples but you could only see a fraction of the scene because the camera was always very close to link. You had to look around in first person to see all the details on the wall and to just get a sense of how massive everything was. One game that handled scenes like that incredibly well is Castlevania Lords of Shadow. You can always see 'your goal' in the distance and they had even created spots to show awesome vistas.

 

[Flare]

Lots of the awesome that I have has already been posted... Haven't these two pieces yet.

Just an amazing piece of work - no idea where it comes from but if anybody has a bigger version I'd love it =P

Cool wallpaper for the "Hero of Time" saga lovers.

 

[mugwhump]

Uh... don't have any art uploaded, but here's a SS pic that was already on my photobucket

Isn't it pretty?

 

[zoukka]

All Nintendo needs to achieve that are some cool camera angles and an engine with a great draw distance. The problem with Twilight Princess for example was that they had build these huge temples but you could only see a fraction of the scene because the camera was always very close to link. You had to look around in first person to see all the details on the wall and to just get a sense of how massive everything was. One game that handled scenes like that incredibly well is Castlevania Lords of Shadow. You can always see 'your goal' in the distance and they had even created spots to show awesome vistas.

Dear god no. Cinematic camera is bad mkay. It detaches you from the player character and gnaws at the immersion. It's funny that you complain about the vistas, because I think they feel so much better in Zelda games just because you see them from the POV of Link and not some "cool" camera chases.

In God of War and Castlevania, many locations feel "thin" and just empty props because of the camera angles.

 

[SuperAngelo64]

I can't even explain how perfect this is.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

Seeing so much art is inspiring guys, and Im working doing designs so this is great for me.

 

[Oli]

I guess there is a small similarity - I love the way he draws characters though.


But whatever art style they choose, I'd like to do the cover!

Is there a website for this guys art? I'm really liking it.

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Wind Waker is still one of the most beautiful games ever made, and that engine with a better resolution would be amazing.

Skyward Sword looks completely inferior to WW, even if it is a huge improvement over the hideous TP.

 

[Yousefb]

this thread is amazing

 

[TunaLover]

One of the things I like the most about Zelda's art, it is enough away from the formal japanese anime style. Even TP art style is way more interesting than most of the copy-paste anime stuff out there.

 

[Captain Smoker]

Wonderful thread, keep it on.

 

[daakusedo]

+ the yeti wife make me remember of a story book I had younger but can't find it.
So if someone know it...

 

[Link Man]

Some more from my favorites:

 

[apana]

All Nintendo needs to achieve that are some cool camera angles and an engine with a great draw distance. The problem with Twilight Princess for example was that they had build these huge temples but you could only see a fraction of the scene because the camera was always very close to link. You had to look around in first person to see all the details on the wall and to just get a sense of how massive everything was. One game that handled scenes like that incredibly well is Castlevania Lords of Shadow. You can always see 'your goal' in the distance and they had even created spots to show awesome vistas.

Eh, kind of. Nintendo is going to actually have to focus on creating this kind of overworld, not just change same camera angles. I would think that if they were integrating the dungeon and overworld, that the overworld would be a lot bigger.

 

[Yousefb]

If I could get a Zelda game where you can roam areas with the scale of something like the areas in Uncharted2 that would be sweeeet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKS8gokIZoY

Imagine riding Epona on a mountain as Hyrule comes into view below like that.

 

[disappeared]

Eh, kind of. Nintendo is going to actually have to focus on creating this kind of overworld, not just change same camera angles. I would think that if they were integrating the dungeon and overworld, that the overworld would be a lot bigger.

That is a great shot. The only bad part is that it takes maybe like one minute to get there, through a couple of loading screens.

sigh.

 

[apana]

In this part, the mountain and skies look like someone hand painted them onto the screen. Trees still look like shit tho. In some ways Skyward Sword is the best looking Wii game, and in other ways it is crap. Hopefully they get it fixed.

 

[Prime Blue]

In this part, the mountain and skies look like someone hand painted them onto the screen. Trees still look like shit tho. In some ways Skyward Sword is the best looking Wii game, and in other ways it is crap. Hopefully they get it fixed.

Basically, everything close up looks horrible. The art style really only comes into play for distant models – I hope they'll have fixed it till the next showing.

 

[apana]

Basically, everything close up looks horrible. The art style really only comes into play for distant models – I hope they'll have fixed it till the next showing.

Not everything is bad up close. Link's character model looks great. It's really just the trees, grass, and enemies that could use some sprucing up.

 

[apana]

I really like the colors. Makes sense that Hidemaro Fujibayashi was director for both Minish Cap and Skyward Sword considering art styles.