Toon Shadin'

7/2/2019

I'm one of those weirdos who thinks Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is a great game. And, recently, I started wondering what that game's rendition of Link would look like in the more modern, cell shaded, three-dimension style you'd see in something like Breath of the Wild.

The image to the left is how Link appeared in Zelda II's manual. I worked up some character sketches based on this image that I could create a model from, which can be seen below.

As opposed to Link's more recent console look, the early Zelda games have a really unique visual identity for their protagonist. In particular, Link is a lot leaner here, his hair is very shaggy, and his ears are much more upright. He also has very oval eyes and a long, cylindrical nose. An interesting part of this little exercise was seeing what would translate into 3D well, and what I would have to tweak.

This is where I wound up with the project. I ultimately decided to forego the lines in the original illustration since modern Zelda games don't include lines in their cell shading, but I think the two-tone toon shader is a nice replication of the colors from the drawing!

There are definitely still some things I'd like to work on a bit more (should I ever pick this back up). The model is a pretty dense mesh that could stand to be optimized (though the topology is pretty sound). I also found that the hair in the illustration was extremely difficult to translate straight to 3D, so I might take another stab at that someday. And, little details like the cross stitching on the shirt's collar and lashes around the upper lid for definition would be ideal. Still, I think this offers a solid base, and I'm satisfied to get an idea of what a 3D Zelda II could potentially look like.

Oh, and just for kicks, I also modeled out the game's first boss, Horsehead. Didn't get too far into the texturing phase, but I think this gives a pretty solid idea of where things could go!

4 Comments

Winksword

7/26/2020 02:26:30 pm

I'm SO stoked to find someone with the same desire to see Zelda 2 remade with the graphics reflecting the original official artwork. I've always envisioned the game in this style. I really like what you've accomplished here, however I do have some creative criticism for you (and no worries, I understand this is raw and conceptual on your part).

I highly recommend keeping the look of the original art as directly as possible. Ideally, it would be great to essentially have the original artwork precisely, but moving in 3D space. This means keeping the look of the line-work is critical. I highly recommend checking out gameplay from the recent Dragon Ball Z fighter games as they have REALLY nailed capturing the original 2D anime style in 3D space. You almost can't tell the difference in freeze frames!

Aside from the line work, I'd say his proportions need adjusted, perhaps try overlaying the original image over the model to make adjustments. I recommend making the bangs one piece like the original (think toon Link's bangs in WW).

I would also say to have his color scheme be more accurate, the tones are warmer - Link's hair being the rich reddish brown and his eyes being black, also his undershirt and leggings should be a rich brown, his boots are slightly reddish even.

I hope you won't be disheartened by me, I love what you're doing and just want to help you have a grander vision. My dream would be to see Nintendo (or the fans) remake practically all of the Zelda games in their original promotional artstyles!

Keep being inspired!

Winksword

7/26/2020 02:44:34 pm

Oh! One more note I forgot. I agree completely on the inclusion of a sheath and him wearing his sword and shield on his back. This works because one, it's necessary for gameplay and two, they never show how he wears his weapons in the art so creative liberties are required.

However, I again recommend keeping the weapons themselves accurate to the original artwork. The one exception that could be made without technically being inaccurate is to have the sword resemble the one from the box art. They likely went with a simpler design in the artwork for the sake of having to redraw the sword multiple times. I'm referring to the silver ornate sword on the front of the U.S. box.

Eric Hunn

7/30/2020 10:20:03 pm

Hey! Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my work and offer your thoughts. I think you have some great observations. Honestly I haven't touched this little project in over a year, but if I do pick it back up, I'll see what I can do.

I definitely admire Arc System Works' efforts in creating 3D that looks 2D. I've watched a number of presentations on their process over the years - very inspiring stuff!

Thanks again!

Winksword

8/1/2020 06:09:45 pm

You're very welcome, I just couldn't resist! I love this kind of stuff, I've been inspired recently by the Mario PC mod (the one that sets out to replicate the original renders in-game), as well as the recent Nintendo leaks. I'm experimenting with compositing and other techniques to create fake "screenshots" of (mostly) Zelda games if they were remade with cel-shading reflecting their respective promotional artwork.

It's just a fun side-project, but it really gets me thinking about what the fan-base might be able to accomplish. If ONLY Nintendo would take this approach with all of their remakes... I'd be so throwing my mulah at them. It just seems to me that, more often then not, in-game graphics tend to often fall short of the promotional artwork that precedes them. The Ocarina of Time 3DS remake was truly bittersweet for me because, on the one hand, they definitely did a wonderful job fleshing out the settings, especially some of the more desolate and empty shops/houses.

On the other hand though, I still felt they failed to genuinely capture the original artwork. Honestly I wish Nintendo could just partner with Arc System Works in regards to handling the visual aspect of their remakes. I'd LOVE to see them breathe life into the original artwork for many of the classic games! A fan can dream I suppose...

Glad to help inspire you! I'll definitely keep an eye on future updates or projects from you, especially of this sort. Keep inspired and God bless you friend!

Toon Shadin'

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