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knighthead β Zelda, The Wise Ruler
#princesszelda #smashbros #zelda #zeldatwilightprincess
Published: 2015-06-09 21:36:21 +0000 UTC; Views: 10280; Favourites: 558; Downloads: 26
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Commissions | Facebook | YouTube | PixivI was encouraged to do some Smash-related drawings after going to my first big tournament, since I was much more into competing with the other artists than winning in games of Melee. Here's my first (though technically second, doubt I'll sell prints of that Rosalina drawing) attempt-- Zelda. I main Sheik in Melee, sometimes switching to Zelda for fun, and main Zelda in PM. Makes sense to me.
How can you beat a magical ninja princess wizard anyway?
There are process shots and a close-up of her face on my Pixiv (the face was the first thing I did with this and definitely my favorite part).
*For anyone wondering, I main Kirby in 64, and I don't play Smash 4. When I play Brawl, however, I switch between Olimar, Toon Link and Zelda, who've been my mains there since the game was released. I don't consider myself a good player, but I'm probably above average.
*EDIT: Fixed something that was bugging me.
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Comments: 65
I love your draw' style. your draw is really amazing.
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She can kick ass, cast magic, be a ninja, and rule a kingdom. What's not to like?
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No wonder Ganon goes after her all the time.Β
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Zelda looks great here, I love her hairstyle and mixed clothing
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Thank you! 
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Really looking forward to it then, love to see a Sheik in your style
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Ack! No! I didn't mean to sound judgmental. >_< I mostly play 64 and Melee, but Zelda/Sheik is my favorite character overall. I mentioned Brawl and PM because I have played enough of those to be fairly familiar with them. I know virtually nothing about Smash 4, besides it being insanely popular. Usually when I say "Super Smash Bros," people think I'm talking about Smash 4, so I just wanted to get that misunderstanding out of the way.
But also, the mentioning of what Smash games I played was like extra conversational stuff. Like I mentioned in the description, I went to a big tournament and was much more interested in the vendor selling his art than playing the game itself.
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Get smash 4. And Splatoon
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I mean I HAVE played Smash 4 and didn't really like how it felt. Dx But I've been kind of urged to play Splatoon apparently! I'm not big on consoles though, last I bought was a Wii and that kinda killed my experience after a while, haha. I do wanna try out Hyrule Warriors and that next Zelda game where Link has a ponytail, though...
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Smash 4 is so good doe.
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Eh, subjectively! I personally didn't like it when I played (I definitely wasn't bad at it, since it's still very fundamentals-based), but that doesn't mean I think it's bad! It's just not for me, heh. It certainly is pretty, though. I'm gonna draw a Sheik soon and a couple of my references are straight-up screencaps of her (at the Mario Galaxy stage, it has the BEST lighting).
*Ponders* If I did get the game... I'd probably mostly use it for reference. It really is that gorgeous.
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T_____________T
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Wow, this is absolutely amazing, I love the amount of detail. Amazing job on this
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Thanks! I tried a lot of new things here, or rather, tried harder on areas I usually leave less resolved.
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Lol, yeah definitely generally a good idea to tackle problems head on instead of trying to hide them 
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I think that's like the remaining curse of being a teenage artist. Like how when we start off, we always draw the easier thing, we hide the hands, cut off the view at the ankles (whyyyyy the ankles, cropping at the thighs is such a better composition)... and I know I'm very guilty of saying "I'm bad at lineart" when I really mean "I'm too lazy to clean up my detailed lines," like the hair. Yeah getting over that hurdle is hard, especially when you're starting out and the only people who see your art are the people who will tell you it's so good. But if people keep telling you "stop hiding the hands!" and "you really need to learn how to draw hands," you're gonna freaking do it. I mean that's what I did, and now I'm pretty decent at hands-- I really like drawing them, actually. A well-drawn hand raises the quality of a drawing so much. Yeah.
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Yeah, I agree. It can be kinda hard to actually find people to give good constructive criticism, and it seems like you have to be the one to tell yourself to stop taking those shortcuts. And it can definitely be difficult to change your mindset from one that is attracted to shortcuts to one that's basically the complete opposite.
Also trying to find those things that you're bad at can sometimes be hard as well, since you can sometimes be blind to it and you need someone else to start telling you to focus on that one area.
It's good to see though that you are focusing on those areas that you know you can put more effort in to, and great to see that you are getting results for it!
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I honestly can't imagine people AREN'T aware of their problem areas. Maybe it's psychological... For example, I always knew I was bad at drawing hands, and I would often hide one or both, rather than forcing myself to draw them out. But I guess it's possible for someone to have that same problem, but not realize why they hide the hands. Eh, sometimes criticism is weird, 'cause if you know your weak points, it feels like beating a dead horse. And I've been in some ruts like "I know exactly what's wrong with this, but I'm not good enough to do it right so I just won't post it ever." And I would go for long periods of time without posting anything because I knew the criticism I would receive and didn't care to have the same stuff said over and over again. Obviously now I'm over that, but I'm sure that's a pretty common problem.
And of course, the lessons from one of my professors will always ring in my head. Nothing is hard to draw, if you know how to construct it. Rather than being discouraged by something complex, build it up out of simple shapes and really visualize it in your head. I don't know why it took so long for me to make sense out of all those things. It's how Kim Jung Gi works, it's how people can work without references. (You don't get to that point without studying those objects endlessly, for the record.) And that mental visualization and constructive analysis can add so much depth and detail that you never thought was possible for your own work!
(I have a habit of typing in second-person, by the way. If I say "you," I'm not necessarily referring to you specifically, for the record. 
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Haha,Β I'm probably not the most qualified to be talking a lot about this though since I'm not a super experienced artist, butΒ yeah I definitely agree with that
And yeah, that lesson seems extremely useful. I've had people tell me similar things to that, and it definitely is a lot easier if you can just break complex shapes into familiar cubes, cylinders, or spheres. I know that I still need a lot more practice with it though, as I find some more complex objects harder to break down, but practice makes perfect I suppose
Don't worry, I understand you aren't specifically talking about me, although I guess I might as well pretend you are since you're giving some good advice lol
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That's the weird thing about teaching, that I'm sure I've realized before. There's a difference between copying what someone is doing, and figuring it out for yourself. I copied the process my professors would push me in all the time. I copied the gestural skeleton, the simple shapes, the layering of muscle shapes. I'd often do it and draw something totally different anyway, without all that building to help me out (and wonder why it was often so hard). But once you learn WHY you do those things, once your mind actually connects the dots and goes, "This is why it works, I GET IT NOW," then it makes sense. I mean it really does always make sense, but now I feel like I can actually draw anything, because my mind has figured out how to process those simple shapes into what they need to be. Like, imagine each shape as a piece of clay, that only changed if you wanted it to. Basically sculpting edges. That might make less sense, but I think that's how I visualize it all now. I construct with blocks and spheres and cylinders and chisel away. It's faster than it sounds, but what I mean is it feels NATURAL now. There's no extraneous thinking, it's like working out a muscle. The basketball player doesn't have to consciously think about how they're dribbling.
...it really just takes not being lazy, heh. Like... I'm looking at old drawings and I see so many things wrong with the construction, especially with armor, and I know I knew they were off, but just assumed no one would notice/care because they weren't focal points or something. I WAS LAZY. Ah, here I am talking like I've discovered the meaning of life. But it's just so crazy... I've been drawing for my entire life, but it wasn't until recently that everything started to click. When I would watch a pro draw, I used to think about how they were so confident, how they always got accurate and awesome compositions (even if they kept restarting, each one was certainly a home-run). I think I'm starting to tap into that kind of mentality, though. I've got a lot of growing to go, but this hurdle for improvement is so clear, it's so obvious it's something that held me back for so long. I'm willing to bet a LOT of artists have this problem though. Just straight being lazy and not thinking about everything in 3D.
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Yeah, it can be hard to figure out why you are doing things, especially if even the teachers aren't even pushing that knowledge to their students. If the teacher just says to copy what they're doing, it might take a long time for a student to realise there's a reason behind it. I've tried copying methods from teachers before and never really understood why I was doing it. Now I understand there is a reason, and it's just on me to now figure out those reasons and really understand them so I can start drawing anything! I've watched other great artists draw too, and felt the same way as you described. Always thinking that everything they drew, even really quick sketches, looked amazing, and wondering how they could manage that. Now I know and I just need to keep practising and trying to understand shapes to be able to get to that point!
That sounds interesting too, about thinking of the shapes being made out of clay and then sculpting them down. I've only ever really tried thinking of it in terms of using smaller base shapes, and then trying to add in as many other base shapes until I get the form that I'm looking for, but I should definitely try thinking of it backwards and attempt to sculpt the shape out.
It's good to hear that you finally did get to that point where everything did start to click, and that you feel like you're now able to draw anything! Belated congratulations! 
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But like. Obviously I know I have so much more to learn. It's just a lot... easier I think?
Yeah. Always thinking in 3D, think about volume rather than contour and shape. Drawing the volume helps volumes.
I'll shut up.
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Lol Β Β
Thanks for being awesome and taking the time to talk about this!
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Is she wearing part of Sheik's outfit underneath her dress?
Is it denim?
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Yeah, Sheik's scalemail and the side leg wrapping! I was going to put a kunai there, but it started to get a little heavy in noise.
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Let's count what Zelda has been so far in the series:
1. Princess (that's a given)
2. Ninja (as Sheik)
3. Pirate (as Tetra)
4. Robot (if you count Phantom possession)
5. Undead (her ghost version)
6. Goddess (as Hylia)
Does she count for tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php⦠then?
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Oh my god. The legacy of Zelda is crazy. Her Ocarina self is what I think is mainly represented in the Smash games (but they use the Twilight Princess design-- was she able to become Sheik in that game?), but yeah, totally forgot about her Tetra self in Windwaker. I felt like Tetra was a nerf on her powers, though, unlike Sheik who is a FREAKING NINJA.
But uh. 4-6. When the heck?
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Those Phantoms from both PH and ST are essentially automatons aka robots in a way. When Zelda was a Ghost in ST she's not "alive" really. And as for her being a Goddess? Well you got Skyward Sword to thank for that.
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Heh, so I've only played up until Windwaker I think? I got to play a little bit of Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess, but they were on the Wii and I really dislike motion controls. Had to think a minute about what PH and ST stood for-- I haven't even seen a screenshot from those! The new games must be going hard on the lore.
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Asides from the story you're not missing much. PH had this one dungeon you had to revisit every single time, and ST was just disappointing version of the former. Overall dungeons designs were good, but bad gameplay.
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Aw that's upsetting. Handheld Zelda games were always SO FUN, hurts to hear those weren't up to par. I was a HUGE fan of Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages when they came out.
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Well you're in luck because Hyrule Warriors is moving to the Nintendo 3DS, and you can play as Tetra and the King of Hyrule now.
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Aw man that would require me to buy a 3DS. >_< I'm so burned on Nintendo consoles after the Wii. I got it and regretted choosing the Wii the entire time I owned the console. And then it died. :I I'd only maybe consider a WiiU for Hyrule Warriors and the next Zelda game (I have no interest in Smash 4
But... maybe a 3DS is worth investing in. Nintendo's always been good at handhelds.
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