Nintendo Games Don't Just Provide Me With Simple FunAs my favorite games excite my imagination, they've had a big impact on my art style.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is far and away my all time favorite game; nothing has shaped my character, personality, and,above all, my imagination so much as this one game. When I was in fifth grade, this one legend in entertainment obsessed me and gave me my love of games. But when I turned off the TV and went upstairs to get in bed, I pulled out my strategy guides and the instruction manual. And before I went to sleep, I pulled out my sketchbook.
An old drawing from my late elementary school days.
When I was younger, I used to whip out my sketchbook every night before I went to sleep. Everything that made up my daydreams in school or made me restless during the day escaped onto the paper. The things that would inspire me the most could come from anywhere, but one thing that dominated my mind most often (as they do to this day) were the games I played. But Ocarina of Time was very special, so today I was happy to come across a neat interview with the game's lead illustrator: Yusuke Nakano. This is an old interview, mind you, and I found it here. It's taken from some issue of Nintendo Power a little before the release of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
This interview is great, for me at least, because Nakano discusses his time illustrating Ocarina in detail:
"When I first heard about the Ocarina of Time project, and the need to create a new Link, I knew it was the job for me. I put my name out there for the project by creating some sample illustrations of my ideas. Fortunately,Yoshiaki Koizumi, one of the game's directors, liked the drawings, so I was put in charge of the illustrations. I loved the project and drew constantly; it was almost like I was giving vent to all of my passions through those drawings."
"And I'll tell you one thing: drawing bad guys is worthwhile work. It felt great to draw characters like Ganondorf, exaggerating his fearsome, powerful presence."
"But my favorite Ocarina illustration was of Impa, Zelda's royal protector: It was extremely rare that Nintendo had such a muscular woman in one of its games."
Since I don't read graphic novels or comic books much, most of my influence these days comes from artwork like this, and you can still see Nakano's influence in my drawings. Take, for instance, his illustrations of Link for Twilight Princess. You all saw the Shakespeare book covers I did, so compare the illustration I did of William Shakespeare and my Macbeth illustration with the lines in Nakano's Twilight Princess artwork:
Please bear in mind that I didn't look at these pictures while I was doing my illustrations! Certainly these images are already registered in my mind and create an influential framework within which I do any of my drawings. Truly, the similarities are almost a little embarassing to me; I thought I was more original! But honestly, I'm glad when I see my skills and style improve and adapt to the things I like.
Years ago when I originally planned to go to art school, I used to spend a lot of time studying Michelangelo and Da Vinci's sketches. My style has been influenced tremendously by those two. Especially my prominent hatching technique.
How many of you enjoy drawing? Who or what would you say influences you?
1 comment:
Hey, the drawings are great, I hope art school works out for you man, you have a true talent. I didn't have an N64, so I never played Ocarina of Time, but I've been told it's excellent.
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