One of our earliest looks at The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild came from the E3 2014 trailer. After a brief moment of peace, the trailer bursts into a nonstop rush of movement as a Guardian pursues the hero, spraying laser fire wildly in an attempt to destroy him. Despite the speed of his mount, Link cannot evade the lasers of the mechanical menace forever and eventually has to go onto the offensive.
In a moment so cool it had to be shown in slow-mo, Link throws off his cloak and notches an Ancient Arrow while striking a pose that spawned a plethora of merchandise (including statues, shirts, posters, and an amiibo). Through their artwork titled “Breath of the Wild,” VegaColors gifts us the chance to experience the amazing movement of this moment anew.
Oftentimes, one of the hardest things to portray in a still piece of art is movement, yet VegaColors’ piece manages to accomplish this amazing feat in many ways. One way is through the use of the grass and leaves in the background. Loose leaves swirl around Link and the Bokoblins in such a way that implies a tremendous wind. Even the bent angle of the grass implies a mighty gale buffeting both the hero and the Bokos.
The Bokoblins themselves also provide many visual clues that trick our brains into registering a sense of movement. One of these is the positioning of their ears. They’re pinned back by a seemingly roaring wind that must be deafening. The larger of the two Bokoblins also has two other elements that scream of motion: its flapping tongue sways at an angle in the wind, almost as if it’s doing its best Air Jordan impression on its way to break a Boko Bat over Link’s head. A necklace that hangs around its neck also swings wildly in the gusty air, threatening to rip loose at any moment.
Of course, anything the Bokoblins can do, Link can do better, and that includes conveying a sense of motion. One element that helps do this is Link’s cloak. The way it billows around the hero implies a sense of being filled by the wind. It calls to mind a parachute or another famous Nintendo character’s bright yellow cape. Link’s hair adds to the feeling of movement in this piece as well. Both his sandy locks and his majestic sideburns float in the air, not only speaking to the windy weather of the piece but also to Link’s prowess with a bow. It can’t be easy to hit those Guardians right in the eye with all that hair flying into your eyes.
The final element that adds a feeling of motion is the ancient blue energy floating off of the Ancient Arrow. The way that its magical aura bleeds off of the arrow tip and towards Link’s face calls to mind the buffeting of the antiquated blue flames of the furnaces we find throughout some of the quests in Breath of the Wild.
Zelda fans love to play and replay the games in the series over and over again because we love to revisit our favorite moments and characters. A little bit more rare is the chance to relive a moment from the series in as great a way as VegaColors provides us with this art. It brings back the sense of awe we had back in 2014, and it moves us today just as much as that trailer did back then.
