Despite the early American education system labeling it a critical skill, I have never been the best at cutting paper. Well, at least when it comes to cutting something with precision. If something needs to be cut into an intricate shape, or if Hylia forbid I have to cut a shape out of a piece of paper, you’d better find a different Hylian. It’s through my own struggles with scissors and paper that I have developed a fascination with papercraft. The art that people can make by slicing, layering, gluing, and lighting small pieces of paper is amazing. For the scissor-and-paper-challenged like me, the “Master Sword Paper Lightbox” by Studioofmm seems like a miracle.
One element that makes StudioofMM’s piece so amazing to me is that they have not just created one slice of papery perfection, but it appears that they have used seven different layers of paper with differing amounts cut away to create their heavenly scene of the Master Sword waiting for the hero. The first three layers, featuring various overgrown foliage, are the darkest and furthest away from the light source. This darkness creates a feeling of foreboding, especially in the second layer which features what seem to be thorns stretching upwards. After all the trials to claim the sword, nature has laid one more. The trees in the second layer also add to the sense of danger as they hang over the sword, even covering the ray of light that bisects the entire piece.
The fourth layer is clearly the most important because it’s the one featuring the Master Sword and its pedestal. StudioofMM has done a masterful job sculpting the sword out of its paper prison, cutting and removing even tiny elements like a triangle and circle from the tiny blade and its hilt. The precision is mind boggling and certainly worthy of praise, but it’s the combination of the tiny blade with the remaining layers that elevates the piece and endows it with more meaning.
The fifth and sixth layers of the lightbox showcase some rocks and ruins, calling to mind the rise and fall of multiple incarnations of Hyrule that the sword has borne witness to. Where the trees in the second layer cover the light and loom over the blade though, the trees in the sixth layer part. The seventh layer is both the most simple and perhaps the most meaningful to the piece. It appears to be two plain pieces of thin white paper placed on either side of the piece. Being thinner than the other pieces of paper, it allows a tremendous amount of light through and appears almost gray. It also forces the light from the lightbox to shine directly down the center and onto the Master Sword. By doing so, it creates a sense of holiness to the blade. It’s as if it’s bathed in the golden light of the goddesses and ready to bring peace back to the land in the hand of the hero.
We all have our own talents. Some of us weave stories with words while others use paint, pencils, clay or something else entirely. StudioofMM weaves a tale of the Sword of Evil’s Bane laying in wait for a hero using elements integral to the franchise. Through the deft use of a blade, they cut through each layer and challenge, gradually cleaving through much of the shadow to reveal the light of Hylia’s saving grace: the Master Sword.
