I have decided to start a fight with this article. I’m sure that the comments section will be civil, and that there will be nuanced discourse about what I’m going to say. I lay myself at the feet of the Zelda community with this humble (and absolutely correct) opinion.
Vaati is a much more interesting villain than Ganon/Ganondorf. No, I will not be taking questions.
I’ve always thought that Vaati was such a cool character, so having his backstory explored in The Minish Cap was a dream come true. In Four Swords Adventures, he was just a floating eyeball, more akin to a Kirby villain, but The Minish Cap gave him a purpose, a goal. And most importantly, he got to wear a cool hat.
You don’t see a ton of Vaati artwork, so when I saw LavleyArt’s submission, “Messenger of Evil,” to our ZeldaUniverse DeviantArt Group, I knew I had to write about it.
Just off the bat, I want to talk about how cool he looks, sitting on a throne with a bat creature hanging out by his shoulder. The man exudes a radical energy that can not and will not be denied. The smirk, the casual pose, he’s got it all! Lavley did an amazing job capturing the devil-may-care attitude that I found so intriguing about Vaati.
There are tons of great details in the piece. Lavley uses an eye motif in all of the tableware, alluding to the most recognizable part of Vaati’s true form. Another detail that stuck out to me was the flag hanging in the back. Apparently, it is a fan art within a fan art. Reddit user WufflyTime designed the flag for a Vaati-controlled Hyrule, which blends the Hyrule crest with an overseeing eye. It’s a perfect accompaniment to all the eyes that Lavley is using here.
Lavley creates a sense of depth in very simple and subtle ways. The sparks from the out-of-frame torches hover in front of the flag. The bat creature floats above everything, leaving a purple trail that sneaks behind Vaati’s arm. The bowl in the bottom left is slightly blurred, making it appear closer as if you’re sitting across from Vaati at the table. Yeah, as much as this guy intrigues me, I definitely don’t want to be that close.
The use of color here is interesting as well. Purple is Vaati’s signature color, and it is all over the piece. Apart from the more obvious purple objects, such as the cloak and the vapor trail, the table is full of purple or blue foods. Grapes, blueberries, the wine, it’s all over. The colors are also much brighter near Vaati’s face, naturally drawing your eyes to that wonderful smirk.
“Messenger of Evil” is a great encapsulation of an oft-forgotten villain. If you are also a fan of Vaati, make sure you head over to Lavely’s DeviantArt page, which has tons of great art available. And remember, if you’re interested in being featured in a future Yuga’s Art Gallery article, please don’t hesitate to submit your work to ZeldaUniverse’s very own DeviantArt page!
