Daily Debate: What Artist Would You Hire to Do Character Design for a New Zelda Game?

Posted on June 20 2021 by Andrew Millard

One of the highlights of any stop I make at the Zelda Dungeon Discord is the Pics and Artwork channel. Members of our community continually refresh it with cool takes on the plethora of Zelda characters and locations. Some original, some reposted from other art spaces. That, combined with our weekly Artists of Legend posts, keeps me amazed at how creative people connect with the world of Hyrule.

So for today’s debate, imagine you’ve miraculously been given the responsibility to hire the lead character designer for a new Zelda game, be it mainline or spinoff. You can even include what kind of game you imagine this person designing, if that helps! Will you choose a famous game designer from outside Nintendo? What about an animator, manga-ka, or western comics artist or team? Perhaps there’s a fan artist or little-known illustrator you think would nail a new look for Link and company?

I’m a sucker for late-90’s anime, so to kick things off I would suggest the design team from one of my favorite anime of all-time: The Vision of Escaflowne. The Legendary Shoji Kawamori designed its mecha and technology while Nobuteru Yuki handled the characters.

Whomever you choose, describe their work and how you imagine their Zelda game looking in the comments below. And if possible, drop a link to their online presence. You could even visit our Discord and show us their work in #pics-and-artwork!

Featured Artwork: LeafyAkiko