Making Link Truer to the Concept Art

[Hylian Pants]

If anyone remembers, a thread was posted here in the SS section a couple days ago that got deleted in the recent server burp. It featured a fan re-design of Link's model in SS, and it really interested me, so I thought I'd go digging around the internets to find the image again. I found it on ZU.

*Note- I'm not taking credit for this; we don't know the artist.

Way back at E3 time, I was personally kind of befuddled that Link's concept model and his in game model were so wildly different. In fact, I liked the illustration a lot more. (which, aside from different facial features included grayish pants instead of tan). Early on, in a old thread called "Link's Face", there was a bit of a debate over Link's heavily outlined eyes and lips, as seen remedied above. The artist also made subtle adjustments to his facial structure and nose. It's not so much the original looking too feminine (since I don't mind seeing him with some femininity), but I think this redesign meets my expectations and aesthetics for the game a little bit more. I highly doubt that Link's character model is one of the things Nintendo is revising at this point, but what are your opinions? Are you happy with Link's look/style for the game or would you rather see something like the artist's rendition? I for one think it's an interesting alternative.

 

[Djinn]

I prefer the redesign. Although I am not fully convinced that it is a redesign, but the character model was not completely finished at the time of E3 back in June. Remember we heard that the game was halfway complete in December. So it makes sense that much of the character design was still being worked on by the time the demo was released. Besides the purpose of the demo shown at E3 was to display the control scheme and show how the game would be played with the wii Motion Plus. Other factors like shadows and lighting might not have been fully integrated into the game at that point and all we saw were the brightest of colors with little definition. The graphics seen so far do appear to be unusually bright and cheery.

The subtle adjustments to Link's hair and face you mentioned have most likely been an ongoing effort throughout development. Artists and developers agree and disagree on certain aspects, and then might change their minds and tweak the character some more after viewing a demo in action. Or other things like game testors giving their input and feedback from fans from leaked images would lead them to make some changes like darkening the skin tones a little bit. The very bright and colorful graphics in the images leaked from Nintendo has produced a lot of fan complaints on the cell shading and overly cartoon looking characters. A large amount of fan outcry would lead the developers to go back and darken things up some. Not to the extent of Twilight Princess but enough to avoid some of the complaints they received from Wind Waker.

It is hard to fully see the colors in the concept art since there is a heavy amount of blues and purples there to show shadow. So Links hair could be blond or light brunette. Although the original design looks to be truer to the concept art than the redesign, I still like the redesign some more. The lips are a little too noticeable though, I think they should tone that down some.

 

[MrLuigi]

I choose the redesign solely because of the original's lips.

 

[Azure Sage]

I like the redesign. By the way, wii motion plus is an accessory sold seperately, right? If so, the I don't have it... So I hope you don't NEED the wii motion plus to play the game... You don't , right?

 

[Dr3W21]

hmm... to have such good precision, you will NEED the WiiMotion Plus. Chances are that it will come with it, so you will have nothing to worry about. I don't have it either

 

[TheCongressman1]

Original posting: Here

Yeah, this redesign is fantastic in my opinion. The only thing I don't like is that the hair is too blond. I am more fond of the darker hair. Although I like that the original design looks serious, while the redesign is kinda smirking. That doesn't matter in this case because it's just fan made, but I hope Nintendo doesn't decide to make Link a hero with an attitude.

I can see Nintendo changing the model from the Demo. They did say that the majority of time spent before release would be working on the visuals, so it's not surprising that they would tweak how Link looks. I really hope they do... The way Link looks bottom heavy because of the baggy pants, and that his tunic is a bit long. If they don't change anything about the model, then I hope they at least lighten the color of the lips.

 

[Nicole]

hmm... to have such good precision, you will NEED the WiiMotion Plus. Chances are that it will come with it, so you will have nothing to worry about. I don't have it either

If it comes with it, which I highly doubt, they'll (meaning Nintendo, or the store from which you'll buy the game) probably jack the price up. I'm pretty sure you will need the Wii Motion Plus; Nintendo designed SS to have 1:1 sword fighting. In Wii Sports Resort, which required the Wii Motion Plus, there was a couple of crude sword fighting games, so on a game in which there in precise moves for a sword, chances are you MUST have it.

(On-topic)

Whoever illustrated the re-design is brilliant. It looks so much better that way, imo. The way thegraphics are, lighter and more colorful, makes Link look better with BLONDE blonde hair, rather than light brown. It also makes him look like he has normal, not girly, lips.

 

[Azure Sage]

I sure hope it does come with wii motion plus... If not, I'll just buy it next time I'm at GameStop.

 

[Hylian Pants]

It is hard to fully see the colors in the concept art since there is a heavy amount of blues and purples there to show shadow. So Links hair could be blond or light brunette. Although the original design looks to be truer to the concept art than the redesign, I still like the redesign some more. The lips are a little too noticeable though, I think they should tone that down some.

Yeah, the concept sketch is very stylized, so I didn't expect an identical model, however, I do still think the current is kind of a far cry. The blond, I'll admit, is a bit glaring, but that can be easily desaturated. It seems like everyone's stand out problem is the lips, and it's true, I'm all for changing them.

I like the redesign. By the way, wii motion plus is an accessory sold seperately, right? If so, the I don't have it... So I hope you don't NEED the wii motion plus to play the game... You don't , right?

hmm... to have such good precision, you will NEED the WiiMotion Plus. Chances are that it will come with it, so you will have nothing to worry about. I don't have it either

I sure hope it does come with wii motion plus... If not, I'll just buy it next time I'm at GameStop.

Guys... Can we stay on topic here? Seriously, there have been plenty of discussions on this.

Original posting: Here
Yeah, this redesign is fantastic in my opinion. The only thing I don't like is that the hair is too blond. I am more fond of the darker hair. Although I like that the original design looks serious, while the redesign is kinda smirking. That doesn't matter in this case because it's just fan made, but I hope Nintendo doesn't decide to make Link a hero with an attitude.

I can see Nintendo changing the model from the Demo. They did say that the majority of time spent before release would be working on the visuals, so it's not surprising that they would tweak how Link looks. I really hope they do... The way Link looks bottom heavy because of the baggy pants, and that his tunic is a bit long. If they don't change anything about the model, then I hope they at least lighten the color of the lips.

Thanks for the artist link! (I hate not being able to give credit)
Funny how tastes differ..I actually like Link with a bit of a smirk. It's those little, somewhat defining personality traits that make his character more engaging. Either one works for me, to be honest. WW had a kind of attitude, but you couldn't tell much just by looking at a screenshot of him. As for Nintendo still changing the model, I guess it's true... You guys do bring up some good points. I just figured that the time would be spent on overworld, dungeons, scenery, controls, and whatever else, rather than Link himself, who was pretty much debuted at E3. Although now hat I'm thinking about it, the game shots, like the one I posted here, and the E3 presentation of Link in the open field doing sword swings do make him look kind of different..hmmm

 

[Dr3W21]

Yeah, the concept sketch is very stylized, so I didn't expect an identical model, however, I do still think the current is kind of a far cry. The blond, I'll admit, is a bit glaring, but that can be easily desaturated. It seems like everyone's stand out problem is the lips, and it's true, I'm all for changing them.

Completely agreed. I didn't notice the horrendous lip problem until today. I also say the hair should be a little more on the blond side, but not straight-up YELLOW.

 

[Yonatesf]

I'm sure the Link model from the demo was just a placeholder. He looks exactly the same as TP Link, I think they just used that
model because they aren't done with his final model yet. There is no other reason for him to look that different from the artwork,
Nintendo usually gets it right. I expect a different model in the next trailer.

 

[Aero_Dynamic]

I can see Nintendo changing Link's Skyward Sword model, because at E3 and at a roundtable discussion they said the last things to do was to finish making some dungeons, polish the controls, probably (in my thinking) they would finish working on the story, and clean up the visuals and some character models. Also, it seems that we take the demo too literal as everything we see in the demo is a finished product of the final game. Don't worry, everything's still in beta mode, they're still making the game so we can safely assume that Link, the world, the controls, and everything else will look great in the final complete in-our-hands-finally game!!

(to the art) The redesign looks okay, but his hair is fairly bright yellow if you ask me.

 

[TheCongressman1]

Thanks for the artist link! (I hate not being able to give credit)
Funny how tastes differ..I actually like Link with a bit of a smirk. It's those little, somewhat defining personality traits that make his character more engaging. Either one works for me, to be honest. WW had a kind of attitude, but you couldn't tell much just by looking at a screenshot of him.

No problem! ^^

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing Link emote. He definitely does have character in his small gestures. I guess it's just because I keep thinking about the context of the full picture: He is being chased by an enemy. And I just don't see Link as a hero that laughs in the face of danger. If it were just a picture of him sitting by himself or a friend, the smirk would fit in perfectly.

 

[Hylian Pants]

^ Haha, good point. I like some mischief in my characters, but not cockiness. I'd like him to be fearful/surprised when appropriate. (TP Link's expression when he falls off the edge of a catwalk comes to mind...)

So anyways, I dug up this trailer screenshot from a post I made back in September:

kind of like a hybrid of the two in the artist comparison (but still with the dreaded smoochy lips). I guess I'm become convinced that most of you guys are probably right, that they're not completely definite on the model yet. Yeah... I totally forgot about the stock of E3 screenshots I have that probably allude to that.. However, I still like that redesign best out of all variations

 

[RoBirk29384]

I'm sure the Link model from the demo was just a placeholder. He looks exactly the same as TP Link, I think they just used that
model because they aren't done with his final model yet. There is no other reason for him to look that different from the artwork,
Nintendo usually gets it right. I expect a different model in the next trailer.

This may be true, as the 2004 Twilight Princess model changed slightly for his appearance in the final game. His fighting style had also changed drastically along with his voice for the final release.