The Temple of Time
- Dan
- Nov 18
- 2 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
An Ink Drawing from "The Nerd Side Collection", Inspired by Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
I’ve been kind of a nerd my entire life, spending countless hours in the Mushroom Kingdom with Mario and friends, crossing Hyrule with Link, and aboard Covenant cruisers and ring worlds aplenty.
If none of that made sense to you, that’s totally ok. In fact, you should probably be proud, because you’ve lived in the real world more than me.
If you’re interested, let me give you a little introduction to some of the imaginary places I’ve been, and how they’ve inspired my artwork.
I love stories and the people who tell them through various mediums and methods. From authors to songwriters to illustrators and beyond, they each build a world that reflects the best and worst of reality. I know many people like to write off video games as an art form, but as the medium has grown and changed, I’ve watched incredible storytelling and visual design come to life. I’ve been moved, provoked to thought, and even seen beauty reflected there.
While playing the most recent Zelda blockbuster, Tears of the Kingdom, there is a ruined kingdom floating in the sky, which holds the ruins of the Temple of Time. The artists behind the game have created some of the most amazing fantasy architecture I have ever seen. The place feels like the ruins of any earthly city you might visit, and one night while playing I thought to myself:
“You know… I could draw this just like any of the home portraits I’ve done.”
So I did!
To create this Zelda-inspired ink drawing, I spent an hour in-game getting pictures from different angles, then composited them into a reference image that I spent about a month drawing from. The result was something that still felt authentically nerdy, but also had enough maturity to hang on any wall in my home, and with my wife’s full approval I might add.
This is part of a collection I’ve called The Nerd Side, and the goal is to be authentically nerdy and aesthetically refined, for art that’s right at home in a gallery or a living room.
I hope it brings joy to those of us who are still growing up.
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