Photoshop Contest: Pixel Adventure

Hey there, everyone. It’s time again for Zelda Informer’s weekly Photoshop Contest! There was a time long ago when The Legend of Zelda didn’t feature fancy 3D models and super HD graphics. Instead, those old games used blocky sprites and collections of pixels to make up the worlds that Link explored. This week, we want contestants to use these sprites and pixels in their Photoshop creations. Before we start the retro party though, we’ll first need to look back at the winners of last week’s contest: Free Week #3.

Last Week’s Contest:

As with previous free weeks, I provided a few select images that contestants had to Photoshop in some way. Even though I offered images of a broken down robot from Skyward Sword and a Mii in a King K. Rool costume, all the winning entries decided to just ‘shop a silly picture of Link. The submissions were as amazing as you’d expect.

Also, I decided to ‘shop an image using last week’s images (just for fun, of course). If you want to check it out, you can head to last week’s contest page.

Best Submissions

Artist: Antonio Quiacain

Challenge Mode

For those willing, last week’s challenge was to include both a bowl of green beans and a Smash Ball from Super Smash Bros into the submitted Photoshop. Artist monkee-goro (or is it THE GORP?) accepted the challenge and showed of the Zelda gang’s trip to the movies. Looks like Link is putting the moves on both of his lady friends, and Ganondorf is notably surprised by something. Monkee-goro also asked readers to guess which movie these characters are watching based on their reactions. What do you think?

This Week’s Contest: Pixel Adventure

It’s been a few years since a main series Zelda title featured sprites in its art design. It’s understandable, as HD graphics are all the rage in today’s gaming world. However from time to time, we’ll still see certain retro projects that utilize pixel art in interesting, creative ways. Whether good or bad, pixels always have a place in our hearts and will always excite our nostalgia.

This week’s contest is to create your own Zelda adventure using pixels, sprites, and other such retro gaming things. I’m not saying your entries need to be exclusively made up of pixels, but you must at least have some classic Zelda sprites present in some way. I will provide a collection of these classic sprites in the image gallery below, but feel free to explore other places on the internet for your ‘shop.

General Rules:

• Submit your entries in the comments section below.
• To save images from the gallery, right click the image in the gallery (without opening the image in lightbox) and select open image in new tab. Go up to the address bar and delete __small from the URL. Hit enter, right click, and save!
• Photoshop is not required to enter the contest. Any image manipulation software can be used to create your entry.
• Please refrain from using offensive material (racial, sexual, overuse of offensive language, etc.) We want to make the contest fun and accessible for fans of all ages.
• Everyone is entitled to their own opinion at Zelda Informer. In fact, we encourage discussion based on those opinions. However, please do not insult other fans’ work. What may be funny to one person may not hold true for another…and that’s OK.
• Have fun and be creative!

Deadline: Submit entries no later than next Wednesday at midnight: 11:59 p.m. PST on August 12. Entries submitted after this Deadline will not be considered.

Challenge Mode

For those that who want to test their skills with something more challenging, we have a Challenge Rule for you to follow:

1. Your entry must recreate a scene from a 3D Zelda game using pixel art.

If you think you’re up to the challenge, include the phrase Challenge Accepted with your submission. Remember, Challenge Mode submissions follow the same rules and guidelines of the base Photoshop Contest in addition to the Challenge Rules.

Good luck!

• “Goku VS Link in Dying Namek!” by Miguel Guerreiro