Tattoo You: Nerdy Tattoo Designs Part 3

If there’s one thing I love it’s video games! If there’s two things I love it’s nautical tattoo designs and video games. I’m always thinking of fun tattoo ideas that would not only look nice as a piece of body artwork, but could be framed and hung on a wall.

 

I made a series of fun, clean, nerdy Tattoo Illustrations that I will be showcasing in the next few posts. Each illustration was made by hand using pen and paper, and a variety of markers including Prismacolor, Copic, Sharpie, and others.

 

In a previous post, I showed you Pokemon-inspired illustration. Now, on to a design inspired by the game that I spent countless hours mastering as a youngster: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time.

 

In Progress. Loving how this one is turning out.

This illustration is inspired by classic nautical tattoos. The ribbon and phrasing are similar to the Sailor Jerry style. The imagery is taken from the game itself. A fun play on the theme of the game, where time truly waits for no man. A tattoo worthy of the hero of time!

The fate of the forest, nay, the world, depends upon thee!

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Tiny Hylian Shield Tutorial Part TWO: Steps 6 through 10

Yesterday I started showing you how to make your own tiny Hylian Shield from the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. Today I am back to finish up the tutorial.

Step 6: Detailing What would the Hylian Shield be without its fine detailing? A Deku Shield? There are a lot of options for adding details to the center of your shield. With this smaller shield, I chose to use a combination of materials. For the Triforce, I used some thin cardboard. For the bird motif, I used my hot glue gun to paint the design. If you are not very good at freehand-drawing, I would suggest cutting out the design from your template. This was a little tricky, but I am pleased with the results. I may try something different on the larger shield, though.

The glue gun added a nice texture, but was difficult to control.

Step 7: Prime This is especially important if working with cardbard. The dark surface will be difficult to paint if you do not prime it.

The front after one coat of primer.

Be sure to get the front and the back. Let it dry completely between coats if a second coat is necessary.

The back of the shield after one coat of primer.

Step 8: Spray Paint Now it’s time for the fun part. Once you’ve let your coat of primer dry completely, you can add a coat of your Hammered Spray Paint. This paint is textured and does a great job of covering most surfaces evenly. I did not have any problems with my shield, but you may need to touch-up or add a second coat of paint. Be patient and let each coat dry before applying the next one.

Also, if you did cover the outside of the shield with masking tape, bear in mind that the paint will remain tacky there for a little while longer than it does on the cardboard. Be mindful of this when setting the shield down on surfaces while it dries.

Paint both sides of the shield.

Shield front after one coat of Hammered Silver paint.

Step 9: Paint and Detail. Once your silver paint has dried, it is time to add detail to the shield. I used a variety of small brushes and my acrylic paints to add the color to the front of the shield. I did the blue base first and then painted the red bird and Triforce, leaving the silver parts

Carefully adding blue paint.

Don’t forget to paint the back!

You may need to add several coats of paint. Depending on the type of paint you are using, you may also want to cover the shield in a clear gloss coat. As all of my paints were glossy, I did not do that for my shield. Once the paint has dried on the front and the back, it is time to add some hardware. On this small shield, I added a little loop to be used to hang or secure the shield. On a standard-size shield, it is even more important to add the correct hardware. This small loop will do for now, but if you make a larger shield in the future, be sure to make the straps and handle more secure.

Brads have proven to be very useful for this project.

Step 10: Sit back and admire your handy-work. Even if you have never touched a tool in your life, this project can be easy enough for any skill level. While this shield may not be big enough to defend yourself from even the smallest of Deku Shrubs, it is cool enough to display in your home or office. Many materials are ones that you may have on-hand.

With the leather loop on the back, you can easily hang this small shield somewhere where it can be seen!

I hope this tutorial was helpful! If you have any questions regarding the instructions or photographs please let me know. Share your finished projects too!!!

Want to see STEPS 1 – 5? Click here!

Tiny Hylian Shield Tutorial Part One: Steps 1 through 5

The other day I mentioned that I would be working on a DIY tutorial project. For those of you who guessed that I would be making a Hylian Shield, you are right! Congrats! I am going to be Link for Halloween, and I thought now is as good a time as ever to try my hand at writing an online tutorial for like-minded gamer girls!

Now, I am a rather practical and analytical person. I love working with new or challenging materials. Initially I had wanted to make my shield out of wood, but without a proper workspace, shared walls, and older neighbors, I thought that may prove to be too messy and noisy. I have worked with wood before, but always in a proper workspace like a garage or studio. I was also taught to “measure twice, cut once,” so I decided to make a small-scale version of the shield to get the materials and measurements right. These instructions will be for how to make a small “display” Hylian Shield measuring approximately 6.5 inches by 5.5 inches (16 x 14 cm).

Step 0: Decide which version of the Hylian Shield you would like to make. For the small shield I chose to make the shield from the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. For my larger shield, however, I will be using the designs from the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess.

Step 1: Gather your materials:

YOU WILL NEED:

Cardboard (in large unbent pieces): I sourced mine from my local grocery store.

Newsprint: (or other scrap paper) to make your template drawings. Or print them out from images you find online. Be sure to make drawings for the front of the shield AND for the back of the shield.

Pencils and Bold Markers to make your drawings on the newsprint and on the cardboard

Brads: buy a lot of them, I went through close to 75 of them

Glue: I used Aleene’s Tacky Glue and it worked quite well

Masking Tape: .5 inches to 1 inch wide

Rust-oleum “Hammered” silver spray paint

Rust-oleum Primer (White)

X-Acto #11 Blade and Knife

Scraps of Leather or other durable brown fabric

Paint and Paintbrushes I used Martha Stewart’s High Gloss Acrylic Paints and an assortment of brushes

Measuring tools: Ruler, compass, protractor, measuring tape, etc.

Step 2: Make the shield base. Take your template drawing and trace it out on the cardboard three times.

Make sure you leave a little room around each piece to be able to cut safely.

This will create the piece for the front of the shield, the body of the shield, and the detailing for the back of the shield. Once you have traced and cut out the three pieces, cut out the outside boarder for the front of the shield. Use your template and cut out the inside design of the shield, leaving just the boarder as shown in the image below.

This will help give the shield more depth.

Step 3: Cut out the front and back pieces. Use your Xacto Blade to carefully cut around your templates to make the front and the back of the shield.

Step 4: Secure the shied pieces together. Using brads and glue, you will be making sure that this shield is as durable as possible. It is important to measure out where you want your brads to go to adorn both the front and back of the shield. They add a nice aesthetic, but they also serve to keep the several pieces of the shield from separating. I measured out the places where I wanted to put the brads and marked them with pencils. I found the brads were easier to push into place when I made a small cut with my blade as shown in the image below.

Sandwich the pieces together and use some of your glue of choice to make sure the pieces don’t go anywhere. I found it helpful to add a little glue to the hole where the brad was placed too.

Step 5: Tape it up. Once all the pieces are sufficiently glued together and brads are placed, flip the shield over and view from the side. Here is the downside of using corrugated cardboard: The edges are rough and porous. You will want to use your masking tape and run it around the outside of the shield. This will give the edges a finished look and will protect your shield from damage on the side. Trim the corners so that the tape does not bunch up too much.

You could also fill the holes with hot glue, but the tape is easier and cheaper.

The shield with 1/2 inch masking tape around the edges.

The tape adds a nice finished edge without taking away from the shield itself. It also protects the sides and keeps gunk from getting in there. Stay tuned next time for how to complete your shield!