Four Swords: A bonus ring not from Four Swords.

A bonus ring not from Four Swords.

Jurassic Ring: Inside the amber of this ring is a creature that lived in the dawn of life on this world. That piece of history, frozen in in amber and time, is the key to traveling back through time to those ages long before the rise of humanity. We must be careful to only observe as any disturbance might make the time we return to unrecognizable, or worse just recognizable enough.

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These bonus drawings were inspired by, but not directly related to, the Gnat Hat from two weeks ago.

I don’t love how the bugs in this perspective turned out, but I am really proud of myself for pushing through and trying something new. I grew while drawing these and I am proud of them for that fact alone.

I don’t just draw items from the Zelda games, I draw bonus items that, I think, create nice sets within my catalog. If you agree or like something else I offer, please consider donating on Ko-Fi if you are able.

Part of being excellent to everyone is identifying what is good about you and being kind to yourself. I’m actively working on that right now which is why some of you may have noticed the “Not an artist” tag and language has started to drop off my work. I may not feel like the most accomplished artist, but I make some sort of art and don’t need to self censor into a lesser category.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

 

Not an artist: The final three items from Oracle of seasons that are sure to give you a boost.

 The final three items from Oracle of Seasons that are sure to give you a boost. 

Blowing Wind: The winds of change carry us into the future. The sixth essence of nature is in the depths of the Ancient Ruins guarded by what I always thought was a carnivorous cactus creature.

This set of bellows can push a blast of air strong enough to make any furnace burn hot, but it also convinces the user that they should be recognized as the greatest of their trade. This curse has caused apprentices to turn on their masters, siblings to murder each other in cold blood, and other unspeakable acts of jealousy. It is unknown where the curse originated, but no one has yet connected the bellows and the curse, allowing them to pass through many hands.

Not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Seasons that offer comfort amidst the horrors of the hollow lands.

Five items from Oracle of Seasons that offer comfort amidst the horrors of the hollow lands.

Nurturing Warmth: This essence is a bit of a visual mismatch. The symbol representing the essence is a warm looking campfire, but the essence itself is the comforting warmth of spring and summer that allows things to grow. Link finds the essence at the end of the Unicorn’s Cave guarded by a monstrosity that is mostly just one large eye covered in writhing tentacles.

In the twilight age of the world, as the primal flame that brought life and warmth to all things burns down to embers, only the smallest sparks of light and life still burn. These fires offer comfort and healing to those brave or mad souls who wish to fight against the inevitable darkness that will consume all things. These flames must be nurtured by mortal hands, and as each of the firekeepers fall, out goes another point of light in the ever growing dark.

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I really liked Dark Souls and I also don’t think I will ever play another Souls-like game again. I am just not at the point in my life where I can get repeatedly beat down by a game for hours in the vain hope of making progress. Maybe I’ll feel differently once the world stops repeatedly beating me down for months, but until then, I’m looking for more hopeful games to play.

You can help others feel hopeful by being excellent to everyone,

-Ceph

 

Not an artist: Four items from Oracle of Seasons used to figure out what should be done.

 Four items from Oracle of Seasons used to figure out what should be done.

Gift of Time: The second of the eight essences of nature. Link must defeat the dodongo in the Snake’s Remains to earn this essence. With it, he is reminded that patience is a virtue and even the best things take time to grow.

According to its creator, they did not invent the device, rather the idea for the device came to them through divine inspiration. Whether or not its divine origins are to be believed, there is no doubting that this device is able to answer questions with absolute truth. Unfortunately, the device only answers questions by responding with a series of symbols that must be interpreted by experts using extensive reference material or extremely rare savants.

Not a colorist: Would you like to see five more items in color?

 Would you like to see five more items in color?

This antique brass lamp is too dirty and tarnished to fetch a good price at the market. A good hard hand-polishing is just the thing to maximize this particular lamp’s value.

Not an artist: Five items from Oracle of seasons that come up in a murder investigation.

Five items from Oracle of Seasons that come up in a murder investigation. 

Goron Vase: The fine details present in the Goron Vase’s surface imply that the Biggoron was not the potter responsible for its creation. The Biggoron gives Link the vase in exchange for the lava soup that cured his cold.

The murder weapon, if you can call it that, was a tea kettle with a secret compartment filled with poison. This devious kettle keeps the poisoned tea in a separate compartment that only pours when the kettle is held in a particular but innocuous way. The killer probably drank a cup of tea with the victim, disarming any fear of foul play.

Lucky Charms Collected: Nine lucky charms to keep you safe from harm and attract prosperity.

 Nine lucky charms to keep you safe from harm and attract prosperity.

Here is the complete set of lucky charms.

Which lucky charm do you like the most?

You can grab all nine lucky charms in one pdf for printing in the links below.

Lucky Charm: A cricket talisman to lure happiness and prosperity.

 A cricket talisman to lure happiness and prosperity.

Lucky Cricket: Crickets have been kept as pets to attract luck and prosperity. Their pleasing songs remind us to be happy and appreciate the small things in life. They have also invited wealth to their owners, either through a beautiful song or victory in violent cricket fights.

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In researching various good luck charms from around the world I was not able to confidently connect crickets as good luck charms outside of my memory of Mulan getting one for good luck. Disney isn’t the best at authentic representations, so I didn’t want to rely solely on that.

Cricket fights are a real thing that people bred prized lines of crickets to compete in. Truth is wilder than fiction.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Lucky Charm: A controversial lucky charm.

 A controversial lucky charm.

Figa charm: This charm shows a hand forever frozen in the fig gesture. The gesture is used as a lucky charm in some countries like Brazil and Portugal. Many cultures find this gesture offense. It is apparently similar to flipping someone off in America or the V-sign in the UK.

The charm’s protective powers are actually derived from the offensive nature of the gesture. It is so offensive as to rebuff bad luck or the harmful effects of, you guessed it, the evil eye.

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I’m sorry if I offended you, but this is just another situation where I learned something new in the research for a drawing project.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Not an artist: Five items from Oracles of Seasons that will get you feeling better in no time.

 Five items from Oracles of Seasons that will get you feeling better in no time.

Lava Soup: A hot new take on stone soup, this soup is part of the trading quest in Oracle of Seasons. Link gives the perfectly seasoned iron pot to the Subrosian Chef so that they can craft their masterpiece. This soup is pretty amazing as it is hot and enjoyable no matter how long Link has been carrying it around Holodrum before giving it to the Biggoron.

One bowl of this amazing soup will make you feel better no matter how sick you are. Two bowls of this delicious soup will fill you up enough to last you all day. Three bowls of this addictive soup will lash you to the will of a devious Chef that will stop at nothing until they have fed every person with great food and starved every person of their free will.

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Some people are avoiding their second dose of the COVID vaccine because of possible side effects. I had very strong side effects. I felt like garbage for about a day and a half. Now that is over and I feel confident knowing that I have 90%+ protection against getting, spreading, or dying from a disease that has ravaged humans all over the world.

Get any vaccine. Get all of the vaccine as it is recommended by the science that created it. It takes us all working together to be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Lucky Charms: Fight fire with fire, or in this case the eye with an eye.

  Fight fire with fire, or in this case the eye with an eye.

Nazar Eye: This lucky charm is another charm thought to protect the wearer from the evil eye, the curse cast through harsh staring due to jealousy or anger. While some peoples of the Mediterranian region fought the evil eye with the hamsa, other cultures in the Mediterranean and Asia combated the evil eye with these blue glass bead charms in the shape of an eye.

The protection offered by the Nazar is not limited to beads. The eye pattern is often painted on objects and buildings to ward them from ill fortune.

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I really wanted the blue sections of the drawing to look transparent but they did not in the end of all things.

This is another charm I had seen but had never had formally named before exploring this project.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Lucky Charm: Protect yourself from the evil eye with this hamsa charm.

 Protect yourself from the evil eye with this hamsa charm.

Hamsa Charm: The hamsa, also known as the Hand of Fatima or Hand of other important deific female figures, is a charm that seems to have originated in and around the Mediterranian region. Wearing such a charm wards the wearer from the evil eye, a baleful curse cast by others through their hateful stare.

While predating Abrahamic Religions, this charm has been adopted by members of those religions; conceiving of it as representing the protecting hand of an important female figure of their beliefs.

Hamsa relates to the hebrew and arabic words for five, both referring to the five fingers of the hand.

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I had seen this charm often, but it wasn’t until I was doing research for this project that I found out what it was called and why it was work.

Protect others from receiving mean looks by being excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Lucky Charms: Medal of a holy icon

Medal of a holy icon

Prayer Medal: Many cultures and religions believe that it is lucky or protective to carry a medal depicting a great spiritual teacher, prophet, martyr, or saint.

Many of you may not know that the day of the week a person was born connects them to one of seven depictions of the Buddha. All of which are in a different posture and have different meanings.

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Starting back up with the last five lucky charms I drew for the mini palette cleanser project I undertook to shake some creative dust out of my system. Expect the rest soon.

The best luck a person could have is knowing others are looking out for them. Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Not an artist: Four items from Oracle of Seasons you can find at a garage sale.

 Four items from Oracle of Seasons you can find at a garage sale.

Cuccodex: The Cuccodex is the comprehensive guide to all things Cucco. It provides invaluable advice on raising and caring for Cuccos. Link is given the guide by its author Dr. Left after Link lights the torches in Dr. Left’s house using ember seeds. He needed the light to read and continue his work and is overjoyed for the illumination. The lonely author Dr. Left is a heavy handed reference to Mr. Write, the mysterious sender of love letters Link meets during his journeys on Koholint Island during the events of Link’s Awakening.

What seems to be another Pokédex toy is actually a Persondex that gives you Pokémon style info blurbs about all the different people you meet. It is a great way to get to know people in a way you never could before. Can you meet them all?

Not an artist: Five things from Oracle of Seasons you can hide the evidence.

Five things from Oracle of Seasons you can hide the evidence.

Ring box L-1: Holding with the elements theme of this item set, the brief I arrived at for the green ring box was an earth themed container.

As a sign of friendship, and a sound business strategy, Vasu the Jeweler gives Link this small ring box upon their first meeting in his Horon Village shop. The box only holds one ring, limiting Link’s options while out adventuring and forcing Link to stop by the store if he wants to swap the ring he is carrying.

For a thief on the go, a fallen log can be an excellent place to stash your questionably obtained goods. Be wary that others don’t see your hiding spot and always know that a badger may just take up residence atop your payday, forcing you to risk limb if not life to recover the package. 

Pop Culture: Chaos Axe for chaotic times

 I’ve been watching too much Goobertown so have a Chaos Axe.

Chaos Axe: This axe has been etched with the rune of chaos to empower the chosen champion of chaos to work the will of the Ruinous Powers in the mortal world. Pushing the wielder to ever bolder feats, the axe always leads champions of chaos past their limits. Chaos cares not for its singular champions, where one falls another will rise.

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I don’t watch too many youtube videos directly related to drawing or tabletop roleplaying games, but I do watch a lot of hobby videos related to tabletop wargaming. I don’t plan on pursuing them as new hobby’s, but I love the crossover of art theory and fantasy concepts that is the core of mini-painting.

While Age of Sigmar or Warhammer Fantasy is not my thing, I cannot deny that GamesWorkshop has been making the absolute best skeleton miniatures I’ve ever seen lately. With that in mind, if anyone ever wants to send me a painted copy of the Sepulchral Guard or the new Ulfenguard from The Cursed City, I would not be opposed.

Those boney undead troopers just do almost everything I want in my skeleton hordes. They are missing skeleton archers, mages, and non-human skeletons, but so is everyone else.  ALMOST makes a person wanna pick up another skill-based time sink of a hobby.

Friendly reminder that we are all responsible for improving the lives of everyone. Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Not an artist: Six items from Oracle of Seasons found in the vault of an old mansion.

Six items from Oracle of Seasons found in the vault of an old mansion.

Blue Ore: Buried in a patch of conspicuous soil in the southwestern wilds of Subrosia, Link must use his magnetic glove to navigate the many otherwise impassible pits that block the way to the blue ore. After digging up this ore and finding the red ore we discussed previously, Link can have the two ores smelted together into the hard ore by the Subrosian Smelter.

Children have dared each other to explore the decaying mansion on the hill for generations. Having had so many visitors, It is a wonder that no one ever found this vault before you did tonight. If those ingots are real gold you are rich.

Lucky Charms: Its either a horseshoe or a hand grenade

A lucky horseshoe to ward away some misfortune.

Lucky Horseshoe: Different communities have different traditions on how best to use a lucky horseshoe. Some say it must be pointed open up to catch the luck, while others claim that it ought to be hung pointed down to let the luck fall onto those passing beneath the horseshoe.

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In researching lucky charms from around the world I found two explanations as to why horseshoes are lucky. One relies on the iron in the horseshoe to keep the tricksy fey at bay. The other tells a tale of how a blacksmith shoed Satan's hooved feet with such violence that Satan swore to avoid horseshoes ever after.

The US is still punching above its weight class in proving that things are not equitable and just for all people in the country. Fight for racial justice, be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Not an artist: Four crystals from Oracle of Seasons that have a secret.

Four crystals from Oracle of Seasons that have a secret. 

Ore Chunks: Ore chunks are the mineral based currency of Subrosia. Just like rupees, Link can find ore chunks just about anywhere, but only in Subrosia. Silver ore chunks are worth one, red chunks are worth five and gold chunks are worth fifty. Link can spend these chunks in the Subrosian Market, but they are hidden someplace inaccessible when Link leaves Subrosia for the sights and sounds of sun kissed Holodrum.

Bismuth crystals are pretty crazy looking but they are a hard mode exercise in perspective when drawing. It is no wonder their oddly artificial looking crystals were used as some of the visual language for Magic the Gathering’s Eldrazi.

This ore was collected from a strange mineral growth that is slowly appearing all over the continent. Scholars are dumbfounded by the fact that the mineral behaves more like a fungus than a stone without any discernible signs of life. Whatever is causing these deposits to form must be getting closer since they are growing faster and faster every day.

Star Trek first contact day was yesterday

April 5th 2063 is when humans made first contact with aliens in Star Trek.

Comm Badge: Tap to talk, hands free positioning on and off planets, and ID badge all in one. 

Humans didn’t do a great job when they made first contact in 2063. We’ve got 42 years to get to a place where we can do a whole lot better. Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph