A Link to the Blog: The Legend of Zelda Cosplay

The Serenade of Water
If you've ever glanced at my profile on the right, you already know I'm a writer, artist, nerd and then some. If the blog hasn't proven the nerd part yet, this post will do it. Case in point: one Halloween I dressed up as Link, the Hero of Time from The Legend of Zelda video game series, and then proceeded to do it again for a comic convention. 

Yup, that's me, sitting on a rock, jamming on an ocarina. And if that weren't enough, I won a prize. While I was originally planning to save this post for Halloween, in honor of Comic-Con 2013 I figured it was time to let my nerd flag fly.

It's a shirt! ...It's a dress! ...It's LINK'S TUNIC!

Since I enjoy crafting and geekery of all sorts, sewing costumes is right up my alley. I'm usually a fan of making things from scratch, but when it comes to costuming and clothing in general, I enjoy being resourceful, finding starter pieces and making it work Tim Gunn style. 

Link's tunic, for instance, was originally an XXL olive green t-shirt I found at a yard sale. I simply cut off the sides to adjust the fit and add some faux chain mail, cut out the neckline to match Link's and then sewed up the edges. I even had enough fabric left over to make the hat!

Sewing into the wee hours, fueled by chips, salsa and Halloween candy.
The chain mail was also a fun stroke of luck. I found a truly hideous pair of pants at a second-hand store and salvaged it for the tunic lining. What with the metallic and ring-like texture, the effect was just what I was going for without all the expense/discomfort of actual chain mail. Plus, it's machine washable!

Da Na Na NA!! You found your inventory! Press C to equip.
And what is Link without his vast array of accoutrements? Throughout my wanderings, I somehow managed to collect fingerless gloves, a bona fide Ocarina of Time, a fishing lure, a dungeon key, earrings, an empty bottle, a leather pouch, a slingshot, golden bugs and a handy heart container! The Ocarina of Time and slingshot were actually gifts from the wonderful, generous friends and fellow cosplayers Rachel (a.k.a. Toon Link) and Yurika (a.k.a. Dark Link) respectively. Thanks again, guys!

Showcasing my mastery of Z-Targeting.

Just add a pair of khaki pants, an off-white turtleneck and some brown leather boots and voila! Link, the Hero of Time. I have to say, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is actually my favorite from the series, but this costume was based off of the more recent rendition of the character (seen in Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword) so I could keep up with the times. It must have worked, because I won a costume contest on Halloween!

We Three Links of Nintendo are...!

The next time my Link costume saw daylight was when my friends and I all went to AnimeLA. While it wasn't Comic-Con (which would have been awesome), my friends and I had a ball dressing up, goofing off and posing for the masses. Seen above, Dark Link (Yurika), Toon Link (Rachel) and Link (Me!).

"See? My ears are way better!"

 Yurika made her awesome Dark Link costume from scratch, and even went so far as to get elven ears! 
"Take it back!"

 The sword, sheath and shield I had were courtesy of my dear brother and fellow craftsman of nerdy delights. The shield and sheath were constructed mostly from cardboard and duct tape and are surprisingly durable, while the sword was made from plywood. Quite the engineer, my brother!
Drink up!

Fun Fact: The best potions are actually made of gummy bears.
Bonus Fact: Gummy bears also happen to make great slingshot ammo. 
"Message for you, sir!"

Another friend of ours, Shoji, did a fantastic job dressing up as the iconic Legend of Zelda postman, and two more of our friends dressed up as awesome, albeit non-Zelda related characters for the occasion. Altogether it was a very fun trip, and maybe next time we go to a comic convention, it will be Comic-Con. Until then, it's off to another adventure!
"Where is that princess...?"

Want to see another LydMc costume that went to AnimeLA? Check out The School of Anything Goes Cosplay: Ranma 1/2 blog post! 

Into cosplay or costuming, too? Who's your favorite character to cosplay?
Location: Sacramento, CA, USA

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 17, 2016 at 8:35 PM

    the cosplay Link is really good, love it. i'm going to make my link costume but i'm bad at sewing, so have you any idea where i can buy a link costume? my friend suggest this site: http://cosplaysky.fr/jeu/the-legend-of-zelda.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LydMcOctober 22, 2016 at 11:01 AM

      Thanks for the comment! If you're interested in buying a Link costume, I'm sure there are a lot of good places you could find one. Even Party City offers Legend of Zelda costumes now!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Trending Posts

Painting for Peanuts: A Harvest Festival Cut-Out Board

Image
Happy Halloween! Nothing makes a party quite like a character cutout board. Sticking your head through a wooden mural to become someone else is especially advantageous for Halloween - instant costume!  My friend Erin had the brilliant idea of making a Peanuts themed one of these for the harvest festival her church was hosting this year,  but she needed a little help pulling it off. Hmm, did I hear someone say project? I'm in! Tabula Rasa From the very start, our materials for this project came together quite nicely. For instance, our canvas was actually the back of an 8' x 4' wooden board used previously by the church for a sign. For our purposes, we simply flipped it over and got to work sketching out our ideas on the back. You're a good reference, Charlie Brown. As for the art, we chose to paint the famed cast of Peanuts by Charles Schulz chilling in a pumpkin patch. Specifically, we had Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Sally and Linus (complete with ...
Read more

Return of the Ewoks: Star Wars Themed Sushi

Image
Sushiwoks: Adorable & Delicious   One of the great joys I have in life is celebrating with friends. Beyond the typical birthdays and holidays, I make it a point to find and/or create as many reasons to cook, chat and laugh together as possible. Luckily, with friends like mine, that’s not too hard. The reason behind this particular occasion? The continuation of our three part Star Wars marathon. Three movies (the classics), three hosting teams, three batches of awesome thematic food. The first two hosts raised the bar high with colored white chocolate dipped pretzel rod lightsabers and Princess Leia cupcakes, so I had to think of something good. It didn't take too long, though, as the third Star Wars film stars some of my favorite fictional creatures, the Ewoks. Since I’d already had it in mind to make sushi, the answer was clear – Sushiwoks. The Dark Side of the Rice Come party day, the first thing on my to-do list was prep the rice. I was fortunate enoug...
Read more

2024 NorCal Escape Rooms Rated (Spoiler-Free)

My husband and I love escape rooms. So much so, in fact, that I started putting together a list of all the local offerings complete with links, pricing and themes. It's proved so useful, I thought others wishing to explore the escape rooms of the Sacramento area might be interested, as well.  ABOUT THE REVIEWS Every franchise offers something a little different, which is great! On this page, I'm mostly detailing the basics, including rooms, cost and general impression. In my full reviews, I try to note what makes each place unique, including but not limited to: costumes, leaderboards, props, photo ops, puzzles, room themes, timers, hints, fun and cost. The vast majority of these places I would happily recommend and return to if they had more rooms to try. Unless otherwise stated, all rooms were played as a team of two (my husband and I). While I will mention a few specifics, I will make sure everything is spoiler-free because I don't want to ruin the fun!  Without further...
Read more