Screen Shot 2014-08-21 at 12.14.04

They may look like digital creations, but these stunning illustrations are in fact entirely hand-drawn in coloured pencil. 17-year-old artist Polaara is a young British student who made these painstakingly detailed drawings in between studying for exams.

Join us after the jump for beautifully rendered fan art of Link, Zelda, and other video game and anime characters – plus some videos from Polaara herself showing how it’s done.

Excited about new game Hyrule Warriors, a Zelda/Dynasty Warriors mashup, which is scheduled for release in the West in September, the budding young artist made this set of three illustrations of characters from The Legend of Zelda:

▼ Polaara uses watercolour pencils to complete her illustrations, like this one of the Princess. “Gotta love her new armour, when else has she ever looked so badass” she comments.

princess_zelda___hyrule_warriors_by_polaara-d7tz95n

▼ Midna.

9a47405d493da78a026c2292e01e4d3c-d7tz38r

▼This is Link.

link_from_the_legend_of_zelda__hyrule_warriors_by_polaara-d7tz7p4

▼ This is a link.

Screen Shot 2014-08-21 at 12.14.04

She also uploads timelapse videos showing the process, like this one:

▼ There are some occasional skips in the footage, but it’s still well worth watching!

 ▼ This illustration of Hatsune Miku was a response to fan requests.

hatsune_miku_by_polaara-d6iniof

You can watch how it was made here:

Some of Polaara’s work was created in order to demonstrate a particular technique, like this drawing of Zoro from One Piece, which was made to show how she renders skin tone:

zoro_from_one_piece___coloured_pencil_drawing_by_polaara-d5haxf6

Screen Shot 2014-08-21 at 13.29.38YouTube

▼ Cloud Strife

cloud_strife__drawing_by_polaara-d61o9xm

cloud_strife__incomplete_by_polaara-d5w2ktq

▼ As this beautiful drawing shows, Polaara can turn her hand to realism too.

an_eye__colored_pencil_drawing_by_polaara-d5qnz5b

▼ Link again!

link_from_the_legend_of_zelda__twilight_princess__by_polaara-d4qeqlw

▼ Natsu Dragneel (Fairy Tail)

natsu_dragneel_by_polaara-d59s9ne

▼ Toshiro Hitsugaya

drawing_toshiro_hitsugaya__new_look___by_polaara-d58nqfz

▼ Light and L

light_and_l_from_death_note_by_polaara-d4cvnjj

▼ Lelouch Vi Britannia

lelouch_vi_britannia_by_polaara-d6li51m

You can find more how-to videos (‘How to color using colored pencils’ is pretty cool, and focuses on manga eyes) on Polaara’s YouTube channel, or follow her on Facebook or deviantART. We’re sure this talented young artist has a bright future ahead of her!

Source: Inside Games JP
Images: Polaara (deviantART, YouTube channel)