The Water of Life (Red), with bottle!

They are called the Water of Life in the original game, but from now on I’ll just refer to them as potions. After the second dungeon, you are going to want to pick up something to help you through more difficult situations. There are several potion shops in the game scattered throughout the map. Purchase the red potion as it has two uses , and turns into the blue potion when used once. There are many types of potions spread across the Zelda timeline, however, in this age, only two potion recipes remain.

The red potion was quite a challenge to create. First, the liquid of the potion was 3D printed in full color sandstone. I tried 3D printing the bottle out of translucent material but was displeased with the result. Then I gave myself a challenge: create a way to form a clear bottle around the liquid by only using a 3D printer and other DIY equipment and products. The bottle is made out of a clear silicone rubber. I really like the way it came out.

On my next post I will be discussing the method by which the bottle was made. This is a new technique that can be used to generate cheap 3D printed reusable two part molds. Here is what the 3D printed mold looked liked after casting the bottle. It will be used again shortly to create the blue potion.

Where is that last Dungeon Key?

While in the first dungeon you will obviously be using keys to open locked doors, in later dungeons the use of them can be critical and sometime that last key is tough to find.  Keys appear in every Zelda game. Though their appearance changes throughout the timeline.

I designed the dungeon key to look exactly like a 3D version of the 8 bit game image. It came out really great!!!

The Bow, you’ll shoot your eye out!

After gathering various items in the the game, your are finally ready to go to the first dungeon.  Yes, we could have gotten a potion at this point. But, it’s the first dungeon, come on, you can do it! An update on the potions – I have almost completed a unique casting technique to make the bottles. I am just waiting on a special material to arrive to make casting it even easier.

Back to the dungeon – it’s called the Eagle and is located in what seems to be a dead Deku tree.

In its depths you will find one of the most iconic items of the Zelda series, the bow. It appears in almost all the Zelda games. In this timeline it appears in A Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening. However, the bow in Link’s Awakening exists in a magical world which is the dream of the Wind Fish, whereas the bow from A Link to the Past looks very much like the game manual image of the bow from the original Legend of Zelda. Is it the same bow?

It appears to be. I designed the bow based on this linked history.

Stringing the bow is very easy to accomplish. See directions here.

If your still lost on the Zelda Timeline make sure you watch Zelda The Complete Story!

Show This To The Old Woman

It came up Zelda today so here we go. In case everyone has not caught on yet, I am going through each item in the order you should acquire them in the game.

The letter will allow the old woman to brew up the two potions that are available in the game. You may notice it varies a little from the 8 bit image. Due to the minimum size that this type of 3D printing requires inspiration had to be taken from the image in the game manual.

As a little extra touch, the miniature letter has a golden seal with the imprint of the potion bottle punched out.

Here is part three of the video series that will explain the entire Zelda timeline. Enjoy!

Heart Container and Recovery Hearts

In the beginning of any Zelda game you always have to be so careful! Three hearts is just not enough. Then when you start collecting heart containers you feel more and more courageous. Let’s not forget recovery hearts. Time spent killing enemies, whacking bushes, and even digging holes to find one in order to end the incessant one heart beep! Both miniatures were proportioned and designed after the 8 bit items.

Here’s a lego sculpture of the 8 bit heart container.

Today I want to leave you with one of my favorite pieces of fan art. It’s a digital painting from the artist Ag+ showing all the major characters from the Zelda games.