Update: With the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom tomorrow (and our own Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review out now), theDuckPancake has reached the end of their artistic journey. You can check out their final post here. The original version of this article, written a few weeks before the game's release, follows.
Breath of the Wild sequel The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now just months away, and one weary artist is still counting the days by, as they've said in almost 800 posts at this point, "drawing badly."
If you've given the Breath of the Wild subreddit even a passing glance at any point in the last 790 days, you've probably seen theDuckPancake around. The beloved community artist has been posting their self-described bad drawings virtually every day for over two years – including some catch-up batches to make up for rare absences – and they're still going strong. They've even done some bonus drawings along the way "just for fun." Their most recent work (at the time of writing) was unleashed upon the world on January 7, and folks, it's relatable.
drawing_badly_until_totk_day_790 from r/Breath_of_the_Wild
TheDuckPancake was at this long before we even knew that Tears of the Kingdom was a thing; their earliest drawings predate the official title and can be counted almost like rings on a tree as a chronicle for the sequel's unveiling. Like many Zelda fans, the artist damn near ascended after the official title drop.
drawing_badly_until_totk_day_674 from r/Breath_of_the_Wild
Many communities have seen artists-turned-record-keepers appear in the leadup to sequels – one Hollow Knight icon had to hang up their brush a few months ago after a solid stretch of cute art for the great Silksong wait – but theDuckPancake is a standout if only for their consistency and dedication to the craft. I've also got a soft spot for their art style, which brings back fond memories of the early internet and its many lovable Flash projects.
Tears of the Kingdom is reportedly the last "significant" Switch game that we'll see for some time, suggesting a gap in first-party releases and a potential shift in priorities at Nintendo.
